Why is Zamasu alive in the future when he was killed by Lord Beerus in Dragon Ball Super? In the recent story of Dragon Ball Super, the present Zamasu has been killed by Lord Beerus but is still alive in the future. It has been told that Goku Black is Zamasu in Goku's Body, while Zamasu is the one from the past. All these things seem messed up. Can anyone provide a simple explanation of how all this timeline stuff works?

It all starts with Trunks in the Android saga

Future Trunks lived in a very bleak future and was backed into a corner with Gohan's death and his Super Saiyan transformation not being strong enough to stop Android's 17 and 18.

So in comes the time machine to go back and save Goku from dying from a heart virus.

When Trunks travelled backwards through time, he created a branching time-line. Let's call the present world World A (where Trunks pwns Mecha-Frieza)

and the other world World B (Androids wrecking s***). Now nothing Trunks does in either world affects the other because they are two separate time-lines.

Because Trunks broke the taboo big-time by going backwards.

It was mentioned in Super that anytime time is travelled reversely, a time-ring is born to give representation of a new universe being created.

Fast Forward to Dragon Ball Super

Now in DBS, Buu was never revived in World B because Trunks killed Babidi and Dabura due to a power buff he got from training with Supreme Kai and Kibito with the Z-Sword.

However, it is revealed in the manga that the battle with Dabura took a heavy downturn, as not only did the Z-Sword get turned to stone and obliterated (eg. Grandpa Supreme Kai sealed within it was killed),

but Dabura killed Kibito

and Babidi killed Supreme Kai.

We already know that no Supreme Kai = no god of destruction aka no Beerus because their existence is a set. Which also equates to no Whis because Whis is an angel that exists solely to serve the god of destruction. This also means that the Potara Fusion and Elder Kai unlock ability are non-existent in World B.

So looking at the Gowasu in World B, it was shown in the anime that he was murdered by Zamasu who took a time-ring and collected the Super Dragon Balls and wished for Goku's body.

With that time-ring he went to the past of World B.

This is where things get icky

Because Black did reverse travel like Trunks, he made a new time-line. In this World C he was still plain old Zamasu but was planning to kill Gowasu as he had just sparred with Goku.

Black killed Gowasu for a second time and influenced his past self to join him. This World B past tense Zamasu collected the Super Dragon Balls and wished for an immortal body. With that, immortal Zamasu got a new time ring from Black's reversal which allowed them both to go back to World B and kill all the gods of each universe in that timeline.

The real kick in the chops

So Beerus found out, got mad, and killed Zamasu in World A. That means nothing for two reasons: first, Beerus' actions do not matter in this world because Trunks already separated the timelines way back in Dragon Ball Z; second, even if by some stretch of imagination God's affected the time-line differently, it does not matter because of the power of time ring.

THE PLOTHOLES HERE ARE GAPPING ONES

What happened to universe C?
What happened to Earth in universe C? Since in that case there would be 2 Trunks (I have no idea what the plural of Trunks is).
Why was there like 5 time rings in the episode that Gowasu revealed them? Trunks has not jumped back and forth 5 times. Or has he? Also, what's the difference between a green ring and a white ring?

NOTE: This is why when anime delves into multi-verse, time-travel stuff, it always turns out bad unless it's Steins;Gate. <3

EDIT: Finally complete!! Getting all those screenshots was a hassle but I think my answer is as thorough as it can get.

EDIT: Episode 67 of Super reveals why there are so many time rings. The answer is:
2 for Trunks,
1 for Cell,
1 for Black,
1 for Beerus, and
1 for Whis
 = 6 time rings as shown below.


What is this guy with a cross scar on his left cheek reference of? In the first episode of Danna ga Nani wo Itteru ka Wakaranai Ken, there is a scene of the husband proclaiming his hate towards working. His face changed to that of some character with a scar on his left cheek. His speech pattern also changed to that of a samurai:

  Hataraki takunai degozaru! Zettai ni hataraki takunai degozaru!

What is the reference in this scene?

It is a reference to Himura Kenshin, from Rurouni Kenshin.

This is noted not only by the scar, but also by the way the sentences are ended.


What's the difference between Haineko and Senbonzakura? What's the difference between these two shikai; Rangiku's Haineko and Byakuya's Senbonzakura? They both seem to have the same abilities.

For Matsumoto Rangiku's shikai:

  When released with the command "growl" (唸れ unare?), the blade dissolves into ash. In combat, Matsumoto can control the movement of the ash, and cut anything it lands on by moving the hilt. The ash is also solid enough to be used as a shield to block enemy attacks

For Kuchiki Byakuya's shikai:

  ...Senbonzakura's blade separates into thousands of slender, petal-like blades.... While the blades are too small to be seen by the naked eye, they reflect light in such a way as to appear as cherry blossom petals. Byakuya can control the blades at will thereby allowing him to shred opponents at a distance and break through almost any defense. While Byakuya can control the blades with his mind alone, using his hands allows him to do so more effectively, making the blades move twice as fast.

There seem to be a few main differences, though they are very similar.

Byakuya can control the blades of his with his mind, while Matsumoto needs to move the hilt.
The ash can be used as a shield while Senbonzakura cannot.


Why are Midoriya's arms weaker than his legs and why do they get broken more easily? In episode 14 season 3 of My Hero Academia we've seen that

   Midoriya develops an attack with his legs because his arms get broken more easily when he uses One for All

Why are Midoriya's arms weaker than his legs and get broken more easily?

Human legs are naturally stronger than arms. This is something I already knew, but to back up this claim I checked wikipedia:

  As the human leg is longer and stronger than the arm...

While I was watching the show, I was given the impression this was the reason he switched to Shoot Style, not because of his arms being repeatedly broken and thus weakened. The My Hero Academia Wiki backs up my memory (emphasis mine):

  To use Shoot Style, Izuku concentrates Full Cowl's effects in his legs rather than his arms for his smash attacks, enabling him to use their naturally greater power to improve his striking strength.


Why did All for One gave a quirk to stockpile power to his brother? One for All appeared when All for One gave to his quirkless brother a quirk to stockpile power. Why did All for One gave this quirk to him?

As All Might says way back in Chapter 59 of the manga when he first reveals All For One to Deku, "Whether that was out of kindness, or to bend him to his will, we still don't know".

I initially assumed it would be left open like that, or maybe find a mention later in some arc involving AFO. Now though, since

   the vestiges of previous OFA holders, including the first user, are able to interact with Deku

that is another perspective from which we might get new information. So far nothing though.


Why was Misaki in the basement of the hospital? In the first episode, Sakakibara saw Misaki in the basement of the hospital. I've seen the first 9 episodes and I still didn't get why she was there and what she was doing.

Mei was "visiting" her twin sister Misaki Fujioka

  She dies in Episode 1 from the 9th grade class 3-3 curse, being "the death of April", the first one who died because of the curse. Mei was delivering a present at the Yomiyama Hospital's morgue, a doll, Mei referred to her as "her other half" during her first meeting with Kouichi and later as her twin sister.

Source: Misaki Fujioka - Plot - Another

In the anime/ova Fujioka died from leukemia (flared up in the OVA) but is still counted as being one of the deaths caused by the calamaty. in the novel she had a kindey transplant and Mei was going to gift her the dool but died before she could

  In the original novel, the doll that Mei brings to the morgue was a gift to Misaki after her kidney transplant. The kidney Misaki received was not Mei's (due to minors not being allowed to donate). Misaki told Mei which doll she wanted but died before Mei could bring it to the hospital.

Fujioka is also mentioned near to the end of the series when Takako thinks Mei is the "Extra" because she remembers going to school with a Misaki but confuses Fujioka with Mei and remembers that Fujioka (thinking she's Mei) didn't have different coloured eyes (one of Mei's eyes is a prostetic doll's eye)


What Gintama episode had this scene? I've read somewhere that there was a scene where Shouyou was released from jail and Gintoki cries upon his return, I've watched all episodes but I don't remember this, can someone tell what episode was it?

As far as I remember, they don't meet after he's arrested and yoshida shouyou is never released from jail. The only time they meet is when Oboro forces Gintoki to behead his teacher in order to save his friends. Once he's killed, yoshida shouyou loses control over Utsuro and is presumably killed off as a personality.

You could be referring to the episode where Gintoki is restrained as his teacher is arrested and dragged away from him. Which is shown as a flashback in one of the episodes, but is better explained in the movie I think. It maybe the first or second movie, I'm not sure. Never was a big fan of the movies though.


What are the meaning behind the operation names in Steins;Gate? In Steins;Gate , Okarin gives some of his projects operation names, such as "Operation Urd".

He mentions that the names he has given them don't really mean anything, but looking at what the names are referencing, it seems otherwise.

Urd (or Urðr), Verthandi(Verðandi)  and Skuld are a trio of Norns that are described as deciding the fates of people. They represent Past, Present and Future respectively. These reflect the time-travel theme of the show

There are ones that  I haven't been figured out, such as Operation Eldhrimnir (episode 10) and Operation  Valkyria (episode 18). How do these Norse Mythology references fit into the show (and any other ones i may have missed) ?

According to Episode Glossary article on Steins;Gate Wiki, there are 5 operation names coined throughout the series:

Operation Urd (Episode 6)
Operation Eldhrimnir (Episode 10)
Operation Verthandi (Episode 11)
Operation Valkyria (Episode 18)
Operation Skuld (Episode 23)

Operation Eldhrímnir is coined by Okabe in episode 10 for the plan to invite Suzuha to a party on the following day regardless whether she meets her father or not. The party is meant to be a celebration party in case Suzuha meets her father, and in case she doesn't, it is a farewell party for her.
According to Wikipedia entry on Eldhrímnir:

In Norse mythology, Eldhrímnir (Old Norse "fire-sooty") is the cauldron in which the cook of the gods, Andhrímnir, prepares Sæhrímnir every evening.

The name is probably chosen due to the similarity in the meal theme.
Looking at the entry for Einherjar:

In Norse mythology, the einherjar (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters") are those that have died in battle and are brought to Valhalla by valkyries. In Valhalla, the einherjar eat their fill of the nightly-resurrecting beast Sæhrímnir, and are brought their fill of mead (from the udder of the goat Heiðrún) by valkyries.

And Sæhrímnir:

In Norse mythology, Sæhrímnir is the creature killed and eaten every night by the Æsir and einherjar. The cook of the gods, Andhrímnir, is responsible for the slaughter of Sæhrímnir and its preparation in the cauldron Eldhrímnir. After Sæhrímnir is eaten, the beast is brought back to life again to provide sustenance for the following day.

I hope I am not reading too far into this, but since Eldhrímnir is the cauldron which is used to cook food for the einherjar who died in battle, it bears resemblance to the fact that Suzuha introduce herself as a "soldier", and how she fails to meet up with her father the next day. Or maybe the name just simply refers to the party with all the food and drinks, which relates to the fact that the cauldron is the cook for preparing a feast.

Operation Valkyria is coined by Kurisu in episode 18, before the date between Okabe and Ruka (this occurs in the world line where Ruka is an actual girl).
As for the meaning of Valkyria/Valkyrie, citing from Wikipedia:

In Norse mythology, a valkyrie (from Old Norse valkyrja "chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who decide which soldiers die in battle and which live. Selecting among half of those who die in battle (the other half go to the goddess Freyja's afterlife field Fólkvangr), the valkyries bring their chosen to the afterlife hall of the slain, Valhalla, ruled over by the god Odin. There, the deceased warriors become einherjar. When the einherjar are not preparing for the events of Ragnarök, the valkyries bear them mead.
The word valkyrie derives from Old Norse valkyrja (plural valkyrjur), which is composed of two words; the noun valr (referring to the slain on the battlefield) and the verb kjósa (meaning "to choose"). Together, they mean "chooser of the slain".

Putting the context and story behind the name Valkyria together, it probably refers to the role of Kurisu as she tails Okabe and Ruka during their date. The date can also be thought of as a battlefield for Okabe, since this is his first time going on a date. And the fact that Okabe keeps screwing up during the date can also be thought of as "die in battle". (This is the best I can come up with to connect the name and the context of the story).


Who exactly is running the One Piece government? I'm a bit confused here - who is running the world government? Only those five un-named people who only get screen time when a catastrophe happens? Do we know their names or backgrounds?

Your question in the title and in the message aren't the same so I'll answer the first one.

  The World Government is a political organization comprised of the
  majority of the world at large, ruled by the Gorosei.

The Gorosei is composed of 5 members and on the wiki they say :

  The Gorosei (literally meaning "Five Elder Stars") are the heads of
  the World Government, and as such, they essentially rule the entire
  world. They are the five men who rule above the Marines, Cipher Pol,
  and the ones who made a pact with the Shichibukai, making them one of
  the main antagonists of the series.

As you said :

  So far, none of their names have been revealed.

And about their screentime since they are the organization recruiting the Shichibukai, we can guess they will be the last organization that Luffy's team will fight. But this is just a guess since your question can't be answered until the manga is finished.

Here you can check my source and learn more about them : http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Gorosei


Does the original jutsu user feel anything when a shadow clone is dispersed forcefully? According to the wiki,

  While the technique can be extremely beneficial, attempting to use multiple clones for training purposes can be mentally harmful to the user, as not only is all the experience collected by the user, but so is all the mental stress from training each clone

Now, when a clone is destroyed, there must be some mental stress involved. So does Naruto (or anyone else) feel anything when their shadow clones are dispersed?

Nothing has been shown to indicate this (at least in the anime). I was wondering why this would not be applicable.

Well, actually the mental stress involved when a clone is forcefully destroyed being transferred to the original has been showed on a number of occasions in the anime, including once before the timeskip.

During the Invasion of Konoha arc:

   When Naruto fights Gaara, Gaara goes into the Ichibi Shukaku mode, and Naruto attacks Gaara/Shukaku using 1000 clones with the Naruto Niisen Rendan (Naruto Two Thousand Combo). He then attempts the Naruto Yonsen Rendan (Naruto Four Thousand Combo), but Shukaku fights back and destroys nearly all the clones. As Naruto is forced back, he exclaims, "That hurt a lot".

Later after the timeskip, when Kakashi tells Naruto that the pain experienced by the clone is transferred to the user, Naruto says in a dejected/annoyed tone, "I knew that already."


Space-Time ninjutsu of Tobi Why can't Tobi attack while he is dodging an attack using his Jikūkan Ninjutsu ?

  what Tobi actually does is warp away the part of his body that was being attacked to the other dimension.

During the entire anime it is portrayed that Tobi cannot attack while using Jikūkan Ninjutsu because his attacks will pass right through the target.   But while Kakashi was in Tobi's space-time dimension, he managed to punch him, thus indicating that Tobi wasn't intangible.
Is there any explanation or any theory on this matter ?

Is there any explanation or any theory on this matter? Yes.

Kakashi discovers Obito's weakness, to which he explains how Obito's space-time justu works in the manga chapter 597, and utilizes it against him.

  Although Kakashi cannot use Kamui against Obito directly, he can use his own access to the other dimension to negate the advantages Obito makes use of: by teleporting attacks or allies to the other dimension at the same moment that Obito's body resides there for defence, he can be attacked successfully

Kakashi states that attacks "passing through" is Obito is incorrect - Obito sends his body into a different dimension; where he is completely tangible.

Kakashi begins to understand how this justu works when he sends a kunai into the other dimension using his own Kumai ability at the same moment Obito teleports his head to dodge an attack from Naruto.


What is the height of the net in Haikyuu? Is it ever directly stated in the show or manga how high the net is? Otherwise, is there a way to extrapolate it, or is there any information on Japanese high school net heights?

I don't know if Haikyuu!! ever specifically talks about it - it doesn't come up in the anime through the end of season 2, at least -  but the net height for high school boys' volleyball is reportedly 240 cm. (Contrast 243 cm for pro men's volleyball, and 220 cm for high school girls' volleyball.)


Why are light-haired male love interests common? It is relatively common for series (especially shoujo) for the/a love interest to be blond. This appears in Ouran High School Host Club, Kaichou wa Maid-Sama, Tokyo Mew Mew, and a number of others. Why is this common in Japan, where the population is 98.5% ethnically Japanese--and as such naturally dark-haired--and most of the rest of the population is either Chinese or Korean?

It might have something to do with the representation of the blonde-color. According here,

  Blonde hair on a male character may imply that he is a trickster.
  Alternately, it may symbolize that this character is a focus of chaos,
  and trouble follows him wherever he goes, such as Vash the Stampede
  from Trigun, or Soichiro Nagi from Tenjou Tenge; a live-action example
  is the movie version of Battle Royale's Kazuo Kiriyama. It is also not
  uncommon for anime males with long blonde hair to be portrayed as
  Casanova-types. (Examples: Kurz from Full Metal Panic, Allen Schezar
  from Vision of Escaflowne, Kyle from Suikoden V among others...)


Can Himawari awake Tenseigan? Himawari is daughter of hinata and naruto. Is it possible to awake tenseigan? In fact she awoke Byakugan without practise, Yeah I know it does not have any sense but ...

It will not be possible for Himawari to awaken the Tenseigan on her own. This is because the only way to awaken the Tenseigan

  is by combining Hamura's descendants chakra (within the Otsutsuki Clan) with the Byakugan (the Chakra of the Hyuga Clan).

Naruto is an Uzumaki, a clan that is closely related to the Senju Clan, and so he already possessed a bit of Hagoromo's Chakra (also being a reincarnation of Asura). However, that is not the same as Hamura's Chakra.

Note that Hagoromo is the first twin who possesed the Rinnengan, while Hamura possessed the Tenseigan and through blood line dilution, Hagoromo's two children inherited separately, his chakra and a lesser version of his eyes, which could be combined together to give his Original eyes. The same thing occurred with his younger twin.)


What was Johan trying to achieve by setting fire in the book donation ceremony in Munich? I have completed watching the Monster anime. One thing is not cleared to me:

Johan eliminated all Schuwald's close friends just to get close to him. Once he became the secretary, his plan was to kill Schuwald. However, he changed his plan and set fire in that ceremony. My question is why Johan was so concerned with Schuwald. Why he even changed his plans on killing him?

If we look at the connections between them, we know that Johan's mother and Margot Langer were friends. Schuwald was aware of it. He even approached Johan's mother to search Margot. There he saw the twins. And that's it probably.

So, does Johan wanted to kill Schuwald initially because he saw Johan as a kid? In the end, he destroyed the books as it would be more painful for Schuwald?

The quickest answer to your question is that Johan "awakened" in the midst of his scheme. After reading that book from his childhood, his character essentially reverted back to being one who simply wanted to be alone.

In other words, it became a cop out that transformed into a plot point for the final arc of the story.


How is the divine tree still there in episode 467 of Naruto Shippuden? The divine tree eventually becomes the ten tails, and the ten tails gets split into the tailed beasts. So, the divine tree is basically the tailed beasts.

But, how is the divine tree still there in episode 467 of Naruto Shippuden?

Episode 467 is a flashback episode, where Asura and others go discover about what the God Tree really is.

So there is no reason why the God Tree shouldn't exist, as this episode happens many thousands of years in the past.


What is the song that Chika was listening to in the first episode of Strawberry Marshmallow? In the first episode of Ichigo Mashimaro (Strawberry Marshmallow), right after Ito Nobue went into her sister Chika's room (that is, at around 3 minutes from beginning), there was several seconds of music that seemed to come from Chika's headphone, and the CD player was shown to display "CD track 2 time 01:19" on its screen.

I do not really know if this is significant, but I remember reading somewhere that Ichigo Mashimaro (the manga version, at least) is known for its reference to western music. It would be great to know if someone here, who may be familiar with the western music as well, could actually identify the piece.

Here is a SoundCloud link to the music that I was referring to.

I think it is this song that is playing in the anime.

Song name:
Popping

Artist:
Kelly Richmond

Album:
Free & Funky WSR148


What's the order of Saint Seiya anime series and movies? I wanted to watch Saint Seiya, but I found on Wikipedia that there are many series that make up the Saint Seiya franchise. So what's the order of it?

The main series is Saint Seiya which is an adaptation of first part of the homonymous manga by Masami Kurumada.

The second part of that manga was later adapted in three different series of OVAs which tells about the Holy War fought at the end of the 20th century between Athena and Hades:

Hades: Chapter Sanctuary
Hades: Chapter Inferno
Hades: Chapter Elysium

This is the core of the story and is set in the 1990s. In the same period of time are set the four OAVs: Jashin Eris, Kamigami no Atsuki Tatakai, Shinku no Shounen Densetsu and Saishuu Seisen no Senshi-tachi.

Then there are the prequels:

Episode G is set a brief time before the main story and tells stories about the youth of the Gold Saints.
Next dimension is both a prequel and a sequel (it involves time travel): it is written by the same author of the original story and it tells about the Holy War fought 243 years before the main story.
Lost Canvas is an alternative prequel (who was adapted by into a two series of OVAs) written by another author, which tells an alternative version of the Holy War fought 243 years before the main story.

The sequels are:

Next dimension (see above)
Soul of Gold is set in parallel to the ending of the main story and tells about the Gold Saints who are resurrected after their sacrifice at the end of the main story.
Tenkai-hen an OVA set after the ending of the main story and sees as the main antagonist the God Artemis.
Omega is set 25 years after the main story and tells about the "new generation" of Saints who will have to fight agains Mars and his warriors.

There is also a spin-off, called Saintia Sho set more or less in the middle of the main story, where the main antagonist is the Goddes Eris.

The following is a scheme showing how the various series are related.


Why is Trunks not as powerful as Gohan when they are both human-Saiyan hybrids? In the Saiyan Saga (don't recall which episode, but I believe it was when he was with Nappa on another planet), Vegeta mentions that Saiyans who were born from humans and Saiyans are more powerful than pureborn Saiyans. This makes sense when you see moments of Gohan surpassing Goku in power level when he gets angry, such as when he fights with Garlic Jr. or Raditz.

Later, we see him being a teenager and surpassing Goku definitely by becoming SSJ2 first, but we don't see anything of this sort with Trunks. Trunks apparently surpasses Vegeta in a fight with Cell, but then we know Vegeta wasn't using the buff form because it makes you slow. And Gohan surpasses Trunks even more when he's 10 and Trunks is chronologically 19 or more (2 years in the time chamber). Later, Gohan doesn't train and Goku surpasses him, but then again when his hidden power is released he becomes the strongest character for a while again.

Gohan doesn't train much, but if he does he becomes the strongest. Why doesn't Trunks have this "hidden" power, or is able to surpass Vegeta when he gets enraged or after a hard training, as Gohan does with Goku? Trunks is also a descendant of a human and a Saiyan, so shouldn't he be much more powerful than what he is?

Edit: Now things have changed with the new Dragon Ball Super episodes where

   Trunks can surpass Gohan, Vegeta and Goku in power when he gets angry, and it seems to have as much hidden power as Gohan. He also, when enraged, gets a new transformation no other Saiyan has obtained before.

When you say Trunks, I'm assuming you are talking about Future Trunks. However, the answer really boils down to training. In the Android Saga, Future Trunks mentions that Androids 18 and 19 are much stronger than the ones in his timeline. Future Trunks never got the training of Goku, everyone was already dead, and training was virtually impossible, though he did get a little in. Potential for great strength, then achieving great strength are two different things. Had Trunks went through gravity training like Gohan and the Saiyans, he WOULD have been MUCH stronger. As it is, present Trunks only does gravity training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and only for a little bit.

Another point to see is that present Trunks (kid version) is stronger than Frieza when Goku first fought him. His Super Saiyan form is already equal to if not stronger than Goku's power against Frieza in that fight, so he IS super strong. Everyone else is just that much stronger. This is the reason he never caught up to Gohan/Goku/Vegeta—they already achieved his strength (much later on), and KEPT GOING. If he had grown up fighting/training only, he would be one of the top fighters.


Where does the Season 3 TV series start and end in the Manga Chapters? Where does the season 3 of the TV series of AOT (Part 1) end in the Manga Chapters. What manga chapter is the most recent episode in the TV series?

S3 of Attack on Titan runs from Vol 13 Chap 51 to Vol 18 Chap 72

Source: MangaUpdates


How could the machine in Gantz manipulate life and death? In the anime Gantz, after you die, you're teleported to a special room where a black ball orders you to do some missions in order to continue your life. You can win special prizes with the danger of possibly dying again and only get revived by the exchange of points. How is this possible? How does this machine have power over life and death, and even the power of resurrection?

According to gantz.wikia.com:

The black spheres known as Gantz, are objects with seemingly impossible abilities, mass produced in a factory in Germany, using alien military technology. This technology was sent to Earth by a species to help them fight off another alien species that had previously tried to invade them. Each Gantz sphere has a person inside, which the Room of Truth reveals was just a random person duplicated about to provide an interface. The alien broadcast only contained military technology, the point system and other aspects created by humans.
When [the people in the Room of Truth are] asked about souls, they were told the soul is just data, stored somewhere when they died, and would be reincarnated as someone else later on.

It seems the Gantz clones/duplicates a physical body and then uses the "data" of a soul from the original human to put them in the new body.


What does the third eye of the Sage of the Six Paths do? The Sage of the Six Paths had Rinnegan in both in his eyes. He also awakened a third eye on his forehead.

Is that a Sharingan of some kind?

What powers does that third eye grant it's wielder?

From the Wiki

   After awakening his Rinnegan, he also manifested a red circle marking with two ripples patterns in the centre of his forehead, seemingly a byproduct of his ultimate dōjutsu manifested alongside his senjutsu training.

It references episode 426 of Naruto Shippuden and suggests it wasn't a true eye but rather a marking. There's no way to be sure if it gave him any special powers, but all

   abilities he exhibited were in line with what we know was possible via his Rinnegan / Mangekyo / Senjutsu abilities so it doesn't seem to have given him anything.

Additionally it's flat and lacks the depth that Kaguya's third eye had, also suggesting it was simply a marking. The best theory I can come up with is that it was an incomplete manifestation of Kaguya's third eye.


Was Shogun artificially aged? Was Shogun artificially aged? I got the feeling that he had to be because Nanami is his real sister and she is not that old. Also the nurse "Grim" was performing some king of operation on him. Before that operation he appeared to be young as he lacked all of the wrinkles on his face. Also if he was aged how was that done? What was the yellow goop that "Grim" scooped out with the weird spoon?

As seen in the anime (carefull this contains spoilers).

   Towards the ending shogun reveals that he actual is Takumi Nishijo His original. and the main protagonist was just a fantasy of him. In this part he also reveals that he has a rare disease which causes him to age when he uses his power (believe this information is given spread over episodes 10-12). They do not go into details about how he got this disease

With this the answer to your question would be No, Shogun was not artificialy aged.


Why didn't the experimentation for the 13-day rule push through? In the episode where L dies, he mentions wanting to test the 13-day rule. If the 13-day rule is disproven, Light and Misa become suspects again. L dies and then apparently everyone seems to have forgotten about the test. What happened?

I seem to recall most of the task force disagreed with L and then when he died, the majority opinion prevailed.

For them to test the 13-day rule the Death Note has to be used. the Task Force's disagreeing with L was over the fact they would have to sacrifice someone for an experiment.

The Japanese Police were already a bit iffy of L since the Lind L. Tailor incident where L had a condemned criminal sacrificed just to test how Kira kills and where they may be, and the Police and the Task Force have to keep the moral high ground and not go around killing people for tests/experiments, especially with the Death Note.

Also remember that the Task Force didn't learn about the Death Note or the fake rules until quite some time after Light's and Misa's confinement where "Kira" was a member of the Yotsuba Group, all the while Light was handcuffed to L. to the Task Force this was more than enough to clear Light's and Misa's names without stooping down to Kira's Level, L on the other hand can see himself on the same level as Light as per what he said in Death Note Relight 2: L's Successors

  There are...many types of monsters in this world: Monsters who will not show themselves and who cause trouble; monsters who abduct children; monsters who devour dreams; monsters who suck blood, and... monsters who always tell lies. Lying monsters are a real nuisance. They are much more cunning than other monsters. They pose as humans even though they have no understanding of the human heart. They eat even though they've never experienced hunger. They study even though they have no interest in academics. They seek friendship even though they do not know how to love. If I were to encounter such a monster, I would likely be eaten by it. Because in truth, I am that monster.

Source: L - Quotes (9th point)

take notice of the lines i emphasized. it forebodes his death but also describes the kind of person Light/Kira is, and that L himself is just like that so L would have no problem "testing" the Death Note


Why Super Saiyan Rose eyes are sometimes pink and sometimes grey? Super Saiyan Rose eyes are shown to be pink sometimes and other times grey. Is there any reason for this, or it's a design mistake?

The coloring of Goku black's eyes is pretty inconsistent. It could be a design mistake however, I do not believe it is. My reasoning for the same would beThe Grey Eyes are similar to that of Zamasu's. Since Goku Black is basically Zamasu, Goku black's eyes would've intentionally been colored grey.If you look at even the Super Saiyan transformations, the color of Goku's eyes are Green, blue or red and it depends on the animation/animators of that episode.  Whenever Goku Black's eyes are pink, it is when he's powered up(In the sense, his aura is glowing). So I personally believe it was just incorporated by animators for visual effectThere isn't any factual evidence to precisely answer this question. However, this is the most logical reason I could think off, based on the amount of information available.


What do the parenthesized numbers in the [color] Scenes mean? As you can see at the top of this answer, the [color] Scenes (Black Scene, Red Scene, etc.) in the Monogatari series all include a parenthesized number beneath the romanized form of the name of the color shown.

Here's a list of them:

ROMANIZED  GLOSS         NUMBER   KANJI(READING)
aka        "red"          (135)   赤　（あか）
kuro       "black"        (629)   黒　（くろ）
shiro      "white"       (4646)   白　（しろ）
ki         "yellow"      (0303)   黄　（き）
ouchi      "lilac"        (349)   楝　（おうち）
ao         "blue"         (014)   青　（あお）
momo       "peach"        (372)   桃　（もも）
moegi      "light green"  (469)   萌黄（もえぎ）
murasaki   "purple"       (039)   紫　（むらさき）

Question: What do the numbers mean?

Possibilities:

Something to do with color codes (but this is unlikely because neither "white" nor "black" seems to have a special number)
Some sort of character code for either the kanji, the kana reading, or the romanized form (though I haven't come up with anything for this)
It's all a clever ruse by Shinbo to confuse us
???

Most colors can be found in one form or another in image search results from Google (query color 8888). They seem to correspond to knitting yarn color codes. Some colors are in DMC chart, I couldn't find out where others are from.


What is C2's actual name? What is the actual name of character c2 in the anime code geass? I would also like to know the name of v2 if that is possible.

Answered here.

It is unknown by design. C2's name is obscured when she tells it to Lelouch in the cave (first sesason, episode 5 to 8 -ish).

Nowhere it is written, and given the producers inclination to secrecy, it won't be revealed.

It is speculated that the name begins with the letter C, but that is all.


Can the skills shown in Kuroko no Basuke be achieved in real life? I recently started watching Kuroko no Basuke and have watched it up to episode 5. The skills shown up till now are ridiculous. Can those skills be achieved by people in real life? I'm taking about physical abilities like speed, jump, agility, etc., not stuff like the Phantom Pass.

Seeing as you're on episode 5, this is going to have spoilers.

While the "Misdirection" which makes him invisible is probably at least rooted in reality, I don't think it can be taken as far as the TV series makes it out to be. It would be one thing to misdirect someone who's defending, but to make yourself invisible to people watching from the crowd or the bench is a little bit incredulous.

The "Invisible Pass" is something that is described as more of a "tap pass" and it uses misdirection. That's probably something that people do in real life, though again, maybe not to the fantastic results we see in the show.

The "Ignite Pass"/"Ignite Pass Kai"/"Cyclone Pass" are probably things that you could see basketball players do, but the way they're animated and the speed in which they're shown in the show makes it impossible in real life.

The "Vanishing Drive" is another misdirection, and like the first invisibility misdirection, it's probably something people can do in real life against a defender, but everyone else in the arena would obviously still be able to see the player. In the show, it makes it seem like Kuroko goes right through the defender for everyone, not just the defender.

The "Misdirection Overflow" is clearly something that can't be done in real life given how spectacular the effect can be. The explanation of how this trick works isn't sufficient in making players "disappear" and trick everyone. Stuff like this make Kuroko seem more like an illusionist instead of 1 among 10 players on a court.

The "Phantom Shot" is really just an odd way of shooting the ball. It's something people can surely do in real life, but why would they if they can shoot normally? It's unique in the show's story because Kuroko can't shoot.

I think that's as far as they've gotten so far in the anime.


How does Yuka stealing Narumi's Alice take away his ability to love? In Gakuen Alice, Yuka Azumi stole Narumi's Alice when she was running away. Consequently, he lost all ability to love her or anyone else. How does this work?

When Narumi used his pheromones to make her love him. That made her lose control of her Alice, which had the result that not only Narumi's Alice was stolen, but his love-feelings, too. It seems that the Pheromone-Alice is connected to the emotions, and an out-of-control-stealing-Alice steals more than it's supposed to. If Yuka had retained control, Narumi would still have his ability to love.


Is Fate/Apocrypha sequel of Unlimited Blade Works? I want to watch Fate/Apocrypha but I didn't watch Unlimited Blade Works. So, is Fate/Apocrypha the sequel to Unlimited Blade Works?

According to the MAL page, Fate/Apocrypha is set in a parallel world to the Fate/stay night series.

(First sentence of the synopsis):

   The setting is a parallel world to Fate/stay night where the Greater Grail mysteriously disappeared from Fuyuki after the Third Holy Grail War.

You only need to have watched the original series, in this case. Apocrypha is not particularly important to the series.

(Also see Senshin's answer for the full order)


Why does Yukine have three different names? When Yato named Yukine, he gave him three names - Yuki, Yukine, and Setsuki.
What's the point of the different names?

The character 雪 ("yuki" in kun'yomi), has an alternate reading (on'yomi), "setsu."

Sekki (雪器) is a combination of this alternate reading with the character 器 (ki).

His actual true given name is "Yuki." (Yato's true name is Yaboku, 夜卜, using the kanji 卜 instead of the kana)

His weapon name is "Sekki." (the "tsu" runs into the next consonant, making "Sekki," instead of "Setsuki") The gods all seem to give their weapons names using the alternate readings and the "-ki" suffix (e.g., Sekki, Hanki, Chouki)

The common (nick)name he goes by everyday (e.g. Charlie, instead of Charles), is "Yukine," with "-ne" (音) being the suffix Yato gives to all his Regalias (e.g., Yukine, Tomone). Tenjin-sama uses "-yu" (喩) (e.g., Tsuyu, Mayu, Nayu). Kofuku uses the prefix "dai-" (大) (e.g., daikoku).

In folklore, one's true name should not be given out easily, as it reveals the person's true nature. Therefore many people take a common name similar to their true name. The weapon name is somewhat akin to a stage name, and is typically used when conducting business-related activities.


I want to start getting into Yu-Gi-Oh! where should I start? If I was to start watching all the series of Yu-Gi-Oh! (the orginal one), what should I start with first?

The books or the movies? And can you please list them in order too?

If you want to start watching the series you should better start from the first anime adaptation of the manga with the same name released in 1998.

see Yu-Gi-Oh! (1998 TV series)
It is based on chapters 1-59 of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga series. here is a list of the first 59 episodes in the anime.

You should check this post. What's the correct order in which to watch the Yu-Gi-Oh! seasons/episodes?

For the Movies here is 5 titles. source: yugioh.wikia.com

Honestly I am a fan of the Anime and its Card-game gameplay. I even attended Conventions here in our country where dual matches were held and participated by trading card enthusiasts.


Is this a COVID-19 reference in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War season 2? In season 2 episode 6 of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War, Miko Iino (a candidate for student council president election) says that her mother is busy distributing vaccines to a hotspot.

Does "hotspot" refers to the "heavily COVID-19 affected area"? Also "vaccines" may refer to an anti-COVID vaccine and so this statement can be relevant to the ongoing COVID pandemic. So, is the story of this anime progressing in the pandemic?

Unlikely.

The anime is an adaptation of the manga, which is the canonical source. According to Fandom Wiki, episode 18 (season 2 episode 6) adapts chapter 67-69 of the manga. This particular scene is from chapter 68 titled I Want to Make Miko Iino Smile which was published on 22 June 2017, long before the COVID-19 outbreak happened.

Regarding the term "hot spot", it actually means "conflict hot spot". The original text in Japanese is 紛争地域 which means "disputed territory; conflict area".

The fan translation of this scene is

  My mom's giving vaccines in a war zone,

which gives more context than a general term "hot spot".


Who is Kimihiro Watanuki? In xxxHolic, Watanuki is stated as being Tsubasa (Syaoran) Li's alternate existence. What does that mean? How does that work?

According to this page

  He [Watanuki] was born when Syaoran made his wish of rewinding time, in order to fill his void left to his parents.1 Thus he became Syaoran and Sakura's son, but they made a wish for him to be different to "Syaoran Li" otherwise he would cease to exist.

And according to this page, it was confirmed by a fortune teller in xxxHolic.2

This page states that

  Watanuki is created to 'replace' Syaoran as the son of Sakura and Syaoran Li.

And it also states that he

  was "born" to replace the void in the relationships Syaoran had made.

Also, this other page says that

  Watanuki was in fact created out of a space time distortion to replace Tsubasa Syaoran as the son of the reincarnated clones

And, lastly, this other page states

  The connection between Syaoran and Watanuki is finally revealed in the Clow's future arc. Syaoran explains to the party what happened when he met Sakura (the real Princess of Clow). After he had made a wish to turn back time in order to grab Sakura's hand and save her from dying, Watanuki was born to take his place in his world. Fei Wong explains to him that "he's not a brother, he is you". And since he was a being not originally meant to be, he continues to tell him that his existence would cause only pain to those around him.

I believe this answers your question, but I am not sure, since I do not see either shows or mangas.

1 Tsubasa:Reservoir Chronicles, Chapter 201
2 xxxHolic, Chapter 170


Is Panzerfahren only for girls? In the anime series, all the Panzerfahren participants are girls. Are there any guys who also participate in Panzerfahren? And if I recall correctly, all schools that participate in Panzerfahren are also all-girl schools. Is there any rule of Panzerfahren that all participants must be girls?

In the all-girl schools, it is compulsory that all students select a particular extracurricular activity to do.

These activities that are offered to the girls are ones that are symbols of femininity and lady-likeness. At the start of the series, the girls have to choose between flower arranging, tea ceremonies and tankery. All equally feminine subjects (>_> in the Girls Und Panzer universe at least)

Because tankery is seen as a feminine sport, there are not many male players. There are possibly some, but the overwhelming majority is female as many areas would not have enough interested guys to form a team.

If you tried to form a flower arranging club in an all male school, you would probably find there would be few members - This is the case with tankery also.


How is Sakura's and Shinji's relationship different in Realta Nua? On the Beast's Lair forum post about the Fate/Stay Night Realta Nua PC English Patch, there is this item in the FAQ:

  Q: I want to view the original 2004 version of the
  relationship between Sakura and Shinji, but I don't
  want to view the H scenes, what can I do?
  A: We're working on something to accomodate this request.
  In the meantime you need H scenes on to view the original
  version of the Shinji/Sakura relationship. If you don't
  want to view the H scenes but want to see thier original
  relationship, then my advice would be to, starting from
  Day 5 of HF, turn H scenes on when Shinji is in a scene
  or is mentioned, and on Day 14 make sure you have H scenes
  on until you see the last Shinji scene.

This can also been seen in this link.

Now i am assuming that what it's talking about is that in Realta Nua, Shinji's and Sakura's relationship is different compared to the original game. In the original Fate/Stay Night their relationship was that Sakura would became the new head of the Matou family, which Shinji believed he was entitled to, and when Sakura felt sorry for him, Shinji thought she was submitting to him which lead to years of physical and sexual abuse.

   This leads to Heaven's Feel where Shinji attempts to rape Sakura, threatening her that he'll tell Shirou about what he has being doing to her and claiming that Shirou won't want to have anything to do with her after that. Sakura snaps and kills Shinji and then realizes she's the Shadow.

However, when I played it, there was no depiction of rape so I can't understand how or why Shinji's and Sakura's relationship would be different in Realta Nua. How is their relationship different, and why would it be changed? If Sakura's sexual abuse is cut out from Realta Nua does this mean her abuse at the hands of Zouken and his worms is also altered, and if so, how?

There was attempted rape, and description of rape in past tense, but no actually rape scene in the original game. All of that, including H-scenes are removed in the newer Realta Nua version.


How do weapons get the ability to transform? Is it something they are born with or is there an explanation at all?

This does contain manga spoilers, just to inform the people who've only seen the anime.

   ORIGINS
 The first Demon Weapons were created 800 years ago prior to the start of the series, Arachne following instructions found within the Book of Eibon. To create a Demon Weapon she murdered a Witch to use as a sacrifice. Using the Witch's soul, which has the power of transformation, Arachne joined together an inanimate weapon and a human soul to create a Demon Weapon which had the ability to transform from Human to Weapon form. This act of killing a witch made every witch want to kill Arachne and demon weapons alike. One of the very first Demon Weapons to have ever been created by Arachne is suggested to be Giriko. The Demon Weapons, despite their unplanned creation, were accepted into the world, and the Eight Powerful Warriors were the first people to fight as Weapon and Meister teams.

 The blood of a Weapon is passed down however depending on the circumstances of an individual's life that blood may or may not actually be awakened. There are families like the Nakatsukasa clan which are made up entirely of Weapons and families like the Evans family where the Weapon Soul is apparently the only member to have inherited the Weapon blood for numerous generations.

Source: Soul Eater Wiki: Weapons


What is the highest-level monster card in the Yu-Gi-Oh anime? I'm a long time Yu-Gi-Oh fan, and I wanna know, what is the Yu-Gi-Oh monster card that has the highest level (currently). Basically, I mean the highest amount of stars on the top of the card.

Basically in the Yu-Gi-Oh anime, each monster card has a level number (the amount of stars at the top of the card), and I want to know which monster card has the highest level.

Example:

An alternate answer to Senshin's answer is however the Fortune Ladies used by Carly Carmine while she was a Dark Signer in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's series. and unlike her Fortune Fairies she used before becoming a Dark Signer the Fortune Ladies are also official cards

while the starting level of the Fortune Ladies is initially low, the highest being 6, their special ability allows them to gain a level every turn which in turn affects their ATK and DEF.

so Fortune Lady Earth which has the highest initial Level of 6 needs only 6 turns to reach Level 12 which is indicated to be the max their special ability will allow them to go up.

Also Fortune Lady Earth and Fortune Lady Dark have the higher multiple for their ATK and DEF out of the Fortune Ladies being 400 which means 400 x 12 = 4800 ATK and DEF which beats all 12 Star Monsters except 3 who's ATK and/or DEF is 5000 but this can be supplemented with spells and traps. with their much lower tribute cost they are quicker to summon especially Earth who's initial 2400 ATK/DEF is close to the 7 star Dark Magician's who requires 2 tributes instead of Earth's single tribute.

their natural flaw is however the fact that they take some time to get powerful unless you use other cards to boost their level. also their special ability stop at Level 12 which means getting them to Level 12 quicker via other cards wont give them as high of a level as if one waited and used the cards afterwards

  In the OCG and TCG, monsters cannot have a Level lower than 1, but card effects can freely raise a monster's Level to arbitrarily large values in excess of 12.

Source: Level

depending on how one plays this wait can be problematic. some strategies which could work is to prevent summoning and use Swords of Revealing Light to stop attacks for 3 turns each until a Fortune Lady has enough ATK/DEF to shrug off most attacks

Fortune Ladies


Boss Battles in Sword Art Online Why were many stages and levels skipped in Sword Art Online.  You see that they start at level one in the first episode but then later they skip to higher levels.

Why did the makers skip levels?  Was it because it would take too long?

SAO first started as story for writing competition. But it was too long, so author didn't enter the competition and instead published it on the web. After that, it gained lot of popularity so author continued. This implies he never planned to write more. Also, it is said he was quite young and it was his first work. It was later on turned into light novels.

It began with SAO part with first chapter being introduction and how they got stuck in game. Then next chapter skips 2 year forward and how Kirito clears the game.

The next chapters are side stories, that happen chronologically somewhere in those 2 years.

After that comes ALO and the rest.

So it is obvious there wont be any continuity, because author never wanted to write such a story. And like Ikzer said, he is rewriting/retconing the story with SAO:Progressive


Is there an English dub for Triage X? The Triage X Wikipedia page states that the show was picked up by Sentai Filmworks back in 2015 for an English release.

  In May 2015, Sentai Filmworks licensed Triage X for an English-language release in North America, [...].

Other than that, I can’t seem to find anything else regarding the dub.

Was it ever completed?

No, there's no English dub for Triage X (as of April 2019).
Anime News Network listed Sentai Filmworks as one of the English licensors for Triage X, but there's no English cast (compared to the German's which was dubbed by TNT Media).

English cast
(none)

English companies
Licensed by:

Animatsu Entertainment (UK & Ireland)
Madman Entertainment (Australia & New Zealand)
Sentai Filmworks

They release the series as a complete BD-box (Japanese audio with English subtitle)

TRIAGE X COMPLETE COLLECTION
SENTAI FILMWORKS
Language: Japanese with English Subtitles

Regarding the statement on Wikipedia, the earliest revision already stated that "In May 2015, Sentai Filmworks licensed the series for an English-language release in North America" citing Sentai Filmworks' official announcement. The announcement only stated that Sentai Filmworks licensed the series (which is correct) but didn't say anything about English dubbing.
I think the quoted statement from Wikipedia might be ambiguous and misleading since it might either mean "English-language release with English subtitle" (which is correct) or "English-language release with English dub" (which is wrong).


Can Accelerator be killed by a nuclear weapon? There is an episode where Accelerator mentions to Last Order if I recall correctly (it could be another character) that he/she shouldnt worry about someone who can't be killed even by a nuclear bomb. But in the other hand, his brain has been overwhelmed with information sometimes, when he had to kill the virus for example, and I think there were other moments where he received many vectors and couldnt fight back 100%. I assume a nuclear bomb has many vectors to process. Since he appears in several series/media (3 different animated series, mangas and light novels) plus there could be data in official databooks if they exist, I thought this question might have been probably answered.

Can Accelerator be killed by a nuclear weapon?

I would assume that he would have no trouble deflecting the initial blast because it's just a straightforward shockwave (no dark matter shenanigans here). But there's more to worry about than just the initial shockwave.

During Accelerator's fight with Touma after he sets off the dust explosion, he actually does contemplate on such a scenario. He notices that the temporary lack of oxygen from the dust explosion almost killed him, and comments that he probably wouldn't be able to survive a direct nuclear blast for the same reason. In the novels, he considers the idea of oxygen tanks to remedy that problem, since some are made the size of hairspray bottles.


Where can I find Magical Taruruuto-kun? I'm looking for a manga called Magical Taruruuto-kun, but I can't find any book or DVD, just Famicom games.

Can somebody help me?

Since this is material from 1990 the only way you can acquire it is second hand. I found plenty of offers for the Famicon games and manga on Ebay.


Is the fictional script in Comet Lucifer decipherable? Comet Lucifer features a fictional script that is used whenever text is shown. For example:

Is the script decipherable? If so, how?

It is indeed decipherable - the script appears to be a straightforward substitution cipher for English written in the Latin alphabet. But I would hesitate to even call it a "cipher". The script in Comet Lucifer is less like the script in Rokka no Yuusha, where decipherment is a genuine challenge, and more like what Akagami no Shirayukihime uses. That is, it's basically English written in a very exotic font. (Well, Akagami sometimes uses romanized Japanese rather than English, but the idea is the same.)

Consider this image from episode 1:

The headline on the left reads "Garden Indigo". If you squint right, you can see how the script really is just a hyper-stylized variant of uppercase Latin glyphs. And, as corroboration, recall that one of the military folks said "Garden Indigo" later in the episode.

Likewise, consider this image from episode 1:

What do these look like? "Wanted" posters, of course. And if you look hard enough, you'll see that the top line of the poster on the right looks a lot like a stylized version of the word "WANTED". If you look at the second line beneath the girl's picture on the same poster, you can match up the glyphs from "WANTED" to see that this says "-EWA-D". Fill in the blanks - which are both the same - and we conclude that this says "REWARD".

We don't have enough text as of episode 1 to construct a full translation table, but the general principle here is straightforward.


In the Johto-based movie Pokémon Heroes, why do Latias/Latios appear? Upon organizing my Pokemon movies chronologically I became confused as to where this movie lies. There was more evidence such as Misty's and Brock's presence as well as Totodile (Johto water starter) and Xatu/Natu (Pokemon introduced in Gen II as well) and thus I concluded the movie was more 'Johto' in the sense. So then why do Latias and Latios, the Eon duo of the 'Hoenn' region, make an appearnce? This feels like a vital chronological flaw and it's messing with my current knowledge of the Pokémon anime.

In the Pokemon movie series, there's been always a group of films by the order of the Pokemon anime series, which will go by that - Original Series (Indigo, Orange and Johto League), Advance, Diamond and Pearl and so on by the anime series have a number of films for each season, so the original series goes by 5 seasons, so it has 5 films, and so on. the usual thing of the OLM studio in the last films upon a pokemon season film is to feature pokemon from the Next Gen. (with few exceptions), by this list here:

Original series films

Orange season - "Pokémon: The Movie 2000 - The Power of One", features Lugia which is a 2nd gen legendary pokemon. (while the anime season is still about the 1st gen)

Johto season - "Pokémon Heroes: Latios and Latias" feature Latios and Latia from the 3rd gen.

Advanced Generation films

"Lucario and the Mystery of Mew" and "Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea" featuring 4th gen pokemon: Lucario and Menaphy

Diamond & Pearl films

"Zoroark—Master of Illusions" - featuring Zoroark and Zorua from the 5th gen.

soucre: Wiki

Ass Turamarth commented this q&a answers much as I did: Apart from Togepi and Ho-oH, What out-of-season pokemon have there been?

And you also might want to see this: When do the Pokemon Movies occur chronologically to the plot?

PS. in the movie you mentioned, there's also a racer with a Wailmer, which is to from the 3rd gen, but it has nothing to do with the answer just a side note.


Why does Lady Kumaria look like Sumika? In the final episode of Yuri Kuma Arashi, Lady Kumaria regains her true form and appears before Kureha. Lady Kumaria clearly resembles Sumika Izumino, who was Kureha's girlfriend before she was killed by Mitsuko Yurizono.

What reason is there for this resemblance? The fan-made Wikia does state that:

  Later, [Sumika] appears before Kureha as Lady Kumaria to turn Kureha into a bear and send Kureha and Ginko on a journey beyond severance.

This suggests that at least one person sees Sumika as being the same entity as Lady Kumaria. I have trouble seeing the idea of Sumika as Lady Kumaria incarnate as anything more than a stretch of the imagination; I do not recall any plot points or characterisation that make this an undoubtedly natural conclusion to have. (Sumika does indicate in her actions surrounding Kureha's birthday that she expects that they will be separated, and she does push Kureha in a positive direction. Such behaviour might be congruent with what I would expect of a benevolent deity made incarnate, but it's surely easier to explain this as being a result of Sumika's goodness and her classmates' actions.)

Alternatively, perhaps Lady Kumaria appears to girls in a form that is meaningful to them, but again, I lack any evidence that supports this to a reasonable degree.

Is there any official material — whether from the anime itself or from interviews or artbooks — that might shed light on these issues?

pixiv encyclopedia (Japanese) claims,

  Whether Sumika was the goddess (Lady Kumaria) in the first place or the goddess appeared as Sumika in response to Kureha's mental state, it is not stated within the story and hence, it's left to the viewer's interpretation.

  (Emphasis mine)

TV Tropes (warning!) also describes it as:

  Ass Pull: Sumika being Lady Kumaria. Never foreshadowed, comes out of nowhere, never explained and serves as a mechanism so Ginko and Kureha can get together.

  Or maybe not. It's never explicitly stated that Sumika is Lady Kumaria and it's more than likely that she simply took on that form as a symbolic representation of what Kureha learned from Sumika.

  They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Quite a few, for the same reasons as listed in They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character.

  Sumika being a part of Lady Kumaria, which is never explained. There's also the fact that she apparently knew she was going to disappear or otherwise leave Kureha one day, which (though it may connect to the first reason) is also never explained.

  (Emphasis mine)

which all the possibilities have been mentioned in the question itself.

As of now, there is no official explanation why Lady Kumaria looked like Sumika... which leaves us only to fan theories (which are omitted in this answer).

P.S. considering that there are even fewer discussions about this issue in Japanese, I conclude that there's really no official statement as of now.


What settings/characters/events portrayed in Samurai Champloo are based in real events? Samurai Champloo is supposed to take place at a fictional version of Japan in the Edo period. However, some settings/characters/events seem to be based in real events (the case of the Shimabara Rebellion is one of them).

What are the settings/characters/events portrayed in Samurai Champloo that are based in real-world events? And how historically accurate are they?

According to this wiki,

  The show relies on factual events of Edo-era Japan, such as the Shimabara Rebellion ("Unholy Union;" "Evanescent Encounter, Part I"), Dutch exclusivity in an era in which an edict restricted Japanese foreign relations ("Stranger Searching"), Ukiyo-e paintings ("Artistic Anarchy"), and fictionalized versions of real-life Edo personalities like Mariya Enshirou and Miyamoto Musashi ("Elegy of Entrapment, Verse 2").

However, there are a number of things within the show that are not historically accurate, such as "bandits behaving like 'gangstas'". There is also a large amount of hip hop culture within the show, which is not contemporary to the period.

Also, according to Wikipedia:

  The exact placement within world history is questionable, however, and is likely somewhat distorted by artistic license. For instance, the appearance of a six shooter in the episode of Misguided Miscreants Part I suggests that the story takes place after 1814, which is when that style of weapon was first invented, yet in the episode Stranger Searching it is explicitly stated that trade relations between Japan and the Dutch East India Company exist, the latter of which went defunct in 1798.

Six shooter:

In show:


What is the name of the song that plays at 12:40 in Noragami Aragoto episode 12? What is the name of the song that plays at 12:40 in Noragami Aragoto episode 12? It has a distorted female(?) voice and a flute themes.

This is "Misogi", track #11 from the season 1 OST. The piece starts right after the eyecatch. Here is a 15-second extract from the beginning of the piece: https://clyp.it/i1altiyi.


Why is it assumed that people who just got out of SAO would not dive in to another game? In-universe and in commentary here in the Matrix (err, The Real World), people often say something to the effect of "Well, SAO players wouldn't be interested in jumping back into a VMMO that quick", for example in this answer that says

  During this period of time, I would assume that it's unlikely for any
  SAO survivor to play another VRMMO when they had just been through a
  life and death experience.

I think there are a few reasons why some people would be unaffected, or even happy to jump back into the game:

Feel neutral/unaffected

Their experience in the game wasn't bad. Some people just chilled out and were probably "bored to death", but didn't otherwise have a terrible experience.

Good Experience and wants more

In episode 1, Kirito mentions that he was very excited about the game while playing the beta, was happy to be back, and felt at home in the game.  He, and many players, are substantially more powerful in the game world than in the real world.  This can give anything between a buzz and an addictive high that players would want more of.
Not all the players live close enough to meet up IRL like the main cast, so some players might want to meet up with people they spent 2 years of their life with.  Aside from Don Ruffles, the players all know the real faces and mannerisms of the people they played with, and would thus be closer than people could be from message boards and current MMORPGs.

Why is it therefore assumed that most players would feel that the NerveGear, or even the AmuShpere, are anethma?

It is not impossible that some of the SAO prisoners might still be interested in gaming right after escaping the game, but remember that they had absolutely no choice in whether or not they could play the game and, moreover, would die in real life if they died in the game. This alone already produces the potential for players to be wary about using NerveGear or the AmuSphere again right away. (Rationally, they might know that people such as Suguha were able to play other games safely, but it is possible for that belief to coexist with a personal distaste for the gaming equipment.)

I will try to address some of the specific scenarios you brought up.

  Their experience in the game wasn't bad. Some people just chilled out and were probably "bored to death", but didn't otherwise have a terrible experience.

I have played a couple roguelikes here and there, which have a permadeath mechanism. One of them, Unreal World, which is a survival simulation game, tends to get boring after I have a stable food and shelter situation. Trying out dangerous, exciting things is out of the question if I want to survive, since I might get killed.

In real life, when I get bored, I can just quit the game. But if I were trapped in Unreal World the way Kirito is trapped in SAO, I would end up boring myself to death, having nothing to do other than sit in my house and occasionally fish. I would be incredibly unhappy. If I were rescued from that situation, I would probably be more interested in catching up on all of other things I wasn't able to do while trapped in a simulation of Iron Age Finland. It's not hard to imagine other players feeling this way.

  He, and many players, are substantially more powerful in the game world than in the real world. This can give anything between a buzz and an addictive high that players would want more of.

I can do a lot of things in video games that I can't do in real life, such as killing dangerous monsters with my bare hands. I take these risks because it's understood that I will probably end up dying rather than beating the game and because I can always start over. It's exciting. If I were trapped in the game, however, I would be a lot less interested in doing these things when my actual life would literally be on the line in these fights. Between that and literally being imprisoned in the game, that someone enjoyed SAO doesn't mean that he won't be leery of VMMO games after coming out.

Keep in mind that in addition to dealing with the psychological trauma of being imprisoned in SAO, players also have to deal with the physical and social effects of having been away and lying in hospital beds for two years. Kirito is very weak after he gets out of SAO, and he and his friends also have to attend special schools. This is all very time-consuming. After coming out, the majority of players probably wouldn't have the time or the motivation for serious gaming.


Help identifying a manga about a small girl with telekenetic powers I remember looking through a manga years ago - the book was in Japanese, but I really loved the artwork. I would like to find this book again and see if there is an English version available. The problem is that I haven't been able to find it again and I don't know what it is called.

The book seemed to be about a girl on a bit of a destruction spree with telekinetic powers. Most of the book seems to be set around some flats (tower block) and a playground, which she finally destroys with her powers. I remember there was a man talking to her near the end, possibly trying to capture her. I may be wrong about this, but there may also have been some old people who lived there - I remember an old woman who may have been some relation to the girl.

The original book that I saw had a light blue cover with a picture of the girl on the front with loads of debris behind her. I think it was 80's or early 90's when I first saw the book.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Your description reminds me of a manga called Domu, which featured a telekinetic girl with other powers as the protagonist.

Most of it took place in an apartment complex, but there were some scenes at a playground just outside the complex

I believe it was written by the same guy who wrote Akira


Looping piano song that plays at 14:50 of Episode 8 of Parasyte The Maxim In episode 8 around 14:50, there's a piano song that plays where Shinichi is talking to Shimada in their red jumpsuits on a court and Shinichi thinks Shimada is there to kill him. It's basically just a piano loop.

It also plays in another scene with Ryoko Tamiya where she is sitting down talking to someone in a different episode as well.

Does anyone know the song if you want to call it that?

I'm pretty sure it's just a 4-5 piano keys being played and not an actual song. Can't find it listed anywhere so I guess it's just simple BGM.


What is the name of an "interrruption screen" element in the middle of an anime episode? Very often, in the middle of an anime episode, I can see some screens lasting just a few seconds.

They very often consist of some drawing/aesthetic element or gag element. It is very often combined with some sound. Most often it is "the onsen sound".

It seems that its purpose is to separate different scenes/setups, make interrupts in long scenes or to make a place for adverts in TV series.

Examples:

In Bleach: it was Kon's footprint.
In KonoSuba: it was an encircled "このすば" writing combined with the voice of seiyuu screaming loud: "KONOSUBA!" and main characters' silhouettes resembling Mario Bros. game mechanics.
In KanColle: it was a drawing of a newly introduced character with her name.
In Arpeggio of Blue Steel: it was a sonar screen with the sonar sound.
In Tenjou Tenge: it was two female main characters during transformation back into "adult form" and cutting sakura petals with katana.
In One Punch Man: it was a white bold "ONE PUNCH MAN" writing on a red or blue background and also some character's silhouette performing his special attack, accompanied by short electric guitar play.

My question is: What is the name of this technical element?

Potentially linked question (I'm not sure if we are referring to the same element)

In Japan, the term is called eyecatch, which is also known as bumper. As the question has mentioned, it's usually to indicate the start and end of the commercial break.

In broadcasting, a commercial bumper, ident bumper or break-bumper (often shortened to bump) is a brief announcement, usually two to fifteen seconds in length that can contain a voice over, placed between a pause in the program and its commercial break, and vice versa.

In Japan, an eyecatch (アイキャッチ aikyatchi) or internal eyecatch is a scene or illustration used to begin and end a commercial break in a television program, especially in anime and tokusatsu shows. The term is used, in Japan, to refer to all kinds of bumpers.
In many television series, eyecatches are contemporaneous into the climax of a story, leading onto speculation during the commercial break.
Unlike in American programs, in which bumpers are typically supplied by the network (when they have them at all), eyecatches are almost always produced by the production company and considered a part of the program itself, rather than (or also serving as) a segue into a commercial break. They are typically two to six seconds in length. Eyecatches for children's programs are often longer and more elaborate, while eyecatches for programming intended for adults may consist of nothing more than the program's logo against a black background.


Are there any episodes of Digimon that weren't dubbed to English? During Season 2 there's a scene where Izie (I think) is explaining how the last Digidestined gave up their crests to restore the world. However, I don't ever remember seeing that. The only time I remember seeing them lose their crests was when the Tags and Crests were destroyed in the last episode of the first season, and they realize that the real Crests had always been inside them.

I'm wondering if there was an OVA or something that takes place between the first and second seasons where the digital world is brought to ruin and the Digidestined have to give up their crests to restore it.

There is no OVA, all you get is a narrated flashback.

In season 2 ep 27 Izzy tells the new Digidestined about how the original eight went to the Digital World and spoke with Jeni. Jeni instructed them to, "release the powers that protect the Digital World". This meant releasing the powers of the crests, from within themselves, in order the defeat the darkness and spread, "a coating of goodness" over the world. This brought peace and beauty to the Digital World.

Even though the crests were destroyed, the power of the crests still remained inside of the Digidestined. It was that power that was released.


How can one overcome the power of Geass? In Code Geass R2 episode 49: "The Grip of Damocles"

   Lelouch confronts Nunnally, who reveals she has regained her sight by overcoming the power of geass that was cast by her father King Charles..

through will power.

What kind of will power would it take for her to overcome her father's geass? Did she has to take intensive training or such to do so? How can one overcome the power of geass that was cast on him/her without the usage of Jeremiah Gottwald's geass canceller? Or the geass would automatically be cancelled upon the caster's death?

According to this wiki page (emphasis mine):

  There is only one instance of a person overcoming the effects of Geass, which is the case of Nunnally - Lelouch attributes this to a very strong degree of will power, which may have been helped along by Charles being dead by then, though there is no mention of her recovering the lost memories of her mother's death, which was Charles' "primary" ability.

It is also said that (emphasis mine, again)

  Charles' Geass in the anime allowed him to freely alter an individual's memories at will, and also seal the Geass of others, as well as physical abilities such as eyesight, though there are ways to break these seals, such as contact with an Immortal or sheer willpower, though the latter may have only been possible thanks to his death.

So it isn't explicitly stated, but as @Kreiri has mentioned in his comment, the heroic willpower trope also has it's place here.


Anime with commando bunnies I saw a few images of this anime.

It was based in Afghanistan, or some place similar. Except of humans fighting terrorists, it was bunnies. The bunnies were dressed like soldiers.

I think it was supposed to be a tongue in cheek parody of the war, but I'm not sure.

The show you are looking for is called "Cat Shit One"

It's based on a manga of the same name (and also called Apocalypse Meow in the U.S.). As far as I know, there's only been one episode and it's mostly CG animated. The terrorists are all camels.


What's the deal with rotating voice actors in episode 6 of "Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei"? The second half of the episode shows a wordplay on wisdom teeth (alternatively read as "teeth which parents don't know about") and during the entire gag, voice actors change around for every character.

What's the joke in that?

The original manga chapter this was based on (ep. 97) was the first chapter published after the announcement of the first season of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, along with the staff and cast working on it. In this episode, whenever a character appeared, a subtitle with the character name and voice actor was also displayed, to drill the information into the heads of the readers (which at the time everyone thought "I know you're happy about the anime. I get it already.").

The anime studio took that joke and played it reverse, since it was a joke that only made sense in textual form (and we've listened to their voices for 1.5 seasons, so it would just sound like stating the obvious).

So basically it's a twist on a joke that only worked in the manga, which was published right after the announcement of the first season.


Can a user be hurt by his own chakra? In the Naruto world, is it possible to get hurt directly by your own chakra? For example, Naruto's Rasengan is a manifestation of his chakra, so is Sasuke's Chidori, and Itachi's Fire Style jutsu. If Naruto were to accidentally hit himself with his own Rasengan, would it affect him the same way it would if he used it on someone else? Because it's his own chakra, would his body just absorb it? Same goes for Sasuke's Chidori and Fire Style jutsu. If Itachi blew a fireball into the wind and it came back and hit him, would he be hurt by it?

In the Fourth Shinobi War, we discover that you can get hurt by your own chakra.

The best example is Naruto versus the Third Raikage.


What's the difference between the FMA and FMA Brotherhood series? I haven't watched Anime in many years, but recently I've had time to get back into it. I've seen that one of my favorite series, Fullmetal Alchemist, has done a series reboot.  What I'm wondering is:

Does it present a lot of deep variations (plot-wise, character-wise or otherwise), or is it just the same series with updated art?

There are a large number of differences between the two Fullmetal Alchemist anime, with far too many to list; therefore, I'll only cover the major ones.
To improve the flow of this answer, the following abbreviations will be used:
FMAM = Fullmetal Alchemist (Manga)
FMA03 = Fullmetal Alchemist 2003 (Anime)
FMAB = Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (Anime)
The reason for the difference is because FMA03 was created when FMAM was still in the early stages of its development. When an anime series is based on a manga that is still in development, the anime is eventually going to reach a point where it outpaces the manga, because anime episodes tend to be developed quicker than manga volumes. When this happens, either filler for the anime is created or changes to the anime's storyline and characters are made so that the anime can continue to be developed. The latter is what happened to FMA03. FMA03's storyline started to diverge from FMAM's storyline after around 10 episodes because, at that point, the anime was starting to outpace the manga.
On the other hand, FMAB was created when FMAM was nearing the end of its development. This allowed FMAB's storyline to be more faithful to FMAM's storyline because FMAB had a mostly-complete storyline to draw from FMAM.
The major differences between FMA03 and FMAB & FMAM are:
Storyline

 Although both stories follow Edward and Alphonse, the overarching story is considerably different between FMA03 and FMAB & FMAM. In FMAB & FMAM the main antagonist was a character referred to as Father, a being of incredible power who is capable of performing transmutation at will, and without regard for equivalent exchange. His ultimate goal in FMAB & FMAM is to steal the power of what he refers to as "God" and become a being of infinite power and knowledge.
 The main antagonist in FMA03 is Dante. Unlike Father, she is just a normal human being who created a Philosopher's Stone and has managed to live a long time by transferring her consciousness into the body of other human beings whenever she was nearing death. Dante's only motivation is to become immortal and live forever.

The Homunculi

 In FMA03, the Homunculi were the result of attempting to perform human transmutation and failing. They could only be killed by destroying their original body.
 In FMAB & FMAM, the Homunculi were created by Father, with each one representing a different aspect of his personality (Lust, Gluttony, Envy, Greed, Wrath, Sloth, and Pride; the seven deadly sins). Each Homunculus is also powered by a Philosopher's Stone. Unlike FMA03's Homunculi, FMAB & FMAM's Homunculi do not have an "original" body that needs to be destroyed. Instead, either the Philosopher's Stone powering them needs to be destroyed or its power drained (normally through forcing them to regenerate  multiple times).
 Another difference is the identify of the Homunculi themselves, with some Homunculi from FMAB & FMAM not appearing in FMA03 at all and others having their name changed.
 Gluttony, Envy, Lust, and Greed have the same name and appearance in FMAB, FMAM, and FMA03.
 FMAB & FMAM's Wrath (King Bradley) is called Pride in FMA03.
 FMAB & FMAM's Pride (Selim Bradley) is not present in FMA03.
 FMA03's Wrath is unique to the series. He was the result of Izumi Curtis's attempt to revive her son.
 FMAB & FMAM's Sloth is not present in FMA03.
 FMA03's Sloth is unique to the series. She was the result of Ed and Al's attempt to bring back their mother.

Hohenheim

 In FMA03, Hohenheim is just a normal human being who was originally Dante's lover; however, he eventually left her due to no longer sharing her desire to have immortality at any cost. Like Dante, he created a Philosopher's Stone and gained a long life by transferring his consciousness into another person's body. His role in the anime is very minor, and he becomes trapped on the other side of the Gate after a confrontation with Dante that ended in failure.
 In FMAB & FMAM, Hohenheim was a human Philosopher's Stone with a seemingly infinite supply of power. Although he was originally a slave, he was granted his near-immortality by Father well before the events of the series took place. Hohenheim is more significant in FMAB & FMAM, facing off against Father at the end of the series. Unlike FMA03's Hohenheim, he dies at the end of FMAB & FMAM after finally exhausting the power of his Philosopher's Stone.

The Gate

 The Gate is the largest major change in the series. In FMAB & FMAM, the Gate is the source of all alchemy and also seems to be a source of infinite knowledge. The Gate is also guarded by a being commonly referred to as Truth, and who is responsible for taking the required tolls from alchemists who perform human transmutation. Those who are capable of performing alchemy have their own gate, and if that gate should be removed (by sacrificing it to Truth), they will no longer be able to perform alchemy.
 In FMA03, the Gate is still the source of alchemy, but it also serves as a portal between the world of Fullmetal Alchemist and Earth. Furthermore, the Gate derives its powers from the souls of those who have died on Earth and is what powers the transmutations performed by alchemists.


Is there a nen user that could've defeated Meruem (the king)? During the Chimera Ant arc of HxH, we witness the awesome battle between Meruem or the chimera ant king, and

   Isaac Netero.

At the end,

   Netero is defeated by the king's might (some may argue that Netero still won with the hidden bomb, but in essence and for this post, I am going to conclude that Meruem defeated Netero).

If

   Netero

could not defeat Meruem, is there a nen user in the HxH universe that could? Perhaps someone from the main cast, such as Gon, Killua, Kurapika, etc., a lesser character, such as Ging, Kite, Illumi, etc., or maybe a character that was only briefly mentioned and not fully developed?

Just from the point of the show, it is clear that the only character with a chance of beating Meruem in 1v1 is....

   Adult Gon Pitou admitted that the insane power up may even challenge Meruem and thus sacrificed herself.You should find this reddit pretty interesting. Reddit: Adult Gon vs Meruem

Other characters with a chance/broken abilities are:

Chrollo Lucifer: The leader of phantom troupe with a most broken ability. There is no limit to the power of Chrollo and hence he will be the first in this list. Given the right circumstances and planning, he is sure to make an impact.
Zeno Zoldyck: At least as powerful as Netero, the head of master assassins Zoldyck is surely VERY powerful and capable of standing up to Meruem.

However once, Meruem absorbed Pouf and Youpi, I doubt anyone could have beaten him in the HxH universe.

From another answer,

  When it comes to a fight between Nen users, pure power doesn't mean everything. One may have an ability than can overpower a type of opponent.

Other then the anime, there have been host of new characters recently shown for the dark continent arc that can have an impact.

  There are indications Maha Zoldyck is more powerful than Zeno or Netero. He definitely was at some point but is Zeno's grandfather. Like many other characters we don't actually have enough data to say. – kaine
  I didn't remember Maha from the show. Haven't read the manga before the HxH_2011, I couldn't honestly comment on it, since Maha does not appear during the Yorkshin arc in the 2011 anime. However Wikia makes an interesting comment on him and he may well defeat Meruem if he was on his peak

    Maha is the only known Enhancer in the Zoldyck family. In his youth he was incredibly powerful, to the point that Isaac Netero, once considered the strongest fighter in the world, received praise just for surviving a fight against him: he was, in fact, the only person that far to challenge Maha and live to tell the tale. It is unknown if his strength has waned with old age.


How fast was All Might? In the battle with One for All, All Might ran 5 kms in 30 seconds, that means running at 600 km/h. But All for One told him he was slow. Are there references how fast was All Might in his prime, at least an estimate?

That's actually the only information we have on All-Might's speed.

That scene you're referring to occurred in Chapter 90, which tells us that All-Might ran 5 kilometers in just 30 seconds, giving him a speed of about 600km/hr.

If I recall correctly, this is currently the best estimate we have of All-Might's speed at his prime, because we know he's faster than that. Only thing to do is wait for new chapters that give additional information.


Why couldn't Alphonse Elric fix his own armor? why did he have to rely on Ed to mend his armor? Did they not have the same abilities more or less?

The blood rune binding Alphonse's soul to the armour is too fragile to be handled by anyone other than Edward

In Ch. 10, No. 48 "Slicer" explains to Ed how the blood rune functions

Basically, the blood of the rune links to the soul and the iron in the blood anchors the soul to the armour. Since the armour is made of iron it stands to reason arbitrarily fixing the armour with alchemy is dangerous as it might harm the blood rune and cause Al to unbind from the armour. We see with the death's of Slicer in Ch. 13 and No. 66 "Barry the Chopper" in Ch. 39 (depicted below) that the rune is incredibly fragile

Just a scratch in the rune was all that was needed to kill Barry so it's not hard to imagine the consequences of accidentally warping the rune when transmuting. Theoretically Al can draw himself a transmutation circle when an arm comes off after the battle with Lust but likely did not want to risk it. In Ch. 7 after the brothers' first encounter with Scar in which Ed's arm gets destroyed and Al loses an arm + a leg Ed says he's the only one capable of handling repairs to the armour

In terms of if the brothers alchemical abilities are the same, the answer is: not to begin with. At the start of the series Al doesn't remember seeing "Truth" which is the requirement to be able to transmute without a transmutation circle by clapping your hands together. Until he does, Al still has to draw transmutation circles to use alchemy. He only regains his memories of the "Truth" when Martel's blood splashes onto the blood rune during the Furher's raid on Greed's hideout in Ch. 30. The reason this restores his memories is unclear, whether this "completes" the rune or it just shocks the memories back is never elaborated on. Even after Al regains his memories of the "Truth" though he still relies on Edward to fix the armour as it's safest to let the person who crafted the rune to handle the armour. Especially when the rest of the armour needs to be thinned to compensate for the bits that are completely gone.