How do Toads in Naruto produce Oil? Toad oil as shown on Mount Myoboku was produced from a special fountain that allowed user to more easily feel the natural energy around them. This was used in the initial stages of Senjutsu training by Jiraiya and Naruto.

However, We've seen several combo jutsu's used by Jiraiya which rely on the Toads spitting Oil (Toad Oil Bullet). Which can be lit on fire or even mixed with both Wind and Fire Jutsu. We know toads can manipulate Chakra and are mostly affiliated with Water Style.

So Is the toad oil produced naturally in the Toad's stomach's or is it something that they achieve by nature manipulation (manipulating multiple chakra natures, similar to Kekkei Genkai)?

Update: I understand "Toad Oil" based techniques utilize chakra, but the source of the oil is not explained. I have read the wiki entries and Wiki just states "converts Chakra to oil" but doesn't explain it. Is it like the Dragon Flame produced by Dragons? For an in universe example take a look at Katsuyu and her/its ability. I can see Slugs producing Slime and Katsuyu using that slime similar to that of the Mizukage's Acid Release. This is both a Nature transformation and Kekkei Genkai, while also possible naturally. Do toads naturally produce this oil, do a nature transformation, Is there any myth that attributes toad spitting oil etc. is what my question moves toward.

Additionally, for those confused about Ying-Yang techniques and Nature Transformations should go through the wikia page and read the cited information! Naruto Wikia - nature Transformation

  Aside from the five elemental nature transformations, there is a second kind of nature transformation that are the source of all non-elemental techniques such as the Shadow Imitation Technique, Multi-Size Technique, medical ninjutsu, genjutsu, etc. There is Yin Release (陰遁, Inton), based on the imagination and spiritual energy of a shinobi, and Yang Release (陽遁, Yōton), based on the vitality and physical energy of a shinobi. Together, they are used to perform Yin–Yang Release (陰陽遁, In'yōton, Onmyōton).

You can't just club any random technique to be Ying/Yang.

Additional Update: Trivia section of Wikia for the Nature transformation gave an interesting lead.

  Techniques such as the Toad Oil Bullet and the Poison Mist mention "converting" or "kneading" chakra into materials or substances, but have never been mentioned to use certain chakra natures.

So I think I am not the only one unsure how these techniques are performed!

The Toad Oil Bullet Is a skill used by Jiriya that converted his chakra into Toad oil. He spit out a volume of oil more than his body's size, proving that he could not have stored it inside his body. So the answer appears to be that there is a technique that converts chakra to Toad oil.

However, It is entirely possible the Toads, especially Larger ones, can swallow toad oil and regurgitate it later to conserve chakra usage required to create it.

It is notable that the Toad oil they spit out and Toad oil used in Senjutsu training might be different oils. The wiki entry on Mount Myoboku notes:

  There is a sacred fountain on Mount Myōboku which produces a special oil which allows people to more easily feel the natural energy around them

So it seems only the fountan produces the Sage Mode oil. Also, the Sage Mode oil looks significantly like cooking oil, very light, clear, and of the same consistency, while The oil spit out to be ignited looks dirty, and dark, sometimes even opaque.

Edit: addressing your edit, There is only one thing that could possibly be added, and its a Theory.

You copied one line from the wiki on the trivia section of the Nature Transformation page. However, the very next line gives off a HUGE hint.

  Certain other techniques involved in manipulating substances are also often confused to be chakra natures, such as silk, bone, and ink. However, these substances cannot be produced from chakra alone, meaning the chakra is not changed in nature, and it is rather used to change already-existing substances.

The oil is called Toad Oil, So its could be some kind of substance a Toad can naturally create. If that is the case, then this would literally be exactly like Kimimarus Bone based Jutsu, Shikotsumaku, or Kidomaru's Spider Technqiues. Just like how They can take the natural substance that already exists (bone/Spider Silk) and use Chakra to create more of it, Toads would do the same. Perhaps that is what Kneading into a substance means, Mixing Chakra with a substance, and converting the chakra into more of that substance. Since everyone who uses Toad Oil is either a Toad, or Jiriya after he goes Sage mode and becames part toad, then they would likely have a natural source of it to duplicate via Chakra kneading, if that is indeed the case.


What's the black warping liquid where the noumus appear from in season 3 episode 9? In season 3 episode 9 kurogiri was knocked unconscious yet noumus started to appear from a black warping liquid. What's the black warping liquid and who controls it?

That black warping liquid is a Quirk called Transmission!

From the wiki:

  Transmission is a stolen Quirk from an unknown person used by All For One

Also:

  This Quirk can produce a black liquid that acts as a portal, similar in nature to Kurogiri's Warp Gate. Also similar to Warp Gate, this black liquid can also teleport people by engulfing them whole.


Does Eren hate Mikasa? Apparently, in Chapter 112 of the Attack On Titan manga, Eren says that Mikasa is a slave. For all their life it seems they have been friends. Has their friendship been broken because of this?

Also, if possible, leave some theories as to what may happen between the two, e.g. a fight.

Warning: Some spoilers below.

If you look at the succeeding pages of Chapter 112, Eren does indeed say that he hates Mikasa and revealed that he has done so ever since they were kids.

Whether he means it or not, however, is a different matter altogether. He could or could not be lying. The reason for him doing so or if he did lie, we cannot know yet as of now due to lack of information.

What we do know, however, is that in Chapter 115,

  it was revealed that Eren and Zeke had a talk, with Eren agreeing to Zeke's plan of genocide to wipe out the Eldian race. The reason being that if they were never born in the first place, there would be no suffering and Eren views it as their 'salvation'. Him pushing away everyone he knows, including his two close friends, Armin and Mikasa, was probably to ease the pain he would feel and sever any attachment or feelings he felt towards the two, knowing that he would be responsible for their deaths soon, if their plan succeeds.

Would it be possible for Eren and Mikasa to fight? This is speculation but I think this can be substantiated by facts mentioned in Chapter 112. In that same chapter,

  it was revealed that Ackermans awaken their powers when they recognize someone as a 'host'. Eren was recognized by Mikasa as her host and someone she had to protect so I doubt that she would be able to hurt him. Even when Eren said those harsh words and Armin was about to punch Eren, Mikasa still stopped Armin, following her clan's 'instincts' when awakened.


What's the thing like a giant spiral stone in the Evangelion 3.0's scenery? What is that thing like a giant spiral stone. Thats appear in a scenery of eva movie 3.0 ?
Does anyone know what is that thing exactly ?

In the script included with the Japanese Blu-ray release it is identified as the Black Moon of Lilith, an object that transported the angel Lilith to Earth. Originally spherical shaped much like the Earth's moon in the original anime, it appears to look more like a version of the Holy Grail in this retelling (tilt your head to the right to see its proper orientation).


Which Baccano novels were adapted by the anime? Given that the Baccano! novels are still publishing (21 so far), it's pretty clear that the anime (16 episodes total, with 13 episode main series and 3 OVAs) didn't adapt all of them.  However, there doesn't seem to be much information available as to which novels were adapted. My standard sources for checking how far an anime got all don't seem to have information on Baccano, probably because of the complicated formatting.

Which novels were adapted by the anime? I'm aware that the formatting of both the anime and the novels may make this confusing, so feel free to list some as partially adapted if there are significant parts of the story which were not covered by the anime.

Book 1: Rolling Bootlegs (1930) - Reasonably faithful but was condensed (also, instead of starting in 2002 with the story being told to a tourist in the Alvaere, it starts in 1935 with Gustav and Carol looking over their information of the events of 1930-1932. And the events happen differently in the novels though the end result is the same, though it does change Firo's character interpretation. In the novels, he's actually a HUGE dick, almost as bad as Dallas, the only people he shows any respect to are his Martillo superiors, his childhood friends, and Ennis and later Czes. Whereas in the anime he's got more of a shonen hero vibe going on). It also left out the fact that the mugger in the first episode was probably the most important character of the 1930 plotline (and his encounter with Firo was moved to 1932, where as in the novel it happens right at the beginning of the 1930 story, just before Firo goes to buy his hat with Maiza). Also Firo's saving of Ennis was MUCH more involved and took approximately 3 hours. He had to make a small sample of the imperfect elixir using Szilard's memories and then use it to reset her default state using his own cells to replace the genetic information Szilard had withdrawn (she is biologically his daughter following her revival).

Book 2: Grand Punk Railroad (1931) - Local Edition - Was mostly faithful but condensed (and left out a somewhat important insight into Ladd's true character). It also cut out Jacuzzi vs the Rail Tracer. It does however make one change, by merging Chane with some aspects of her sister, namely the implied telepathy and conspicuous use of birds in said scenes. Chane herself is a completely normal human, while her sister possesses the above mentioned traits as a result of being used in an experiment using information Huey stole from Szilard's research into creating a true homunculus, as opposed to failures like Ennis.

Book 3: Grand Punk Railroad (1931) - Express Edition - Was reasonably faithful in what was shown but left out about 2/3 of the book, including Rachel's encounter with the corrupt train executive and her final encounter with the Rail Tracer, 97% of Claire's side of the story (the parts it does show are from other people's perspectives and as a result you learn nothing about Claire's personality which makes seeing his true self in the OVAs much more jarring), Lua's story, and Fred the Doctor. Since Jacuzzi never fought the Rail Tracer in the anime, his side of the event showing what happened in the aftermath was also left out.

The out-of-place scene in the first episode (with the blonde girl with the spear) is during the climax of book 6, The Slash - Cloudy to Rainy (1933).

The 1932 plotline was VERY loosely based on the events of book 4, Drugs and Dominoes (1932), but has no resemblance to the source material after about episode 2. Eve searching for her brother was a minor plot point that only served to get her to New York and was resolved immediately on their first visit to the Daily Days. It's pretty much all filler after that, with only the beginning and very end showing any actual resemblance to anything from the book. (It also completely contradicts the source material in several places and merges several characters.)

The OVAs cover about 1/3 of Book 14, Another Punk Railroad (1930-1934), which is mostly a background book to fill in some of the gaps left in the previous books (it is extremely faithful aside from the parts involving Elmer which were actually based on events from book 5. Also Rachel's backstory was supposed to be told in book 3 from her to the rail tracer during their last encounter on the train. And the domino scene is from book 4.). (The train ride Gustav St. Germain asks Carol to remember in the very first episode of the series also happens in book 14). The stinger of the OVAs is the beginning of Book 6, The Slash - Cloudy to Rainy.

The stinger for episode 13 is actually the beginning of Book 5, Children of the Bottle (2001). Most of the content from episode 7 is taken from a flashback arc in Book 5. Rolling Bootleg only gave a VERY abridged version of what happened on the ship and did so immediately at the beginning of the story.

There're also little bits of information taken from books 1-14 that are too numerous or minor to be worth mentioning.

Worth noting, anyone interested in the Novels, DO NOT SKIP ANY OF THEM, even if you've seen the anime. It barely scratches the surface of what the novels actually covered (the anime tried to give each character some screen time, but ended up only really covering about 3-4 with anything resembling depth (Rachel, Jacuzzi, Chane, Czes (sort of...it left out some pretty important stuff though)). The Gandors and Lua especially got shafted despite being named in the opening, despite actually having some very interesting background/stories/character development), in addition to the main plots and answers nearly all the common questions that come up after watching the anime. Also as mentioned, while the end result is usually the same, how they got there is sometimes dramatically different (and IMO, is FAR better done then the anime's attempts at condensing it to fit in 13 episodes. If they'd had 26, it might've worked out better, or just dropped 1932 entirely to free up more time.


Why MAL (MyAnimeList) is putting light novel and comic together? I live in Hong Kong, and at least from my observation, light novels and comics are quite different things in Asia. However it seems that on sites like MAL, which is not of the Asian origin, they categorize light novels and comics as one.

Are light novel and comic seen as similar things in English speaking area? Or is there any special reason for services such as MAL to decide light novel and comic should fall under the same type?

I also noticed that this site is named "Anime & Manga", but also contains a light-novel-production tag. Hence the same categorization seems to happen here as well.

I wouldn't say comics and light novels are the same thing.
To be even more precise, I think there's even a big difference between Comics and Manga but more about that can be read over here.

This distinction can also be found strongly in the readers. Not all light novel readers like manga, and vice versa. This being the case in both Asian and Western cultures.

However, on services such as MAL and A&M, it does make sense to throw them under the same category.

A&M aims to be a Q&A platform focused on a fandom, which commonly identifies themselves under the terms 'anime and manga' fans. However, the people that are part of this fandom don't limit themselves to 1 specific medium, as some stories may differ/extend through out Visual novels, light novels, manga and anime/movies.

This also leads to questions about Visual novels, light novels, and the likes. Which is also the reason we have a tag for light-novel-production

To take from a MAL perspective, you want to keep track of what you have watched/read, whether this is a light novel, or a manga/comic.

So TL;DR, this form of categorization is mostly for convenience, and reaching a larger chunk of a/the fandom.


Why if accelerator is so above other level 5 espers he isnt count as level 6 already? Accelerator was able to kil 10,000 clons of another level 5 esper, the 3rd most powerful esper. If he's so above other espers, why isnt he counted as a level 6 esper already? What does a esper need to count as level 6?

While they where clones of a level 5 esper, the experiment was a failure due to the clones being fairly weak:

  The abilities of the Sisters were less than 1% as powerfufl as those of the original Railgun.
  On average they were merely Level 2, and even the strongest ones never developed beyond Level 3.

(Railgun S, episode 3)

If they could have cloned Misaka perfectly, they would only have needed 128 of her:

  Based on the simulations, we have concluded that by preparing 128 kinds of battlefields, and killing the Railgun 128 times, the subject would shift to Level 6.
  However, as it proved impossible to procure multiple Railguns we have decided to use the Sisters, originally from the suspended Radio Noise projecct, as replacements.
  By deploying a large number of armed Sisters, and accounting for variance in the production process...
  By using 20,000 sisters in various combat scenarios, we may achieve a Level 6 Shift.

(Railgun S, episode 5, last line was typeset on the screen instead of being read aloud)

So Accelerator did not reach level 6 after killing 10,000 of the clones because they are so much weaker. (How exactly killing a million ants should make you be able to fight a bear makes no sense to me.) However I don't what counts as being level 6 or why they want to reach it (and how they planned to control Accelerator after the fact).


How does All for One Impact Recoil quirk works? Supposedly All for One Impact Recoil quirk "enables All For One to completely reflect the impact of an attack back to the attacker". This seems to be the quirk used in season 3 episode 10 in the battle of All for One with All Might. If he can revert the impact of an attack back to the attacker, to use it all the time wouldn't turn the user invincible? Then why All for One doesnt use it all the time, does it have any flaws or drawbacks?

to completely reflect the impact

From where did you take this information? According to the Boku no Hero Academia Wikia the physical impact gets reversed, but not "completely reflected".

So, it wouldn't turn the user invincible, because the user is still to some degree affected by the attack (as written in Boku no Hero Academia Wikia):

  However, this Quirk does not seem to cancel the impact completely

That is probably why All For One uses Gran Torino as a shield instead of taking the punch himself.


Why are there two different openings for Nadeko in Bakemonogatari? In Bakemonogatari, there are two different openings for Nadeko - the one with a hat and the one without it.

Is there any specific reason why that is?

Studio SHAFT has almost a custom of changing openings even after they first aired. For example currently airing Mekakucity Actors have slightly different openings for their first 3 episodes, usually changing text fonts or scenes slightly. The reason for this is simply lack of time management, where they don't put much time to "quality check" the opening with director and they keep changing it until they like it.

That is probably case with Nadeko's OP. Someone of power simply didn't like the version with hat, so they remove it.


What's the purpose and origin of the titans which arent titan shifters? As far as I know, the titan shifters inherited their power when Ymir Fritz died and her power was split between her 9 descendants. But what about the mindless titans, those who arent titan shifters and all the time titans, what's their origin and why were they created?

Basically it goes like this

  All of the Eldians (Descendants of Ymir) have the possibility to be a titan shifter. But in order to use the non-titan-shifters, Marleyans(Their enemy which defeated them in the past) invented something like a syringe that when injected to an Eldian, turns them into a titan and because they don't have the original titan powers, they cannot control the titan and turn into a mindless titan forced to see people die by their hand and not be able to do any thing.

But if you are asking what the mindless titans are doing outside of the walls

  The king of the Eldians and the possessor of the Founder titan power moved his people to an island called the paradise island and created the walls to keep enemies and the ones who wanted to miss-use the titans, away. But Marleyans built a wall of their own around the island and any of the Eldians that was living among the Marleyans and did an unforgivable crime was turned into a mindless titan and was released into the island and outside the original walls.


What are the names of all the Angels in Neon Genesis Evangelion? In the Neon Genesis Evangelion anime, there are about 20 Angels. There's some in Sadamoto's Evangelion manga as well, then some different ones in Rebuild of Evangelion, and there are others in the other official media (light novels, etc.).

What are all the Angels and their names?

There are some Angels which appear in multiple canons, and some which appear only in just one, or even none. To be clear, the various canons are listed at the bottom in a reference list.
Main Angels
These Angels appear only in the primary canons:

Adam[NGE, M]
Arael[NGE, M]
Armisael[NGE, M]
Bardiel[NGE, RB, M]
Gaghiel[NGE, M]
Ireul[NGE]
Israfel[NGE, M]
Leliel[NGE]
Lilin[NGE, M]
Lilith[NGE, RB, M]
Matarael[NGE]
Ramiel[NGE, RB, M]
Sachiel[NGE, RB, M]
Sahaquiel[NGE, RB, M]
Sandalphon[NGE]
"Seventh Angel"[RB]
Shamshel[NGE, RB, M]
Tabris[NGE, RB, M] Not known as "Tabris" in Rebuild
"Third Angel"[RB]
"Twelfth Angel"[RB]
Zeruel[NGE, RB, M]

Secondary Angels
These Angels are not part of the main continuities:

Barakijal[NWP]
Iblis[NWP]
Insubstantial Angel[2I]
An unnamed Angel[2I]
Shateiel[C]
Turel[C]
Diemay Angel Fan-made for a Gainax contest

Canon list

NGE - Neon Genesis Evangelion (anime)
RB - Rebuild of Evangelion (movie series)
M - Neon Genesis Evangelion (manga)
2I - Second Impression (video game)
NWP - RPG: The NERV White Paper (trading card game)
C - No canon, concept only

Further reading

Angels - Evangelion Wiki
List of Angels - EvaGeeks


Is "Yatogami" a name or a title? In Noragami, the main character refers to himself as "yatogami". I'm not sure if that's his name or his title. A quick google search shows that its a surname, but the way he said it makes me think its some kind of title.

In Noragami, Yato refers to himself as a god. 神, which is the kanji for god, can be pronounced "gami", so he is probably referring to himself literally as "Yato God".


Is the fanbook from episode 8 based on any real life doujinshi? In episode 8, Shinichi uses a fanbook "Cure Kosette Punishment" to distract the palace guards about 15 minutes into the episode. It's clearly a doujin fanbook which is based on Precure (or Outbreak Company's equivalent). But I can't tell if this book is entirely fictional, or is based off a similar real-world work. Is there any similar real-world doujin fanbook on which this one was based?

Cure Kosette is a parody of Cure Rosetta, who was a PreCure in DokiDoki PreCure which was airing at the time. Ironically, it'd make more sense for Cure Rosetta to do the punishing, as she more or less is an ojou-sama who beat up some high school age delinquents when she was still in grade school.
As for the doujin itself, unfortunately Cure Rosetta/Yotsuba Alice (civillian form) does not have all too many doujin in which she takes the leading role. She is one of my favorite cures by far, the only doujin that seem similar to this one seem to have rather poor art. Dokidoki PreCuring A__ce Hen is the closest thing I've found, which is technically a CG set, not a doujin. So as far as I can tell, there is no real world equivalent... even though there should be, lol.

Anyway, good luck in your endeavors and all that.


Was Naruto controlled by the Nine Tailed Fox? In the anime (Episode 133), when Naruto turns into the Nine Tailed Fox for the first time during his fight with Sasuke, Sasuke comments that the chakra has its own mind.

Was he controlled by the beast or was it the other way round?

During his fight with Sasuke Naruto is seen to be in his Version 1 of the Nine Tails cloak. According to the Naruto Wiki, Naruto has very little control over his actions. It is not until he enters the Version 2 form of the Nine Tails cloak that he loses complete control.

This is Naruto during the fight with Sasuke at The Valley of the End in the Version 1 form:

This is the Version 2 form where he loses complete control:

  In Version 1 transformations, Naruto had only the briefest of control
  of his own actions. If he fell deeper into a rage, Naruto could slip
  into Version 2, losing himself to Kurama's negative influence and
  going berserk, requiring outside help to suppress the fox's
  chakra.


Was Lilium written or composed solely for Elfen Lied? Elfen Lied's opening, Lilium, is a symphony sung in Latin.

Was it written/composed just for Elfen Lied (like for example, the opening songs for Pokemon)?

The answer is yes.

According to the pamphlet included in the Elfen Lied OST, the melody of Lilium just surfaced to MOKA, the two-person musician group who was appointed the music producer staff of the Elfen Lied anime TV production team, when they looked at Elfen Lied from a certain perspective: it's not that Lucy wants to be born special — what she desires, the mundane happiness, that which appears to be easily obtainable is in fact obtainable by only a small handful of people.

  望んで特別に生まれたわけじゃない、欲しいものは簡単に手に入りそうでほんの一握りの人しか手に入れられないであろう、ありふれた幸せ……そんな角度からこの『エルフェンリート』を感じた時に、メインテーマである「LILIUM」の祈るような旋律が浮かびました。

MOKA later included rearrangements of Lilium in Ryugu Genka, Shinra Soloist, Felix Culpa and LILIUM MOKA☆ Produce Mixed Chorus.


Did Kurama become a whole after the last war? Did Kurama get his half from Minato and become a whole after the war? Thus, in Boruto, is Kurama composed of yin and yang already?

Yes.

During the war, Black Zetsu absorbs Minato's half of Kurama -- Minato tries to revive Naruto (from whom the other half was just extracted by Madara), but Zetsu steals it, and that is how the Gedo Statue becomes complete. Here is that particular scene on YouTube.

After the war, the "whole" Kurama goes back inside Naruto.


What are the numbers in the background in Sae's room? In the 4th season of Hidamari Sketch, Honeycomb, there's scenes where there's a bunch of numbers (and an HK with a "honeycomb" symbol) in the background. Do these numbers have any significance? Are they related to production cuts (sometimes shown in "flash card" style during Bakemonogatari, another Studio Shaft production)?

Examples:

Episode 1:

Bottom right corner: HK 01105

Episode 5:

Bottom right corner: HK 05274

Episode 6:

Bottom right corner: HK 06333

Episode 10:

Bottom right corner: HK 10133

Episode 12:

Bottom right corner: HK 12074

Not sure if I missed any, but it looks like a 2 digit episode number and 3 digits of something else. Also, not sure if previous seasons of Hidamari Sketch has these, been a while since I've seen them. What do the other strings of numbers, that don't seem to change, mean?

It's the "cut number." Just like in film, any time the perspective shifts is considered a new "cut" which equates to a numbered frame on the storyboard.

Using the first episode example, the first time the number is shown it reads 091B (cuts that have some obvious close connection might be grouped together as A and B of the same number, though I'm not sure why this particular cut is a B):

091B

These are my guesses for the numbers of the following cuts. Only someone with access to the storyboard could say for sure, but this is probably close enough:

092

093

094

094B Since it's just a close up of the last cut they probably wouldn't bother drawing it again (storyboard drawings would be rough anyway) so they'd just leave a note next to cut 094 to zoom in and add detail, hence cut 094B.

095

096

097

098

099

100

101

102

103

104

105

As you can see, 14 cuts later we see the board again, and it has incremented exactly as expected.

Edit: I think I may have misinterpreted the question. Not sure about the unchanging numbers, but there seems to be at least one theory that the numbers before the X are an encrypted "hidamarisketch" with two digits per letter. If you can break the encryption you might be able to figure out the rest.

The full thing for reference:

963958208
975195648
926748230
8X☆☆☆9428
947295039


How did Goku and Vegeta alone end up on Earth? How is it that only Goku and Vegeta ended up on Earth?  What happened to the other Saiyans?

Planet Vegeta was destroyed by Frieza, but which planet did Goku come from?

At the same time Planet Plant (AKA Planet Vegeta) was being destroyed, Goku was being sent to a planet called Earth in order to kill all of it's inhabitants and then sell it to Frieza.
Vegeta and Nappa were on another planet and Frieza told them that a huge meteor fell on their planet and destroyed it. That's how Goku and Vegeta survived.
So that's make the survivors

Goku
Vegeta
Nappa
Raditz, Goku's older brother. It wasn't revealed how he survived.

And from the movies:

Broly
Paragus
Turles
Tarble, Vegeta's younger brother.

For more information read this page on Dragon Ball Wiki: Genicode of  the Saiyans

How they ended up in Earth

Raditz goes to Earth to make Goku join them.
Goku disagrees but Raditz enforces him by taking his son, Gohan as a hostage
Goku and Piccolo kill Raditz
Vegeta hear about the dragon balls
Vegeta goes to Earth to find the Dragon Balls and then  to destroy the Earth, he ends up fighting Goku


Why is Kairoseki's effect more powerful than the sea? It is said that the Kairoseki is just a solid form of the sea and have the same effect as the sea.

But why does Kairoseki weaken and negate devil fruit's power, like when a DF user is handcuffed or touched by it, it drains their energy and they lose their ability (Logias can't transform when handcuffed).

In case of sea water, I think it just drains their energy but never negates their ability (e.g. Luffy can still stretch to use elephant gun to knock out Kraken).

And is it ever shown or explained where the Kairoseki came from?

Q. It is said that the Kairoseki is just a solid form of the sea and have the same effect as the sea.

Kairoseki is a naturally occurring (though apparently rare) substance that can cancel out Devil Fruit powers and weaken Devil Fruit users. It gives off a wavelength that is the same as the sea itself.

Q. But why does Kairoseki weaken and negate devil fruit's power, like when a DF user is handcuffed or touched by it, it drains their energy and they lose their ability (Logias can't transform when handcuffed).
In case of sea water, I think it just drains their energy but never negates their ability (e.g. Luffy can still stretch to use elephant gun to knock out Kraken).

When comparing two different things, the comparisons should be based on the same terms.
For example, you mentioned that Logia users can't transform when they are handcuffed with Kairoseki, but then, they can't transform when they are in sea either. So this example does not prove that Kairoseki is more powerful than sea.
Next, coming to the Luffy example (Paramecia type).
We know that both Kairoseki and sea weaken Luffy's strength, but we have seen that they do not cancel off his power, i.e. Luffy doesn't have enough strength to use his powers on his own. That is why the strength of his punch weakens when he uses the Elephant gun on Kraken as it goes out of the bubble and makes contact with the sea.
To make it even more clear, I'll give a better example.
When in Arlong park, as Luffy was about to drown in the water, Nojiko had to stretch Luffy's head out in the surface, to try to get him to breathe again. From this it is clear that a DF user (Paramecia type at least) only loses his strength and not his abilities even when under water.
The same way, when handcuffed with Kairoseki, Luffy loses all his strength and is unable to use his abilities by himself. We have not seen any case where someone tried to pull Luffy and was unable to because he was tied to Kairoseki. Thus, there is still a chance that even with the Kairoseki in direct contact with the user, their abilities can be made use of, but by somebody else, and not by the user themselves as they are totally drained out of energy.
Conclusion: This answer doesn't answer the question Why is Kairoseki's effect more powerful than the sea? directly, but rather provides some evidence to show why Kairoseki's effect wouldn't exactly be greater than the effect of sea on a DF user. I used two examples, that of a Logia and a Paramecia type DF user to compare and show the same. Thus the answer would have to be, No, Kairoseki's effect is not more powerful than the sea as we do not have any proper evidence to support such a claim. They both emit the same wavelength and thus, quite fittingly, have the same effect on the DF users.
Update: To support my answer even further, I found an interesting piece of information on the wiki page of Yami Yami no Mi. You can see that (emphasis mine)

The most unique and frightening advantage of the fruit is that the user also has the ability to nullify the powers of other Devil Fruits by simply touching the user and draining them of their abilities. All types of Devil Fruit, be it a Paramecia, Zoan or Logia, are affected by this, though Logias are most affected as they can no longer become intangible by transforming into their respective element. This nullification truly seems absolute, as though the Devil Fruit users had never gained their powers at all. This was shown when Luffy's stretching powers were canceled on touch, unlike the effect of a body of water or seastone, both of which just inhibit a person from controlling their powers. It was shown earlier when Luffy was stuck underwater that his neck could still be stretched above the water's surface, and that Busoushoku Haki would simply nullify the defensive aspects of a Devil Fruit such as intangibility and the malleability of rubber.


Is it possible to seal Opponent Ninjutsu by using scroll? After seeing naruto series we have seen different scroll of various sizes which are used to summon something or to do something related seal.

In Boruto: Naruto the movie, Konohamaru used Rasengan and sealed that in the scroll. So by that sealing Ninjutsu is possible.

So my question is that, is it possible for someone to seal enemy Ninjutsu on scroll.

For example

Naruto used Rasengan and throws it towards his enemy.
So is it possible for enemy to seal that Rasengan simply by opening scroll wide enough so that it can strike right through it and then get absorbed. I mean by that enemy can seal Rasengan again and again. So is it possible ?

To answer it simply, YES, it is possible. However, only with mastery of sealing techniques can perform such ninjutsu and of course, with very precise timing.

In relation to Jiraiya who has been shown to seal Amaterasu, my theory is that the fourth shared his sealing skills to him which came from fourth's wife (Kushina) who is known to be skilled with fūinjutsu. An Uzumaki trait that earned them both respect and fear throughout the ninja world.

See Uzumaki Clan


What is the meaning of the number on the Buso Renkin medallion? In Buso Renkin, the medallions each have a Roman numeral inscribed on them. Tokiko's is numbered XLIV (44), and Kazuki's is numbered LXX (70).

What do these numbers mean and why do these characters have these specific numbers?

The roman numeral represents the kakugane's serial number. There are only 100 Kakugane, from I (one) to C (one hundred). There are 29 known kakugane that are used (in Japan) in the series.

Kazuki's "LXX" kakugane is... special.


What does Oreki Houtarou want to do with his life? Oreki Houtarou is the main protagonist in Hyouka. At first, he is very lazy, then after he meets Chitanda, he starts solving mysteries and becomes a little active. He takes a course in humanities in second year. But I am curious what is his real purpose in life?

That's a great question--for a great anime--however Oreki doesn't really seem to want to do anything specifically with his life. On top of this the anime doesn't mention this either.
It's assumed he doesn't want to do anything specific due to his personality: energy conserving. More like he wishes to breeze through life doing everything as averagly as possible in order to conserve energy. If you go to the Oreki Houtarou wiki page and down to Oreki's quotes you can get a good idea of what kind of person he is.

Oreki's Motto: "I don't do anything I don't have to. What I have to do, I do quickly."
Episode 22, 22:50-23:00: "About the business side you gave up on... How about I take care of that for you?"

However if we look at 22:50 to 23:00 we can see Oreki sort of "fantasizing" about helping Chitanda with her duties of running the Chitanda family in the future. However Oreki gives up and doesn't actually tell Chitanda he'll help her. In this sense Oreki ends up actually wanting to help Chitanda and ends up moving a bit away from his motto. However he decides not to help Chitanda after realizing how Satoshi felt when he turned down Ibara, e.g. undeserving.


Who is the third person who listens to Shen Xiu's lesson In Tales of Demons and Gods, one lesson of Shen Xiu is observed by three people. The identity of two of them is mentioned, they are the vice principal and another teacher. But the identity is of the third person is never mentioned.

I have ideas who the third person might be, but I'm not sure and it is never mentioned again (IIRC).

Ye Mo
Ye Zhong
The principal

this is a spoiler answer. The third person is number three ranking in the ye family who is in charge of assassination. The character will be reveal in a plot when eliminating the Shen family


Do Bang, Bomb and Genos know who killed Elder Centipede? I'm assuming that the Hero Association thought it was King and not Saitama who killed Elder Centipede, otherwise they would have likely promoted him. But how about Bang, Bomb and Genos who were there? Do they know who killed Elder Centipede or couldn't they tell as Elder Centipede was charging against King and in a flash Saitama killed him?

The credit for defeating Elder Centipede Centichoro probably went to king like how he usually gets it for the monsters defeated by Saitama. But in the matter of Genos, Bang and Bomb knowing who actually defeated Centichoro, Genos knew it was Saitama.

Because as soon as the centipede disintegrated, Genos asked Saitama what is he lacking again?

Genos asked.

  "What is it that master (Saitama) has and I don't?".

And Saitama reply.

  "Power I guess"

This means that Genos knew Saitama was the one and wanted to know how is he able to defeat these monsters so easily.

As for Bang and Bomb, they are quite exceptional martial artists. Their sense of everything is extraordinary. So I doubt that they didn't realize it was Saitama who finished off the Elder Centipede.

Moreover, Bang already has an idea of Saitama's strength because of the meteor incident and also, from the time Bang and Saitama were competing over some games at the dojo.


Ban stealing power from Meliodas I'm wondering if Ban stole the Meliodas's power forever when they fight on the arena for Diane's weapon or just during the battle.

Ban's ability "Snatch" is to steal objects without contact, he uses it to steal strength from his opponent as well. However, the strength he steals is temporary. Basically he can only use the strength until his body reaches the limit and stops to prevent further damage to himself. Therefore, the answer to your question is no, he did not take Meliodas's power forever, it was only during the battle. When the battle ends, Meliodas will have all of his power back.
here is the link of reference to wikia for details.
(Snatch)

Hope this helps


What exactly is Combustionman's Tattoo? When the guy with the Metal Arm and Leg AKA Sparky Sparky Boom Man or Combustionman firebends we see something shoot out from his forehead when he's tattoo is.

during the episode The Runaway when Team Avatar is escaping Toph throws a boulder at him which he destroys but a fragment of it hits his tattoo causing him pain and when he goes to shoot again it seems to miss-fire. Sokka also seems to comment that he is firebending with his mind.

So i am wondering what exactly is Combustionman's Tatto because it seems to be the source of his bending but no other Bender uses a tattoo to allow bending beyond their arms and legs (like Boomi using his face of Toph tilting her head to fix a game)

This is semi-good source for Combustion Man. This is a good source for special bending techniques in general.

It states that his tattoo is a focal point for him to trigger explosions by focusing his chi. Seeing as it's a unique use of bending, I wouldn't be surprised if he can only bend from that spot simply due to complexity and a necessity for accuracy.

Additionally, the idea of the "third eye" is taken from Hindu tradition. THe combustion bending tattoo's is located over this Chakra, with the tattoo being of the Eye of Shiva. P'Li's is a more wavy version, which may be related to her ability to bend the beam as well.

All the bending are generally related to some kind of martial art, so if that doesn't answer your question, I'd be glad to do some additional research. Let me know!

Also, thanks to Ryan for the comment. It prompted the extra link and the tattoo design section.


Why was Happy and Carla affected by Azuma's take over of Tenrou Islands magic? When Azuma took over Tenrou Islands Magic and destroyed the tree he broke the divine protection that is usually granted to those who bear the Fairy Tail Emblem/Guild Mark and stole there magic and energy. So why did Carla and Happy's magic get drained by Azuma even though they did not bear the emblem?

If they do have an emblem could you please show me a picture as I cannot find one with them bearing the Fairy Tail Guild Mark.

Answers are appreciated. :)

While I never can't remember see Carla's guild mark, Happy have it behind his back, Picture below is from Galuna Island arc when Gray met Lyon on Curse Island, they (local villager) ask for Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy mark to prove it if they are Fairy Tail's Mage.

So if happy has it, it not weird that Carla also has it. But she usually wearing full clothes so maybe it's hidden behind her cloth


Why wasn't Kaori Miyazono famous? From the show's earlier episodes, it's easily evident that Kaori was a great violinist. Even one of the judges was shocked and wondered like "where had she been all this time and why isn't she famous?"

Why wasn't Kaori famous or known as a notable violinist? Even a popular violinist like Toshiya Miike knew about Kaori, as it's shown in the anime that he dislikes Kaori's playing style and disrespects her in front on Arima.

We do not know Kaori's progress in her violin studies, and as I am not a violinist, I cannot comment on the difficulty of her repertoire (and thus, of the competitions in which she plays). However, there are two out-of-universe reasons for Kaori's lack of fame that come to mind.

Firstly, even classical music listeners might not follow competitions closely enough to recognise those who performed well in them. I mostly listen to classical music and I know the names of a number of big competitions, but I barely know the names of those who did well. Moreover, with the exception of certain "niche" interests — period instruments, transcriptions, some types of vocal performance — I am likely to end up listening to recordings and performances by better known, more "established" musicians whom I already know.

Note also that there are any number of decent musicians who play difficult repertoire but are not well-known outside of their local circles.

Secondly, it is made clear by episode 2 that Kaori does a poor job at following the score, which might prevent her from getting a following in the right circles.1 I might avoid someone whom I knew to consistently and flagrantly push an interpretation that clearly was not the composer's intention, and I am not the only one. My teachers would also be unhappy with me if I played like that, which in turn would inhibit my development and recognition.

When I speak of "following the score," I do not mean robotically playing it without thought. Rather, I mean that the production is intelligent and approximates what the composer might have expected. It is important that I "stick to the score" in my piano playing, but when I do so, I still have to make decisions and play thoughtfully.


An anime about a bullied girl who gets help from a "god"? I'm searching for an anime which was released between 2013 and 2014. I am not so sure, but it seemed to be a new anime.

The plot of this anime is about a girl who has always been bullied at school. One day, when she goes to the schools toilet, she see a message on the WC door. The message comes from a boy/man/person who "is a god" (he calls himself a god). In the message, he tells the girl that he can stop the bullying and make her life better. All he wants from her is that she believes/trusts him like a god (because gods need trust/belief from humans to exist).

You're describing the plot to the first episode of Noragami

Wikipedia excerpt of the first episode:

  A god named Yato answers a five-yen prayer to defeat a phantom that has appeared above a school using his Regalia, Tomone.

Below is a picture of the main characters - the one with the sword is the God, Yato.


Why were several members from the 104th training regimen suspected of being titans? In the second season of the anime several members from the 104th training regimen are detained without their gear and are forced to wear street clothes. It is said that it was because they were suspected to have titans among them.

How did they come to this conclusion?

This detainment of the 104th recruits began during the last few seconds in the last episode of Season 1, right after the dusts settles

   after the battle between Eren and Annie

Season 1, Ep 25

  As Annie is being kept deep underground, a group of the former 104th Cadet Corps soldiers are nearing an unknown location, not knowing of the dangers awaiting them.

In this scene, they are also wearing regular civilian clothing and no ODM gear. And as we see, they are being held in the beginning of Season 2 due potential of titan spies

Season 2, Ep 1

  12 hours before this, the 104th recruits are kept at a southern outpost in Wall Rose under suspicions of a Titan spy among them

Prior to the titan attack in season 1, the idea of Titan Shifters was unknown to a majority of the population; very few actually knew about them. At the end of season 1, both of the (currently) revealed Titan Shifters were from the 104th recruits. As Henjin and Nevious stated in the comments, a lot of the 104th cadets were refugees from the initial titan attack and there was little known of their history.

In Season 2, Ep 6, which occurs only three days later (according to the timeline), it shows that

  Eren thinks back to twelve hours earlier at Ehrmich District where Sasha's report revealed that Reiner and Bertholdt were registered as originating from the same region as Annie Leonhart.

So based on this information, the 104th cadet contained 2 confirmed and 2 suspected Titan Shifters. Given that 2 others came from the same region as one of the Titan Shifters, and with no knowledge of how many Titan Shiters there could be, it was better to isolate them then draw attention to specific individuals.


Should I watch the K movie ("Missing Kings") before watching the second season ("Return of Kings")? The show K: Return of Kings is going to be airing in fall 2015. I've seen the first season (K), but I haven't gotten around to watching the movie (K: Missing Kings) yet.

Am I good to start watching the second season right away, or do I need to watch the movie first?

(While it's often the case that movies incidental to a TV series are just sidestories that you don't have to watch to follow the TV series, the naming scheme here makes me wonder if that's actually the case with K.)

You should watch the movie, as it is related to the storyline of Return of The Kings (ROTK). If you don't, you will not know the major changes that have been made, nor the main villain of ROTK, nor will you know what happened to Shiro. These were all revealed in the movie. They would just allow Shiro to show up and you would not know what happened to him or how he was revived. Though it's just him

   using his powers to regenerate a body and being collected by the dying Golden king.

So yes, you should watch the movie before ROTK in order to avoid being confused by all the sudden changes in ROTK, since even the movie occurs after a time skip after the ending of the first season.


Is there an official Otaku day? I've stumbled upon many posts on G+ and FB (example) that state that December 15th is some sort of official Otaku Day.
I've also found this page which is from 2012, which means this was celebrated, at least, in 2012 too.
However, I found no reliable pages that say that this is a thing, much like the person who posted the first post on this forum.

I found this ANN article that puts this year's Otaku Day on August 17th (2012's was on the 18th). Furthermore, the second link provided there links to a Facebook page, in which it is stated that this event takes place on the third Saturday of August every year.

The event announced on the first paragraph is, apparently, called "World Otaku Day". The one announced on the second is the "(Annual) International Otaku Day". However, I find no reference of any of these two, nor of any "official" Otaku day on Wikipedia.

So, is there a day that is really (official, or something of the sort) regarded as Otaku Day? Are there any more reliable sources that have a fixed date for this event?
Or are these two events relatively official and both recognised as two different Otaku days?

I've been searching for official answers, as you said, this is probably new, started on 2012 (or at most, 2011). All what I could find are some personal posts.

I have searched Google for similar images of the one below (the one below is used to advertise for OtakuDay):

And so, I found the original drawing here with title "coffee-kizoku-shibuya_rin-the_idolm-ster-the_idolm", which is a fan-art of an anime/manga character, but it has nothing to do with the OtakuDay.

I've searched twitter for #OtakuDay, there is really nothing official even on that hash tag, all I found is personal posts again (and it is probably started on 2011).

So far, the only official (non-personal) thing is actually what you posted from the AnimeNewsNetwork.com:

2nd Annual International Otaku Day = 3rd Saturday of August = "August 18, 2012"

3rd Annual International Otaku Day = 3rd Saturday of August = "August 17, 2013"

So, the 1st Annual International Otaku Day = 3rd Saturday of August = "August 20, 2011"

As for the Dec 15 it's made up in 2010 and it has been spreading since then. I finally could find the source, the oldest and very first one is this: here in tumblr posted on 14th Jul 2010

EDIT:

So, the 1st Annual International Otaku Day - 3rd Saturday of August = "August 20, 2011" is by the ANN. And the December 15th is World Day of Otaku is made by anime/manga fans.


Why do witches get special treatment in Majo no Tabitabi? (I haven't read the manga or novel, just watching the anime, currently at episode 7)
In episode 2, Elaina became a full-fledged witch & went to the Land of Mages. Upon arriving, she was told that witches are automatically allowed in because only witches could get in. Later in the episode, Elaina was rejected from every hotel she visited because she wasn't recognized as a witch since her brooch marking her status as a witch was missing. Add to this the fact that later in the series, people only recognize as "a witch" and not "that witch", meaning she's not famous, and that her status is only signified by having a witch's brooch.
Elaina was granted her brooch in episode 1 by Fran who was an unknown witch (at least in her area). Considering this, there's nothing to guarantee that the brooch was granted to Elaina for some illegitimate reason, such as a bribe, and that brooches can't be handed out without control, and that anyone with some money/status can just buy a witch's brooch.
Despite how there seems to be no anti-counterfeit, everyone seems to recognize anyone with a witch's brooch as trust-worthy & looked up upon, as shown by how people seem to invite Elaina (and later Niké) into their homes without question, as well as treat with great hospitality.
It'd be understandable in Saya's case, as she's recognized as "a witch from the United Magic Association", which seems to be a well-established group. However, Elaina appears to be part of no such reputable organization, and her main credibility as a witch comes from having a brooch, which seems to have come with no reliable backing.
Given such a lack of backing (in both ability & personality) for witches' brooches, how is it that witches are universally (so far) regarded so highly? (If this is answered later in the series, please mark your answer with a spoiler warning)

My theory is that those brooches can only be created by witches. Thus anyone with a brooch is a certified witch with another witch backing. Witches are not rare from what I have seen, but because witches are better at magic than the average person I reckon they are generally held in high regard.
About the buying of brooches from witches (considering that only they can create them). I suppose some witches who are evil (they're still humans) would sell a brooch, but I have not seen any evidence of witches who would do that.


Did Zeniba's hair tie help Chihiro in any way? Nearing the end of Spirited Away, Zeniba weaves and gifts Chihiro a hair tie and claims that it will protect her.

Is there any indication that this (presumably magical) hair tie played any useful role during the rest of the movie?

There is a scene towards the end where Haku warns Chihiro to never look back until she reaches the outer end of the tunnel. When she's about to enter the tunnel, she stopped for a while and started turning her head around but stopped at the very last moment. At the same time the hair tie sparkled. Its a very subtle scene.

Now Haku did not tell her the reason why. But if you are familiar with Asian cultures, looking back would have trapped Chihiro in the spirit world forever.
Yes, the hair tie did save her. At least in my interpretation.


What is the jutsu that ninjas use to appear/disappear instantly? Some users of the jutsu are Kakashi, Gai, Genma, Kabuto, etc. It can often be seen when Anbu members are dismissed.

The most common one I know of and I think you are talking about is the Body Flicker Technique (also known as Teleportation Jutsu, or Shunshin no Jutsu).

  The Body Flicker Technique is a high-speed movement technique,
  allowing a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost
  untraceable speed.*

  To an observer, it appears as if the user has
  teleported. A puff of smoke is occasionally used to disguise the
  user's movements. It is accomplished by using chakra to temporarily
  vitalise the body and move at extreme speeds. The amount of chakra
  required depends on the overall distance and elevation between the
  user and the intended destination.


Where is this Shingeki no Kyojin light novel in the series' timeline? According to Wikipedia there are three light novel volumes titled Before the Fall, which are prologues to the anime/manga storyline. I saw another light novel titled Harsh Mistress of the City which comes right after them.

Does that novel tell the story from where the anime and the manga is starting?

The spin-off light novel Attack on Titan: Queen of the Isolated City, subtitled The Harsh Mistress of the City, is set in the year of 845, a few days after the appearance of the Colossal Titan in the main series [source]. After the breach of Wall Maria, Titans appeared in the Quinta District and chaos ensued in this isolated city. So far, only the first volume has been released, on August 1, 2014. There is a legal free sample in Japanese.

Two volumes in total were planned for this spin-off. The info was given on a flier included in Volume 12 of the main series.


Can Minato teleport to his special kunai from Kamui's dimension? During his fight against Minato, it seemed that Tobi was trying to send Minato to Kamui's dimension. Even if Tobi had succeeded, couldn't Minato just teleport to one of his special kunai using the Flying Thunder God technique? Tobi knew of the Flying Thunder God technique, so what did he want to accomplish by sending Minato to Kamui's dimension?

From this page about Kamui's abilities:

  Despite not always being present, Obito could keep targets under genjutsu while they were confined inside this technique's pocket dimension, thus keeping them incapacitated for extended durations.

Tobi knew that he cannot defeat the Fourth Hokage so easily while keeping Kyuubi under his control, since controlling Kyuubi itself consumes a lot of chakra. Hence, he may have tried sending Minato to Kamui's dimension to keep him out of the equation.

Minato can teleport to his Flying Thunder God formulas (specially marked kunai), but it isn't revealed whether he can do it from a different dimension.


What happened in the last arc of spice and wolf season 2? I have a couple of doubt about what happened in this arc.

In the anime, the merchant Eve decided to get revenge against the church by plotting something.
And that something should be: buying a lot of fur and then sailing somewhere in order to get big profit.

I actually don't get how the two things are related.

Also Lawrence at the end said she was going to commit a suicidal act, so this makes me wonder if she actually planned to use the money for something else.

I do love a good Spice & Wolf question! The short answers are:

Eve was not trying to hurt the Church. The only revenge she desired was against the deceased merchant who had once bought her, which was the reason she was so motivated to earn profits. Her goal was to become wealthier than he had ever been, in order to prove he'd only been able to buy her due to luck, and that he could never afford her under normal circumstances.
The suicidal act which Lawrence was referring to was her plan to buy up a large number of furs before everyone else, because it was purposely interfering with the expectations of the Church, and the Church isn't shy about killing people who defy their authority or otherwise become a nuisance.

Now for a bit of a longer explanation, specifically about the relationship between Eve's plan and the Church. While her plan wasn't a plot to get revenge against the Church, it might have seemed that way because she was determined to carry it out despite knowing it directly conflicted with the Church's plans. At the same time, the bishop of Lenos's unfair dismissal of Eve made the Church well-deserving of any negative impact her plans would have on them.

When the events are considered chronologically, it becomes clear that Eve didn't devise the plan to buy furs in order to seek revenge against the Church, since the way they wronged her in the first place was by abandoning her after she'd already shared this plan with them.

Basically, Eve wasn't interested in hurting the Church, but she also continued her plan in spite of the fact she would be hurting the Church. After this clarification has been made, your first question requires a new answer.

  The Church is somehow hurt by Eve buying a lot of furs and then sailing away to make a big profit. How are these two things related?

For maximum clarity, I'll try to explain it with as much relevant background detail as possible.

Eve and the Church had been working together, smuggling salt into Lenos. Before this arrangement, the bishop of Lenos had been falling continually further into debt, until Eve approached him with the salt-smuggling plan. Since she's nobility within the kingdom of Winfiel, she also offered to put him in contact with a powerful archbishop there.

Eve did all the work in coming up with the plan, initiating the setup, then actually transporting the salt, and the Church paid her for its delivery. This arrangement was incredibly lucrative for the Church.

However, the Church was forced to cancel their annual northern campaign due to a falling out between them and the nation of Ploania, which is an area the campaign would have needed to pass through. Since the northern campaign's entire purpose had always been to display the Church's power, this cancellation brought the Church's authority into question and made the threat of an uprising more serious, so they started focusing entirely on strengthening their base of power and completely pulled out of salt-smuggling in the process.

This put Eve in a bad position, since she suddenly lost her sole source of income.

Meanwhile in the port town of Lenos, a freeze on all fur trading was put into effect.

(Note: The following section explains why a freeze was put on the fur trade, and why the Council of Fifty came to the decision that they did. If you fully understand this part already, feel free to skip it.)

The freeze on fur trading became necessary due to the northern campaign's cancellation. Lenos's craftsmen relied heavily on the northern campaign to sell their finished products, which would have normally flown off the shelves as souvenirs, since knights and mercenaries spent money quite freely. The cancellation of the campaign was an unthinkable economic blow to these craftsmen.

Since the campaign was not taking place, the town's economy would need to rely on merchants, who were not coming to the town to spend money as consumers, but rather quite the opposite. While knights and mercenaries are especially free with their coin, merchants are especially miserly. Their only purpose is to buy items they can resell for a worthwhile profit, so they have zero interest in buying clothing at retail prices.

Instead, the merchants would be interested in buying the furs themselves. As raw materials, they are cheap and can be easily sold for a good profit after transporting them elsewhere.

This is where the conflict arises.

With Lenos's craftsmen being unable to sell their products like usual, they'd also be unable to buy the vast quantities of fur like usual, which meant the merchants would have an opportunity to buy up the ridiculously large fur surplus that was suddenly available.

Additionally, the merchants could broker deals with the fur sellers, making arrangements to buy all their furs in the future as well. This would be pretty tempting to the sellers, since a merchant would be guaranteed to buy their furs every year, whereas the craftsmen of Lenos were now unreliable since the northern campaign might be cancelled again.

Thus, the Council of Fifty put a freeze on all fur trading, and convened to decide if the fur trade should be banned altogether, since that would guarantee the supply of furs would remain available to the local craftsmen.

The craftsmen of clothing in Lenos, along with the people who supply them their tools and wares, would be faced with complete ruin if the entire fur supply was bought out. At the same time, there was absolutely no guarantee that the clothing would sell even if fur sales were banned, and having money no longer coming into the town would devastate the economy of Lenos. Even if the craftsmen wanted to export the clothing, there were any number of other towns with superior clothing craftsmanship, so paying to ship it somewhere else would hardly be worth the trouble.

In the end, the compromise the Council of Fifty made was to restrict all fur-trading to cash-only transactions. By restricting fur trades to cash, they would be able to sell some of the furs while preventing the entire town's supply from being quickly bought out. After all, the larger a trading firm became, the more of its business took place on paper, in entries on ledgers, rather than with cash.

The Church heard of the decision well before it was going to be made public, and Eve found out through her contacts in the Church. She then approached the bishop of Lenos with a plan that would make both her and the Church a lot of money: Since the Church was sitting on a nearly unimaginable amount of cash from the tithes it collected, they could prepare to buy up all the furs in Lenos immediately after the Council of Fifty's decision was made public, while everyone else would still be scrambling to get cash together, and then they could move the furs downriver.

The bishop loved Eve's idea, except for the part where she was included in it. He found a trading company to partner with instead, and used that as an excuse to cut his ties with Eve, saying it would be more advantageous to deal with a trading company than with an individual merchant. It was a pretty harsh course of action, especially considering he owed a lot to her for the salt-smuggling opportunity. Although, the fact he owed her was exactly why he didn't want her around anymore, and got rid of her while he had a good opportunity.

However, Eve refused to let the deal she'd proposed get away from her. She started gathering up cash of her own, intending to buy a large number of furs and then transporting them downriver before anyone else had the chance, including the trading company the Church had partnered with. Whoever could get their furs downriver first would earn the best return on their investment, since people won't be willing to pay nearly as much for furs after they realize that the market is being flooded with them.

Eve's plan would infringe on a considerable portion of the Church's intended revenue, which is how it would hurt the Church.

Source: Spice & Wolf light novels (Volume 5).


Why is there no nudity in Darling in the Franxx? Darling in the Franxx has a lot of sexual undertones in it and it's not exactly subtle about it. Why doesn't it have any nudity then? I'm not talking about full blown hentai, I'm talking about some bare breasts here and there. It's not exactly for small children anyway, so... what gives? Even Ranma 1/2, if I remember correctly, had bare breasts in its original airing. I know it was a very different time, but still...

Judging from the manga, the creators don't have any qualms about showing female nipples, so why did they hold back on the anime? ... Did they just reserve it for the manga as an additional selling point or what? I heard the manga is successful, but I doubt it's just because of that, but I could be wrong...

Personally, I think it's because Darling in the Franxx is mainly about romance and action. They were mainly talking about the love between Hiro and Zero Two, so I don't think it's necessary for them to show nudity. Also, even if Darling in the Franxx is not for small children, it shouldn't show nudity, because the genre is not ecchi.


What happened to Nagato after the reanimation jutsu got released? As Itachi was able to stop Kabuto's ET, the reanimated souls got released.

But what happened to Nagato?

Since he was pierced with Itachi's Totsuka Blade, will his soul be released? Or will he be trapped in the sake jar?

I haven't found a proper answer, it seems to me that this one is unanswered, yet Nagato stated this before the sealing was over:

  Bidding them farewell as the sword seals him, Nagato remarked that he was going to rejoin his teacher in the afterlife. With Nagato sealed, Kabuto cursed the fact that Nagato's mobility was hampered.

So it appears to me that Nagato knew that he'll be released and he would meet Jiraiya in the afterlife. Btw, don't forget that every sealed reanimation body was released (e.g all the Kages), so we could assume that along with them, Nagato was freed from the jutsu, too.


What was the moral of Sasuke and Orochimaru's arcs across the Naruto series? Was there any? So Naruto Gaiden has concluded, and it featured both Sasuke and Orochimaru in his latest iteration. Which again raises the question, what exactly was the moral of the story for these two?

The Naruto series excelled at emphasizing certain moral behaviors to its readers/viewers: e.g., with hard work, determination, self-confidence, and a will to succeed, even a loser or social outcast can reach the top; love and understanding each other on a deeper level can solve any problem and bring out all you're actually capable of; kindness and compassion towards wild 'Beasts' can lead to positive results; it's important never to abandon your friends and family; etc etc. All very good, solid shounen values!

So what do the lives of Sasuke and Orochimaru teach us (if anything) from their character arcs? By the end of Shipuden neither has really repented or shown remorse for their bad behavior (simple "sorries" do not cut it), both have done horrible things (murder, hideous human experimentation, etc) for which they are never punished (Sasuke is pardoned, Orochimaru's 'imprisonment' in Gaiden is pretty milquetoast, and he's even allowed to continue researching with his assistants!), and it is implied that they got a free pass for the simple reason that they joined forces with the Shinobi Alliance to destroy a common threat that was even worse (and one which was against their own interests to see succeed anyway!). Even then, Sasuke attempted to hijack things at the last minute and take over the world, only relenting when he was soundly defeated (i.e., he stopped when it was no longer possible for him to achieve his ends!). Yet both are still allowed to do pretty much whatever they please for the next decade or two. So what are we to make of all this? Do whatever you want and if you have powerful enough friends, you can get away with it, and keep on doing whatever you want?

Though walking the line about the possibility of this being opinion based, I feel we can answer the question based on the good ol' "Shounen Virtues" you aptly described. Let me know if you want to expand/limit the answer.

The main two according to me are:

No one is completely bad. However in the darkness you may be, you always have that small little goodness inside of you. Be it Anti-Villains, Not Evil but Misunderstood or another common Trope. Other examples include  Zabuza, Haku, Kimimaro, Itachi, Kisame, Nagato, Konan, and Obito. This also goes very nicely with the Whole Yin-Yang symbolism.
Everyone deserves forgivness/second chances. There is nothing you can do that can/should/will not be forgiven. True redemption however takes sacrifice. I really liked the panel where Orochimaru saves Tsunade's life and then they talk about Jiraiya's death. Sasuke undertakes a journey of self discorvery post the events of 4th Great Ninja war. This is a true Shounen value in the sense because if they regret their past actions they are excused.

Other small values I feel were discussed are

Morality of Revenge - Sasuke's journey from Itachi to hidden leaf and finally for World Domination. Also subverted by Naruto by forgiving Pain. Shikamaru meanwhile is still laughing at Hidan
Bonds of Student and Teacher - Fights between 3rd Hokage and Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Pain, Kakashi and Sasuke, 4th Hokage and Obito we see recurring instances of Sensei's love.


Can Super Saiyan God (Red) Kaio-ken be made just like Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan (Blue) Kaio-ken? In the last manga, Goku is able to transform in Super Saiyan God Red on his own, without the other 5 Saiyans surrounding him in a ritual. My question is, in this transformation, can he use the Kaio-ken on top of it, just as he used it with the Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan transformation (Super Saiyan Blue)?

Your question is a tricky one, my friend. It hasn't been covered in the anime or the manga as to whether or not that is possible, but theoretically it should NOT be.

Why? Because in the anime which has already been declared canon ("somewhat..."), it has been stated that Kaioken on top of SSB is allowable because it is used on god-ki under perfect ki control.

SSR does not have perfect ki control which is why it can only be done via ritual, and also why Vegeta does not have SSR form.

Arguably since the manga and the anime deviate whereas spoilers below for anyone who isn't caught up...

   In the battle between Goku and Hit, two different outcomes are portrayed. In the anime, Goku uses Kaioken x10 while in SSB to enable him to overpower Hit's time-skip ability. Doing so makes him unable to control his ki for a period of time, forcing him to warp into the wrong places and leaving him unable to even fly correctly. Now in the manga, Goku transitions between SSR and SSB, throwing Hit's timing out of whack and eventually defeating him. So this brings in two hot topics:

 Is SSR still usable without the ritual due to the zenkai boost?
 Is Kaioken usable compounded with SSB? Which one is the canon here? One is true and the other has to be false, unless for some strange reason both are true.

Kaioken on SSB may not even "technically" be real due to the anime only being partially canon.

TLDR: Theoretically no, and with what has currently been seen in the anime and manga as of June 27, 2016, no. Is it possible? Yes.


What does reversing a person's bioelectricity do? In A Certain Magical Index, Accelerator says something about reversing a person's bioelectricity. What happens to a human body when he does this?

Reversing a person's bioelectricity would result in that person's death. Accelerator has demonstrated his ability to manipulate bioelectricity several times in canon. My first example is in volume 5 of the light novels of A Certain Magical Index, when he manipulates Last Order's bioelectricity to erase the virus. There are also references to reversing a person's bioelectric field.

From pages 148-149 of the Yen Press edition of volume 5 (emphasis mine):

  He had so much power, but all he could think of was blowing people up by touching their skin and reversing their blood or bioelectric field-
  ...
  If he could reverse the direction of somebody's blood flow and bioelectric field just by touching their skin...
  ...
  "Hey, If I can control her brain's electrical impulses, I can mess with her personality data without having to use a Testament, right?"
  ...
  "There's nothing I can't do. I killed people by reversing their blood flow and electric fields just by touching their skin during that experiment, yeah? I can reflect stuff already, so it's not strange that I can go beyond and control it."

Here, Accelerator confirms that he has killed people by reversing their electric fields, and implies that they exploded.

In the A Certain Scientific Accelerator manga volume 4, Accelerator demonstrates his ability to mess with someone's bioelectric field(he doesn't say anything about reversing it, however). In chapter 17, Accelerator messes with the bioelectricity of one of the members of Scavenger, Seike, knocking Seike unconscious. Accelerator's dialogue from the scene:

  Did you know there's something called bioelectricity that runs inside human bodies? I'm gonna mess with it a little, heh. Enjoy!

The subsequent panels show electricity radiating from Seike's body. Blood erupts from Seike's nose and ears, saliva drips from the mouth, and the eyes roll up. The end result is Seike unconscious, with a look of anguish.

Finally, volume 3 of A Certain Magical Index references this ability. From page 189:

  Those hands could alter the vector of anything they touched... For example, a simple stroke of the skin would allow him to reverse the flow of blood in [Kamijou's] veins or the direction of the bioelectric field around his body-either way, the person's heart would explode.

Here it is implied that reversing a person's bioelectricity will cause their heart to explode.


How could Kakashi use Susanoo? There are two reasons I have this query (spoiler alert!):

   Firstly, Obito didn't have Susanoo. Considering you need to awaken both Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, while Obito never used even one of them, how was Kakashi able to use Obito's eyes to produce Susanoo? If he copied Susanoo, then how did he do that? Is it even possible to copy something like Susanoo?

 Secondly, not being of the Uchiha bloodline, he faces immense problems in using even a single eye for long periods of time. He almost lost half his chakra by making a lightning clone against Deva Path. On top of that, now he has both eyes after a long drawn battle fighting the likes of Zetsu, Obito, Madara and now Kaguya, how is he even supposed to stand?

Aside from the obvious chakra problem - which has been shown to be a problem on previous fights (namely vs Deidara, IIRC) - there don't seem to be any plotholes, IMO.

As I've pointed out in this answer:

Amaterasu, "representing the light of the material world"1, is performed with the right eye.
Tsukuyomi, "the nightmare realm, representing the world of the mind and darkness"1, is performed with the left eye.
Susano'o is "the strength of the tempestuous force that resides only within those of have mastered"1 both of the above techniques.

Granted we haven't seen Kakashi perform any of those, but we haven't seen Madara perform them either, and he mastered Susano'o all the same-
That being said, I don't think Kakashi was able to perform Susano'o due to the Sharingan's copying ability, but rather because he now possesses both Sharingan.

As for the chakra problem, maybe the next chapter will shed some light on that, but let's also remember that Obito gave Kakashi both Sharingan not in his physical form, but only as a 'blob of chakra', and he may have transferred some chakra over to Kakashi on the process.

1Naruto: The Official Character Databook


Was Raditz faster than the speed of light? In one English dub (there are at least 3 IIRC), Piccolo says Raditz it's faster than the speed of light. But in the spanish dub, he doesnt say so. How about the original japanese dialogue and the manga? Does Piccolo say Raditz it's faster than the speed of light? Was Raditz faster than the speed of light?

Raditz being FTL was a dub fabrication, it is not present in the original manga.
However i noticed that this question has been discussed on various forums and each of them concluded that one shouldn't expect any realism from a non-science based show (though they said this in a lot less polite manner).

Source- http://www.killermovies.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-527409-lightspeed-in-the-dbzverse.html

Discussions-

https://www.neoseeker.com/forums/88/t2273700-raditz-moving-at-speed-of-light/
https://comicvine.gamespot.com/forums/dragon-ball-universe-1775304/raditz-vs-speed-of-light-1747635/


Who are some of the Koha-Ace characters in the ED? During the ED of the Carnival Phantasm Special Season OVA, we see just about all of the cast from major Type-Moon works as Koha-Ace characters.

From right to left, who are the person (13th from the left, not including the floating characters) between Hisui and Miyako, the person (10th from the left, not including Keitai-san, the cellphone) between Caster (Fate/Extra) and Chikagi, and the very last person on the far left (first one from the left)?

I believe the one on the far left is Kariya Matou from Fate/Zero,

the one next to Chikagi is Rani VIII from Fate/Extra (it's a bit hard to see as reface is mostly obscure, but the clothing and skin color matches),

and the one in front of Miyako is Assassin (Li Shuwen), also from Fate/Extra (the wardrobe practically gives it away).


Philosophical meaning on how Ed beat/defeats Truth? I've been reading around everywhere on this topic and haven't really come to a proper understanding.
From what I've read, Ed beats truth by sacrificing his gate and from this he gets to take Al back home.

Now this doesn't make sense. Does this mean that he essentially sacrificed everything, his ability to do alchemy, and in return he gets to "take anything you want" which is what Truth says back to him in the Japanese dub?

What's the deeper philosophical meaning to this? Why would you give up/sacrifice/destroy truth? Isn't it important to know the truth?

Does sacrificing truth destroy it, i.e. the truth is you can't do this, so I sacrifice truth, and truth doesn't exist except what I think it is?
So I become truth and essentially I can do anything because I am truth?

Any explanations?

The following is my interpretation of the end of the series. It does not necessarily reflect the original author's opinion.
Unmarked Spoilers Below
The point of Ed's sacrifice at the end of the series is that he finally understood the truth about alchemy, and, more specifically, the Law of Equivalent Exchange.
In the intro, Alphonse says:

To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth.

At the start of the series, Ed and Al believe wholeheartedly that almost everything can be solved with alchemy. That's why they attempted human transmutation to begin with - they see everything as an alchemical equation. They felt that there must be some way to bring back their mother using alchemy, and that there must be some way to restore their original bodies as well.
However, as the series progresses, the brothers begin to discover holes in this seemingly ironclad (fullmetal?) law of alchemy. They discover that Izumi Curtis had also attempted human transmutation, trying and failing to revive her infant child. Following this, when Edward spends some time in Resembool after visiting the ruins of Xerxes, Hohenheim suggests that the creature they transmuted back at the beginning of the series was not even their mother. Upon examining the remains, he and Pinako confirm that this is indeed the case. Knowing this, Edward comes to the conclusion that bringing someone back from the dead is impossible, which he tells Izumi in Episode 20.

This revalation is significant. If there are some things that are impossible with alchemy, like bringing someone back from death, it implies that there may be some things that do not have a set alchemical value. This throws a wrench into the law of Equivalent Exchange, since if not everything can be quantified by alchemy, Equivalent Exchange cannot be the only truth of the world.
What this other truth is, though, eludes everyone up until the climax of the series, when Edward performs his final transmutation. He realizes how he can get his brother back and keep his body. As he does this, Hohenheim seems to figure it out, too.

At this point, Edward faces Truth, and offers him his own personal gate of truth in exchange for Alphonse's body. They exchange the following dialogue (English sub of Japanese dub):

Truth: You would lower yourself to become just a normal person, unable to use alchemy?
Edward: "Lower myself," nothing. I've been just a person from the start. An insignificant human who couldn't save a little girl who had been made into a Chimera.
Truth: You're sure you'll be okay without it?
Edward (thinking of his friends and family): Even without alchemy, I still have them.
Truth: That is the right answer, alchemist. You have beaten me. Take it with you. All of it! The back door is over there, Edward Elric.

Edward has realized something critical, something that circumvents even Equivalent Exchange. What gives him value is not his ability to do alchemy, but his loved ones. In Ed's eyes, he does not exchange anything of value, yet gains "everything" (his brother, his friends, and his family). He has not been lowered or decreased at all by losing his gate ("I've just been a person from the start"), but has instead increased.
Alphonse expands on this principle when he meets with the Hughes family in the epilogue:

Alphonse: We were afforded a lot of happiness, a lot of happiness, in a lot of places by a lot of people...including Mr. Hughes. And so, now, we feel it's out turn to return the favor.
Gracia: Is that equivalent exchange, like the alchemists say?
Alphonse: No, by taking ten, and giving ten, it all ends up the same. So we take ten, put something of ourselves on top of it, and return 11. It's not much, but it's a new principle we've hit upon. Now we have to go and prove it.

This "new principle" as Alphonse puts it, is that hidden truth beyond Equivalent Exchange. It's what Edward did to get Al's body back - he took what was there (his own body), added some of himself (his gate) and was able to come out with more than what he came in with (his body and his brother).
Winry reinforces this idea again right at the end of the last episode:

Edward: Equivalent exchange! I'll give you half of my life, if you give me half of yours!
Winry: Why do alchemists have to be like this? The principle of equivalent exchange is all nonsense, isn't it?
Edward: What did you say?
Winry: It really is nonsense. Never mind half, I'll give you all of it.
Edward (after some banter): You really are amazing! You turn equivalent exchange on its ear so easily!

Winry, by giving Ed "her whole life" (or at least 85 percent of it) is once again not decreasing or losing anything, but instead gaining something, just as Ed is gaining something by giving her his whole life.
Ed drives this point home with his final line:

Edward: There's no point to lessons that don't bring with them pain. People can't gain anything without sacrificing something, after all. But once you've successfully endured that pain, you gain a heart that is stout enough not to be overcome by anything. Yeah, a heart made fullmetal.

When you go through a painful lesson, you pay the price in pain, and in turn, gain a lesson learned, but you also gain something extra - a heart made fullmetal, able to withstand anything.
So, to answer your question, he beats Truth by realizing that there are things alchemy cannot quantify, things with infinite value, and by choosing them over alchemy, he has effectively gained everything and lost nothing.


What is the origin of the curse? In Fruits Basket, a number of the Sohmas have a "curse" on them that makes them transform into whatever zodiac animal they represent. The current generation was not the first generation, so there must have been some beginning generation and some reason for it to begin. Where/when/why in-canon did this curse begin?

The curse appears to be the result of the Zodiac Legend. It is based on the real Zodiac legend, but a more detailed "true" version is outlined in Volume 22. It's quite long, but I'll post an abridged version here.

Long ago, God found a stray cat, and the two became friends. God was then inspired to send out invitations to other animals, to a banquet, so that he could meet more of them.
Twelve animals showed up (the twelve animals of the Zodiac), as well as the cat. The banquet was fantastic, until the cat collapsed on the floor, his life having finally run out. Not wanting to let go of his friendship with the cat, God forced the cat to drink an elixir of life, giving him immortality. He then had all the other twelve animals drink it as well.
As the cat came to, he told God that he did not want immortality. Everyone was shocked at the cat's rejection of immortality and his acceptance to let his life end. This allowed him to die, but the other animals didn't care, as they felt betrayed and alienated.
Eventually, the other animals were able to die as well, and God was once again left alone. As God's time to live came to an end, he accepted it, because he knew that he would see the other animals again on "the other side".

Seems like a pretty happy ending, but the way the volume tells goes on a bit after this. In particular, it says:

That first...
... promise.
At what point...
... did it become a curse?
When did it change...
... into a burden?

This event appears to be the origin of the Sohma Curse, as each cursed Sohma represents one of the twelve animals (and Kyo is the cat) that met at the banquet.


At what point in the timeline does the Steins;Gate movie take place? The new Steins;Gate movie, Steins;Gate: Fuka Ryōiki no Déjà vu, is set to come out in Japan on April 20th this year. Wikipedia says it is "based on the video game and anime series", but does not say whether it replaces the series, or if it's before, concurrent, or after the existing series.

When will this new movie take place in the Steins;Gate timeline?

Now that the movie is out, we can definitively say exactly when it takes place in the series. According to Wikipedia:

  The film takes place in August 2011, one year after the events of the anime series.

Having seen the film myself, I can confirm this. The events in the film occur in August 2011, a year after the ending of the anime where Okabe is ostensibly on the Steins;gate timeline. For obvious reasons, it's only compatible with the true ending of the VN (the one which the anime followed most closely).

It is worth pointing out that this is not compatible with the official non-canon sequel Steins;Gate: Hen'i Kuukan no Octet.


Why does Hayate have to cover herself when she enters and leaves Saint's Church? In the scene where Hayate goes to visit Carin after the formation of Riot Force 6 (episode 5 or 6 of StrikerS), when she enters Carin's office, she is seen wearing a shawl, the same kind shown to be worn by people outside moments before. However, when the two are talking, Hayate has taken it off.

When an alert about Gadget Drones' attack comes in, she is seen putting it back on in a hurry before she leaves. Why does she need to wear it outside Carim's office?

It is probably customary, just like it is a custom in some Christian churches that a woman is expected to cover her head when entering a church building, especially during the services.

The Sankt Kaiser Church is modeled after Christianity in general and the Catholic Church in particular. It also has an autonomous area on Mid-Childa; compare the Vatican city state. (There even exists a counterpart of the Turin shroud.)


Is Kayaba Akihiko the boss of the 100th floor of New Aincrad? In the anime Sword Art Online, the floors from 76-100 have been untouched since Kirito beat Kayaba, but before Kirito does so, Kayaba Akihiko said, "I was meant to be the final boss at the 100th floor."

Now that there is a New Aincrad built in Alfheim Online.

Is it possible that Kayaba Akihiko is waiting on the 100th floor for a rematch? Or could the end boss just be another random boss for them to fight?

To my understanding New Aincrad's Floor 100 has to to be revealed however the likelihood that it's Akihiko Kayaba is low.

After Sword Art Online was cleared Kayaba did a full dive and it was reported that he was killed in the process. it can be speculated that the Full Dive was successful however there is no evidence to definitely prove that Kayaba is alive
New Aincrad was released by Ymir, the company that now own Alfheim Online. the data from New Aincrad pre-exited on the Alfhiem Online Serves because of how ALO is a copy of SAO, however Aincrad had been altered.

  Due to the bought ALO data including copied data from the old Sword Art Online server, New Aincrad (with several changes from the original Aincrad in SAO) and Sword Skills were introduced into ALfheim Online and surviving SAO players were able to inherit their avatar data from SAO.

Source: Ymir - Background (Second Paragraph)

The Floors of New Aincrad are being slowly released so there is an upper limit until an update. this is evident in Sword Art Online 2 Episode 18 where Agil shows Kirito and Asuna the release notes for the next ALO update, including the introduction of the 21st-30th floors of New Aincrad. so at the moment (as of the end of Sword Art Online 2, I haven't read the Novels) no one can access Floor 100. if i was to speculate there is no data for Floor 100 (except for the outside appearance for the sake of scenery) until the update is released


Are there other known public security sections other than Section 9? We're all aware of Public Security Section 9, its operatives and scope.

The question is: are there other known sections, and if so, what are their scopes/mandates?

Yes, there are other sections, first mentioned in the first movie.

Section 1
Also known as the Special Service Squad, it acts like a special police unit (compare: SWAT)

Section 2

  Section 2 is under the control of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, in charge of conducting law enforcement matters regarding unauthorized experiments and patents take place without the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's consent.

Section 3
Enforces the anti-drug operations in Japan.

Section 4
A special unit in the Japanese Ground Self Defence Forces, also known as "The Rangers".

Section 6

  Section 6 is an Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance unit under jurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs known as the Treaty Council.

Qoutes are from the Ghost In The Shell-Wikia.


Is the version of Madoka Magica on Crunchyroll the DVD version? The DVD version has various changes (animation improvements, etc). I don't believe Madoka was on Crunchyroll during airing, so is the stream from the DVD edition?

See below for some comparison screenshots from episode 2, at the beginning of the first scene on the school roof (the one where Homura comes and gives a mysterious warning to Madoka and Sayaka).

Judging from the railings surrounding the roof area and the floor tiles, Crunchyroll is using the Blu-Ray/DVD version of Madoka Magica. Not the TV version.

TV

Blu-Ray

Crunchyroll


Why didn't the Zoldyck teach Killua Nen Killua is the Zoldyck with the highest potential, why didn't his familly teach him Nen?

Even as a kid he would definitely be able to learn it, at least the basic principles.

From the manga it emerges that they wanted to control him for as long as possible in order to grow him as a killer.
By teaching him the nen, thanks to his potential, he could have rebelled at any time, while, thanks to the fact that he did not know the nen, they were able to control it much longer.
Eventually they led him to identify himself as a killer. Basically a kind of brainwashing.
Not only that, his brother also used the nen to put a physical / psychological block directly into his brain.
And before he could get rid of it, Killua had to learn not only the basics of nen.
Moreover, the nen provides a sort of shortcut in protecting against lightning and torture. While his family wanted his body to adapt to these things regardless of the nen.
Obviously sooner or later they would teach him, also for this reason Killua's father let him go, he knew that, in any case, he would learn what he needed to be a killer.
In short, Killua was raised as a killer first of all from a psychological and physical point of view, learning the nen before all of this would have simply made Killua less strong and, consequently, less suitable to be a killer.


Differences in Yin Naruto and Yang Naruto? Initially, Naruto had Yang Kurama, said as the physical form or so. It gave him certain chakra and abilities.

Later in war he had Yin Kurama, the spiritual form, like genjutsu I believe. It must have given him some different abilities other than those given by the Sage of Six Paths. What are these?

And what were Naruto's post-Sasuke fight powers when he had both?

Yin is the power to create form out of nothingness. It is related to spiritual energy.

Yang breathes life into form. It relates to physical energy.

Source: http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Yin_Release

http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Yang_Release

Because Naruto had a Yang Nine Tails, it follows that he would gain access to the Nine Tails physical benefits and overflowing life energy. This manifested in super strength, rapid healing, and overflowing stamina.

If you look at how Nine Tails chakra was employed, you can see that Naruto had trouble giving it form. That's because he had massive power (Yang) but he wasn't given the power needed to shape it efficiently (Yin). When he did gain access to the Yin power, he found it much easier to manipulate changes in chakra nature and vary his types of Rasengan.


Can anyone help me identify this Anime piece? I just picked this piece up and know NOTHING about it except its a Guyver. I'm thinking its a mold. I'm really interested in finding out more about it. Can anyone help me out? Thanks!

Looks like it's part of a vinyl kit for Guyver II:


In Fate, why do some male historical figures get turned into females, but not vice versa? DISCLAIMER: My only knowledge about fate is the Fate/Zero and Unlimited Blade Works anime adaptations, as well as the Fate/Extella video game. This is something I'm genuinely curious about.

The Fate franchise is all about summoning Heroic Spirits to participate in the Holy Grail War. It is filled with fictional depictions of historical and mythical figures, such as Hercules, Achilles, King Arthur, Alexander the Great, and more.

There are many instances of turning male historical figures into female Heroic Spirits, including but not limited to King Arthur, Nobunaga Oda, Musashi Miyamoto, Francis Drake, and many more.

However, the reverse doesn't happen. Female historical figures stay female when summoned as Heroic Spirits and aren't turned into males.

Why is this? Is it for artistic reasons? Story-telling reasons?

The in-universe explanation for this is that these characters WERE female in history, it's just that the legends that became their legacy portrayed them as male.
In the case of Saber she was seen as a young boy whose ageing was halted when 'he' pulled the sword from the stone.
(Her full story is up on the F/SN wiki, some parts of it are pretty ridiculous though)

With Saber being the flagship Heroic Spirit of the Fate universe her backstory is by far the most elaborate and fleshed out, but it is assumed that other supposed-to-be-male characters have similar backstories/explanations.
One notable exception / edge case is Astolfo (The Rider for the Black team in Fate/Apocrypha) who is supposed to be male in the Fate universe as well, but just looks feminine, even though the wikis insist that this is androgynous: