What links "Luluco Space Patrol" and "Kill La Kill"? In the episode 7 of the show Luluco Space Patrol, a lot of references to the anime Kill La Kill are made:

The planet they are visiting is named KLK (initials for Kill La Kill)
The characters are talking about living fibers and how it is necessary to use special scissors to cut them
Some of the characters from Kill La Kill are present, such as the dog and the white clothes in background
The "big excessive titles" we can see in Kill La Kill are present in this episode:

At 5:20, we can hear the main theme of Kill La Kill
etc.

My question is: what links those two shows? Same editor/writer? What common points link those two anime close enough to  have an entire episode of Luluco dedicated to Kill La Kill?

My question is: what links those two shows? Same editor/writer?

Same everything, pretty much. Both shows are original IPs by Trigger (the animation studio), directed by studio founder Imaishi Hiroyuki, and I assume that many other staff members worked on both shows.

Trigger (or maybe it's just Imaishi) is known to be fond of reference humor - there were, for example, oblique references to Kill la Kill even in Inou Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de, the latter of which was an adaptation of a non-Trigger IP. Given the opportunity to reference one of their own IPs from another of their own IPs - which means they don't have to tiptoe around copyright issues - the results are what you see in episode 7 of Space Patrol Luluco.

In addition to the Kill la Kill thing in episode 7, there's also Little Witch Academia in episode 8; Sex & Violence with Machspeed in episode 9; and Inferno Cop in episode 11. These three things are also original Trigger IPs.


Origin of witches incantations Blair in Soul Eater says "Pum-pum-pkin, pumpkin" and Eva in Negima says "Lic, lac, La lac Lilac" before every spell they use.

Is there any kind of source to this pattern or is it just a coincidence?

Note: I didn't know how to be specific in the title. I hope it isn't misleading.

EDIT: As per Memor-X's request, I have to make my question clearer. I want the source of the idea that inspired the mangaka to use it and not the anime/manga's internal story.

I would assume the basis mangaka's use for witch incantations and the like would come from Mantras. sometimes they are called Arias or incantations but the basic principle is that the words that make them up hold value either to the actual spell or to the user.

In Soul Eater the witches use Arias which flow from their themes. For Blair, even though she's "a cat with a ridiculous amount of magic", her attacks are themed around Halloween and pumpkins are a symbol of Halloween eg. "Pumpkin Pumpkin, Halloween Cannon!".

For Medusa, her theme is Snakes, so when she says "Nake snake cobra cobubra", it's a reference to snakes ("Nake" and "cobubra" may be deliberate misspellings of Snake and cobra), and her Vector Magic seems to resemble snakes in how they move.

I haven't seen Negima however from nhahtdh's comment it would work out the same since the words "feels comfortable and natural to the user" the words would have a psychological effect on the caster. so most likely a new mage will have weaker/unstable spells in the beginning but as they practice they build up an Aria which will make them feel conformable.


How is the title of Yonko earned? The Emperors of the sea Aka "Yonkos" are the 4 great pirates who are renowned and feared by both the masses and the world government. Rumors depict them to be so powerful and important that a loss/death of any, could have a ripple effect strong enough to destroy the authoritative order of some regions.

What I'm trying to understand is how a pirate actually attains such a level; is it in any way related to the actual bounty of that individual or their second in command?  we all know that Kaido and big mom had subbordinates who attained bounties roughly around 1 billion; is that the prerequisite for becoming a Yonko? But then if that were the case, it doesn't explain how Marshal D teech was able to slyly slip into the ranks of Yonko.
Or is it more about who is closest to becoming the pirate King? Or more like whoever can defeat a Yonko automatically snatches the title?
I ask this mainly because of a lot of theories floating around about luffy becoming the 5th Yonko;

 After luffy crashes Big Moms wedding and made it out alive, "Big news Morgan"   announces him as the 5th Emperor of the sea and that really confuses me; Is all it takes to become an Emperor an announcement from a media outlet?

To sum it up, My question is on how a pirate becomes known as a Yonko, is there a deeper meaning to the title itself?

 Extra Question lol: what did Blackbeard do differently from Trafalga law to become a Yonko?, after all they were both warlords for a short while.

A Yonko is not an official title that has specific criteria, but rather is one that is attached to extremely powerful and notorious pirates. There is no deep meaning to the title that has been revealed so far, but it does go beyond simply having amazing combat prowess.

Based on the Yonkos we've been introduced to so far, we can see three distinct traits:

Their own abilities are top notch. We've seen them possess immense strength and durability, have great control over Haki and most also possess strong Devil Fruit powers. They are among the top pirates even individually.
They have fleets. Most of their strength is attributed to these large fleets that ally with the Yonko. You can see the exact known stats in the link above, we've seen Whitebeard, Big Mom and Kaido to have huge crews. Each of the Yonkos will have a number of Commanders under them, who in turn have groups of mid-level pirate crews.
They have territory thanks to their influence as a Yonko. They can declare locations as their own, and pirates and Marines can only bend to their will. The people residing in these territories are under the protection of the respective Yonko, and intruders are hunted down.

The Yonko are not a group like the Shichibukai, and each have their own agendas. Whitebeard was not interested in finding the One Piece and becoming Pirate King, whereas Blackbeard and Big Mom are.

While they are the pirates with the best chances to become Pirate King thanks to this much power and influence, the relation between the two titles isn't very strong or clear yet.

So, as we can see, the determination of who is a Yonko is also largely dependent on how notorious they are and how the other entities view them. In Luffy's case, Morgan simply hypes it up in order to make his news more entertaining. The media is not the deciding body for who is and isn't a Yonko, but it certainly shapes public opinion.

The reactions of the current Yonkos when shown, clearly indicate that they consider Luffy nowhere close to their level. Many fans would also agree to this conclusion, especially after

   his fight with Kaido in the latest chapter of the Wano arc.

Now, for the differences between Law and Teach, I'll also throw Luffy into the mix and explain. Being a Shichibukai has nothing to do with Yonko, it is not a required step. Law doesn't have a fleet, and only has an alliance with the Strawhats. And while he is powerful, he isn't exceptionally so.

On the other hand, Blackbeard

   killed Whitebeard during the Marineford war, and took his powers, becoming the first person to have two DF abilities.

After the war, he quickly expands his fleet and takes over almost all of Whitebeard's territories. All of this together is what allowed him to be recognized as a Yonko.

If we compare Luffy against these metrics, we know that he has formed the Grand Strawhat Fleet at the end of the Dressarosa arc (though he doesn't seem to assign it much value right now). We also have confirmation from Oda that the fleet will play a huge role in the future. In addition, when it comes to territories, Luffy has challenged Big Mom over Fishman Island, which was initially under Whitebeard, and he is currently challenging Kaido for Wano.

While he may still be too much of a greenhorn to be a proper Yonko, he is definitely on the path to become one, which is why there are some proper backers (among fans), and his title as the 5th Yonko isn't being dismissed completely.


Where does the term Wud come from? In the series Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil, magic users are often referred to as Wuds.

What does this term mean? Is it an acronym or an abbreviation?
Or is it supposed to be some other thing?

The word is likely to be an abbreviation for Wizard (ウィザード), but there is a bit of allusion behind the name.

It is a tricky one to explain and requires a bit of exploration into the Japanese language.

There exists an expression there, "うどの大木:"

  "Great trees are good for nothing but shade."

  大きな木々は、日陰以外には役にたたない

This refers to the Japanese spikenard (known as 独活, "udo"), or "mountain asparagus," referring to how the older, larger plant being of no use, except when it is young (and tender), where it is typically used for consumption in cuisine)

It's likely that the creator used the expression to allude to the state of Wizards in the series' universe, useless (good for nothing) fellows (as mentioned by certain character within the series).

There is speculation that there might be even more uses of allusion, but there are no solid sources to corroborate it:

  オズ (o-zu, as in Wizard of Oz) → オヅ (o-du, or o-zu, depending on romanization) → ウド (u-do, translated as "Wud")


What was the soundtrack with Juuzou looking at Big Madam during the auction raid in Tokyo Ghoul Re:? So there's a soundtrack on episode 4 of Tokyo Ghoul Re: at around 10:07, during the auction raid, Juuzou looks at Big Madame and this OST plays. Could someone identify and show me a link to the music used?

Most likely an instrumental version of Tokyo Ghoul:re OST - Willpower (Feat. Future Sunsets) By Yutaka Yamada


Is there any API available for Naruto? I came across this Pokemon API service: http://pokeapi.co/

Just want to know is there any API available for Naruto anime?

I bet you're planning to make a fan-based naruto game, so instead of searching for API, you should first gather information such as character's stats. These websites provide detailed information about each ninjas:

Full characters' biography and stats
Full characters' biography, history and stats (Naruto wikia)

And then, you can apply those stats and info just like http://pokeapi.co/ do.


Whereabouts of Senju clan Among the descendants of the Sage of Six Paths only the Uchiha clan seems to be alive. Where is the Senju clan (except Tsunade)? Were they eradicated during the wars? Or are they still alive?

It has not been revealed. The list of Senju clan members shown in the series are very few and almost all of them are dead (with the exception of Tsunade):

Here's the list of Senju clan members who are known:

Nawaki
Butsuma Senju
Hashirama Senju
Itama Senju
Kawarama Senju
Tobirama Senju
Tōka Senju
Tsunade

From Senju clan article:

  It is unknown if the Senju clan still exists as an independent clan since it neither became one of the four noble clans of Konohagakure nor is there are any known people with the last name "Senju" — with the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, being the only possible exception. Their legacy however, lives on strongly in the hearts of the people of Konoha.

From Clan Guide article:

  Senju (Thousand Arms) of the Forest were one of the founding clans of Konoha. Under Senju Hashirama, they allied with other clans including the Uchiha, to found the Fire Country's ninja village. It is unknown if Senju retains a clan structure in the current Konoha. Tsunade is the only known living descendant of founding clan of Konoha.

Apart from the Senju and Uchiha, the Uzumaki clan also has roots leading to the Sage Of Six Paths.

From Uzumaki clan article:

  Descendents from Asura Ōtsutsuki, being originated from the Senju clan,

Therefore, the Uzumaki clan is also one of the surviving descendents of the Sage of Six Paths, along with the Uchiha clan.


In Gingitsune episode 11, they mention something called Misogi, what is it? What is a Misogi? One of the characters mentioned that she thought it was only performed in the ocean or under a waterfall.

Misogi is a Japanese mountain ascetic practice of ritual purification. This may be undertaken through [...] standing under waterfalls, or other methods. - Wikipedia

This practice can also be seen in other Anime, like Sailor Moon episode 105.


How did Isaac and Miria became immortals? In one of the final episodes, Chez notices Isaac is immortal when he's trying to save him from falling off the train.
Isaac also got shot, and beaten down.

However, he didn't drink the "sake" he and Miria stole from the mob, did he?

How did he and Miria became immortals?

Same way as Gandors and Martellos.

  Box with elixir of immortality went from what's-his-name brewer to Dallas Genoard, who then left it at Gandors' place. On Scilard's orders, Dallas recovered the box, but then he was robbed by Isaac & Miria, who took the box with them to Firo's inauguration party, where all present drank the elixir.


What was removed between the Japanese and English releases of "Odin: Photon Space Sailer Starlight"? The anime film Odin: Photon Space Sailer Starlight was released in Japan with a running time of 139 minutes, but Central Park Media's U.S. release of the movie is only 93 minutes long. This results in a whopping 45 minutes of footage edited out. I realize there was no real ending to the movie since it was originally planned to be a trilogy, and that the film itself is kind of slow to begin with. But what did the U.S. release edit out? Was there a specific chunk(s) of the story that was removed? Or did they somehow remove all of the panning, random action, and borderline long still shots throughout the movie?

From Wikipedia:

  Many earlier anime theatrical films had slow deliberate pacing resulting in running times that were over two hours. Odin: Photon Sailer Starlight, whose original runtime was two hours 15 minutes had a pre-credits sequence, numerous surrealistic special effects scenes, lengthy dialogue scenes, silent moments, as well as a musical ending (special appearance by Loudness, the band who performed some of the music numbers), all of which were cut resulting in a 90 minute English dub.

So the answer appears to be "All of the above".

(I've not seen the movie yet.)


What is the meaning of "deculture?" Throughout the various Macross series the word "deculture" is used, like in the sign off, "see you next deculture" and in the Nyan Nyan song:

  "Nyan Nyan, Nyan Nyan, Ni hao Nyan, gorgeous, delicious, deculture!"

How is it used? What is its history? Where did it come from? (both in and out of universe)

"Deculture" (pronounced de-kult-cha) is a Zentradei expression of shock and surprise. In the early days of the Zentradi/human conflict it was a negative term used often by the Zentradis to denote their shock and disgust at the human-only concepts of culture, music, love and sex. For instance, in the movie Macross: Do You Remember Love? Zentradis reacted with a surprised and disgusted "Yak Deculture!" when they saw a kiss for the first time.

However, since the war ended and Zentradis became assimilated into human culture the meaning of the word started to shift. Zentradis have come to love those very things they used to see as alien and deplorable, so the word "deculture" started to get a more positive connotation of pleasant surprise that is commonly used by non-Zentradis as well. For instance in the series Macross Frontier (set 47 years after the events of Do You Remember Love?) Ranka Lee sings the theme song for the Nyan Cafe:

  Haochii rai rai, Meikuunyan, Nyan-nyan, nyan-nyan Nihao-nyan, Gojyasu! Derishasu! Deculture!!!! (Good Eats, come, come, Pretty Girls too! meow meow meow meow Hello meow Gorgeous! Delicious! Deculture!)

The tone of the song and usage makes it clear that it now means something along the lines of "Awesome!" or "No way!"


How do the women of Amazon Lily reproduce? I just got to the part where Luffy arrived to Amazon Lily.

I started wondering, how do the women multiply in Amazon Lily as there are no men?
There were kids, so they must've some method.

Maybe you could explain?

Some of the resident leave Amazon Lily and sometimes, they come back pregnant.

They didn't bring their husband, because it's forbidden for men to enter Amazon Lily, but they still keep the baby and raise them inside the island. However, they always give birth to females. There's still no answer, but from a question about why all Kuja tribe born as a woman?  and also from the picture above, it just happens mysteriously.


In the Made in Abyss manga, why does Bondrewd sometimes refer to Prushka with the formal "anata" and sometimes with the intimate "kimi"? I was looking through some raws and I noticed that Bondrewd consistently uses "kimi" when talking to others, but there are a few cases where he uses "anata" with Prushka. Looking through more raws, I also noticed that he used "kimi" in the beginning, but changed to "anata" later. What does this mean?

It depends on the context of when the words were used. Kimi is considered more familiar than anata, but depending on context, there are several different connotations:

A leader might use it to a subordinate, especially when asserting authority
When the two people are not emotionally close, and it is not a leader to subordinate situation, then it is considered rude or condescending
Two people who are quite close may use it as a closer way of addressing each other, sort of like calling your friends, "pal" or "bro." I think this connotation might be reserved for use between peers, like friends or lovers, but I'm not sure on that.

Kimi is also considered more masculine speech, though I have heard women in anime use it on occasion. Anata, meanwhile, is a more neutral way of saying "you".

Given its Bondrewd to Prushka, I think his use of kimi is more likely to be him being condescending or ordering her around. He may have then switched to anata when he felt like being more polite, or having the appearance of being more polite.  She is his adopted daughter, so he might say anata sometimes when he wants to appear nice. His use of kimi to everyone else is almost certainly as leader to subordinate, or just to generally be condescending.


How does the "Chakra induction paper" react when someone has multiple chakra natures A Chakra induction paper can be used to detect an individuals Chakra affinity. In cases where a person is born with affinity to multiple Chakra Natures, do all those characteristics happen simultaneously to the "induction paper"? Or does the paper react only to an individuals strongest Chakra Nature. If so then how do Jonin level Shinobi check for their secondary Chakra Natures or decide what other elements would be a good fit for them.

In cases where a person is born with affinity to multiple Chakra Natures, do all those characteristics happen simultaneously to the "induction paper"? It is not known or rather, it was never shown in the manga as far as I know. In Chapter 315, it was not stated whether the litmus paper test is applicable to people using two nature types. However, it is implied that any person only has one nature affinity, regardless if they have Kekkei Genkai or not, or if they can use multiple natures. As far as I know, there were no people mentioned that have multiple chakra nature affinities, only those who can wield multiple ones. The existence of the litmus paper test in itself is proof that people only have one nature affinity. They would've thought of a way for another test if ever there was a person with two nature affinities. So yes, the paper reacts only to an individual's strongest chakra nature or the nature which he/she has a strong affinity towards.

How do Jonin level Shinobi check for their secondary Chakra Natures or decide what other elements would be a good fit for them? Again, this was never stated nor elaborated in Chapter 316 so we can only guess. However, if I were to guess, it was never the case that they have to find out their second strongest affinity to another nature but rather, they would probably choose a second nature to master that would give them an advantage, especially on situational cases. Also, they would probably master a secondary nature that is strong against a nature they are weak on. For example, if one has an affinity towards or if they have their strongest jutsu in Fire Release, they would probably master Earth Release to counteract against Water Release. Or it would be possible that they will just master any element they can. The only thing that can be said is that we can never truly say that a certain chakra nature is a good or bad fit to another certain chakra nature, or that you shouldn't master a certain nature if you possess or have an affinity towards another certain nature since it depends on many things.

Apparently, you can master all releases through training. Examples of shinobi who did so are Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Hiruzen Sarutobi, Orochimaru and Mū. Other possible ways to acquire master all chakra nature include:

Possession of the Rinnegan to shorten the learning process.
Acquiring the Six Paths Senjutsu and Truth-Seeking Balls.
Possession of the Bashōsen allows any shinobi the usage of all five
natures.
Using Earth Grudge Fear to gather hearts with other chakra natures (Kakuzu)


What about Araragi's weight? At the end of Bakemonogatari episode 2, Araragi claimed his normal weight is supposed to be 55kgs, but on the weighing scale, it showed 100kgs. He then said something about the crab and the episode ended. There was no sign as to what happened to the weight difference in the entire series.

I've only watched Bakemonogatari, so is there an explanation or something in the later series? Or the anime has mistaken it or ignored the fact of Araragi overweight?

I have watched all of the Monogatari series until the one before Owarimonogatari. I can tell you that Araragi's weight difference in episode 2 was never mentioned again. Throughout the entire series, only a few of the episodes (or maybe just one episode, not sure, it's a very long series) mentioned about the crab but only very briefly, didn't even talk about the weight problem.

That said, I don't think the anime made a mistake or ignored that fact. This is just how the Monogatari series is by nature. It tends to leave some stuff open-ended in kind of a humorous way. Though I watched back that episode and in the end, it did say that the reason for his weight increase was because the God was careless (as they don't really care about human's emotions, etc).


In Overlord, how does Nazarick get food? I know that it isn't very relevant to the plot, but a few times we find out just how much and how luxurious the food is at Nazarick. How do they get it? In the new world, do they grow and farm it, or do they buy it? If they buy it, how so since they aren't getting it from the outside human world?

Most likely magic in some form or another, supplemented by growing, buying, and/or slaughtering.
In Volume 8 Side 2, we find out that Ainz is providing food for the Lizardmen until the fish farms could grow. "The food Cocytus had given them was made with a magic item called Dagda’s Cauldron." The population of Lizardmen after the war was closing in on 1,000. They already had some food of their own. I'd say that the single magic item was feeding about 500+ lizardmen. Considering that Nazarick had an obscene amount of every resource you can imagine, I'd say that magic, in one form or another, was providing the food. Maybe it was items, maybe it was auto generated by the facilities similar to pop monsters and basic repairs automatically done, or maybe it was something else. Either way, I don't think they really had to worry about buying it.
We also find out at some point that the dryads are helping with growing stuff, fruit I think. At some point the bar tender mentions he's using some of that newly grown fruit in an alcoholic beverage. (Sorry, I can't remember the sources for those.)
It's also worth noting that despite their large population, Nazarick doesn't need much food.
"Thanks to certain items, most of the NPCs no longer needed to eat or drink."


Is "Ray" a sidestory of "Black Jack"? The TV series Ray is about a woman with "X-Ray vision" who was saved by a doctor when she was young. In the first episode of the anime, this doctor is made out to look like Black Jack:

Although you never get a look at his face but you can see that there is some stitches on the doctor's face and his hair is black and white.

Is this cameo just a bit of "fan service"/homage to the old Black Jack series or is this more like a same-universe side-story or spin-off of Black Jack? It doesn't seem like the staff of this show has worked on any of the Black Jack manga or anime.

MyAnimeList claims that Ray is a side-story of Black Jack, while Wikipedia takes the more conservative approach of just saying that they're related. However, it's not clear whether Ray is canon material in the Black Jack universe (and if so, in what sense). In any case, Ray mangaka Yoshitomi Akihito is on good terms with the current license-holders of Black Jack, and has produced his own version based on the original but with his own artwork.

  Because of copyright reasons, Black Jack was only alluded to as BJ and never seen fully in the original manga, but because the anime was produced by Osamu Tezuka's own studio he is able to appear fully in the anime (though still somewhat obscured) and be referred to by his original name. Interestingly, in Black Jack 21, the sequel to the Black Jack anime, Black Jack was referred to as "BJ" by the assassins hell bent on killing him.

As far as I can tell, there's no official word on what the relation between the two are, so it's sort of a matter of opinion whether it's a sidestory or just a homage. My opinion is that, by animating Ray, it was more-or-less retconned into the Black Jack universe, or at least some alternate universe, so I think it can be elevated to the level of a sidestory. However, that was a decision made by whoever the current rights-holders are for Black Jack, and while it's valid in a legal sense some might argue that it shouldn't be considered a side-story but a homage. Tezuka manga purists could very-well object and describe it differently, as everything related to Ray (manga beginning in 2004) happened well after Tezuka's death in 1989.


Does the Dragon Ball Heroes opening 5 have any meaning for Dragon Ball Super? In Dragon Ball Heroes opening 5,

(be careful, possible spoiler or not)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49_g2XnJGAA

   We see Goku, Freezer, and Jiren are the only players left in the tournament of power.

Does this have any relevance for what's going to happen in Dragon Ball Super?

No. Dragon Ball Hero has nothing to do with Dragon Ball Super. There are many fighters such as Omega Shenron, SSJ4 Gogeta, Broly etc in dragon ball heroes who aren't considered to be canon. Even if Freiza, Goku and Jiren happen to be the last 3 standing in dragon ball super, it would only be a coincidence.


How did naruto get the lowest score in the genin entrance exams? Team 7 was formed under the basis that the top student was paired with the bottom student, according to iruka-sensei, but naruto must have been scored on his performance in the battle against mizuki since that's why he earned his headband. If the exam was on cloning jutsu, how did naruto get the lowest score with hundreds of perfect shadow clones?
I have another issue with this episode, too. Later in the series, it is stated that the scroll would be useless to mizuki since it was encrypted so that only jonin could understand it, so how did naruto learn from it? I'm quite far into shippuden at this point so I have no idea what episode that was stated in, so please correct me if I misremembered.

Answer for your first questions is that Iruka was giving the score most likely based on his prior performance rather than against Mizuki.


Is the term 4koma a generic term? I know the term 4koma only from the .hack series, in which it normally relates to the parody manga .hack//4koma, and it's also the title of the bonus videos unlocked in .hack//G.U. on the desktop.

However, I have seen the term 4koma used in other places, so I am wondering if the term 4koma is a generic term used to describe something, and if so, what it actually means.

4koma (pronounced yonkoma) is a Japanese word meaning "4-panel"1, and refers to a type of manga which is formatted as a series of four vertically-stacked panels. This term is used in contrast with "regular" (non-4koma) manga, which do not typically adhere to a rigid panel structure.2

Here is an example from one very long-running (and famous in Japan) 4koma manga, Sazae-san:3

Some of the most famous 4koma manga among Western audiences are Azumanga Daioh, Lucky Star, Hetalia, and K-ON. As this list suggests, the 4koma format is heavily populated by gag comedy manga.

1 from 四 yon "four" + 齣 koma "scene, frame, panel"; usually written 四コマ today.

2 Think of 4koma as being sort of like your bog-standard weekday newspaper cartoons (at least in the US) in that sense - 3 or 4 panels, and no real freedom as to how to use the space available.

3 Note that most 4koma these days have narrower panels (usually square), allowing two 4koma to be printed side-by-side on paper with a standard A or B aspect ratio


Why can't the birdcage be cut? Why does it appear that Doflamingo's Bird Cage is indestructible? What is the different between the strings used in DD's attacks and the birdcage? Why can't Zoro cut the birdcage?

I don't think it is because Zoro cannot cut the cage that he is trying to push it back. In chapter 270 he was in a similar situation, where he was trapped by the White Cage during the Ordeal of Iron. At that time he says it is completely unnecessary to trap him, because he is not going to run away. Now, with the birdcage, the situation is similar in the sense that he has no intention of running away. Cutting the birdcage or running away, will not benefit anyone with Doflamingo still around. He will try to kill anyone present at the island, with or without the birdcage.

Zoro knows this and knows that the person that will defeat Doflamingo is Luffy, but he does not know how much more time Luffy will need. Therefore to buy Luffy as much time as he can and to prevent as much casualties as he can, he tries to block the cage, instead of cutting it. We have no clue what would happen if he cuts the cage and it will probably require much needed energy, which will probably just go to waste by cutting the cage over and over again, because we all know Doflamingo will keep putting it up again and again.

Now as to your question whether the birdcage is indestructible, that has not yet been revealed up until the latest chapter 787. Other than a few unknown pirates and the meteor from Fujitora, there has not been a single person that has actually tried to attack the cage, not now, nor in the flash-back. Therefore it is hard to say how strong the strings actually are.


Did Kino no Tabi (2017 Remake) ever release a soundtrack? I have been searching for a full soundtrack somewhere to at least purchase but I'm getting no results. Maybe that speaks for itself and tells me that it was not released, but I figured I should ask here before giving up. Anyone know something about it? Or should I give up?

As of current writing (June 2019), no, Kino no Tabi (2017) hasn't released its OST yet.

From the anime's official site (Japanese), the only product listed in the Music category is the OP&ED CD and the limited-edition DVD (which contains the MV for here and there).


What does Captain Kurotsuchi do to Nemu in Bleach Episode 200? What does Captain Kurotsuchi do to bring Nemu back to consciousness after her spirit particles have been absorbed by Szayelaporro?

I remember Ishida saying that it couldn't be aired. what exactly did he do?

You can watch the scene here.

The manga doesn't explicitly state what Mayuri did, and Uryuu makes the same remark.

However, it seems very likely that Mayuri fiddled with Nemu's "reset button"1, based on her moaning (see screenshot below), and his remark:

  You can't even understand something that simple by looking at it?

He later derides Uryuu and Renji for reaching wrong conclusions, and calls them laymen who do not understand his technology. This suggests that he might have given Nemu something like a Tantric Massage. Laymen watching it in our world would reach exactly the same wrong conclusion.

I know the above theory is a speculation, but this is as much evidence I can provide to support it. I guess we won't know any more of what he did for the reason Uryuu mentions.

1 Sorry, I cannot be more explicit than that. I hope you know what I mean.


Why do characters recite π (pi) to distract themselves? I know that some characters recite pi digits to either calm themselves, or to distract themselves. I remember a particular case in the series r-15.

Is there any particular reason it is pi?

This seems to be a play on the psychological trick of "counting to 10".
Counting to 10 (or more) is a methodology often used to help people with anxiety, fear, anger and in the case or R-15, arousal.

By counting to ten, you actively keep your mind busy, effectively distracting you from whatever is causing your anxiety, fear etc.

In R-15 instead of counting to 10 however, Ritsu Enshū (円周 率 Enshū Ritsu) recites π. As he is regarded as a genius mathematician, it makes more sense that reciting π would be more mentally challenging for him, then counting to 10 would be. And thus be a more effective way of distracting him from his arousal.

According to the wiki page, it is also a clever play on his name, as this supposedly means π.


Is the Umineko ED used elsewhere? Recently, I have started watching Umineko no naku koro ni (When the Seagulls Cry) and I found the ending song (YouTube link) of this anime very familiar and similar to a song I have heard before in another anime. In particular, the part 0:40 - 1:00 sounds somewhat like something I've heard before.

Now my question is: did the same singer perform for any other anime, or are there singers who sang the same song as he did (specifically, the part of the song at 0:40 - 1:00)?

Edit: From the comments, I know the song is not used in any other anime known to date.

This ending theme song is titled La Divina Tragedia: Ma Kyoku. It was recorded by Jimang. The song does not appear in any other anime. From the looks of it, Jimang has not had any other song appear in any anime. But one of his other tracks, Sakura POP, has been used in the Korean MMORPG, MapleStory.


What happened to the tailed beasts? This is another one of the questions that kishimoto sensei never actually addressed after the end of the series. It could be natural that they were left alone in forests , but is there any concrete evidence suggesting the same .

What happened to the bijuu's? Are they left alone in the forest or was there equal distribution amongst villages to leverage equal power? If yes , do we know about the existences of jinchuriki's post-naruto other than killer bee and naruto ?

In Boruto Episode 55, Urashiki spoke to Momoshiki Otsutsuki about the existence of 9 massive entities of Chakra in the form of tailed beasts. However, the only tailed beasts whose locations he explicitly mentioned were the Hachibi and Kyuubi. Urashiki was the  member that the Main Branch of the Otsutsuki Clan, who was tasked with searching for the Chakra fruit that Kaguya was originally tasked with, and with his Byakugan senses he was only able to detect the Eight and Nine tails.

My Hypothesis is that; if the tailed beasts were somewhere in the open forest, then Urashiki would most definitely have mentioned them and then started with the  lesser beasts which would be easier to acquire, but rather he does not mention them at all. This could Imply that the Tailed beasts are somewhere where even Urashiki could not find. I would guess that they were hidden somewhere where No one would try to Harm or take advantage of their Chakra.


How can Itachi's genjutsu act on Mecha-Naruto "Robot"? In Episode 336, Itachi was seen to apply his genjutsu on Mecha-Naruto.

But Mecha-Naruto is a robot which does not have a brain but memory chip.
As it is a robot (which does not have any chakra), its battle techniques could not be copied by Kakashi's Sharingan.

Wikia-Genjutsu mentions that genjutsu can only occur by manipulation of chakra of the brain.

Then how does Itachi put genjutsu on a memory chip of a robot?

Mecha-naruto can absorb and contain chakra. This could mean that he has some kind of a chakra system. he also has a eight-trigrams seal in order to seal kurama and this confirms the previous statement. This chakra would in turn be used by his chip for its functioning similar to how the brain uses electric signals flowing through the nervous system.

The chip could be thought of a mechanical brain that uses chakra(it can sense chakra too!)and gives you all reasons why itachi could use genjutsu on mecha naruto.


Why did Goku have a halo when he was fighting Janemba? While fighting Janemba in the DBZ movie, Goku had a halo.

Also while he transformed into SSJ3, he told Janemba that he is the second one to push him as far, for him to turn SSJ3 (the first time being against Majin Buu).

But wasn't Goku alive after he killed Buu?

Is there something I'm missing?

The DBZ movies are usually a little odd in terms of the overall continuity. They can usually be stretched to fit, but most don't fit very comfortably in the series as a whole (with the exception of History of Trunks, which is pure continuity) and end up between episodes, in odd parts in the series (like this one), or just don't make a lot of references to timeline.

That said, most of the movies have a "consensus" placement from the fan base, or at least enough to put it in the right location. For this movie, here's what the DBZ wiki has to say on the matter:

  The movies' events occur during the Majin Buu Saga, roughly before the
  Majin Buu conflict reaches its climax with the advent of Super Buu.
  When Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan 3, he says the fight with
  Majin Buu was the only time he had ever been pushed so far. This
  suggests that the Majin Buu Saga happens within this film's
  background. The fat Majin Buu is not seen anywhere, but if Kid Buu has
  been defeated, then both Goku and Vegeta should be alive again. This,
  along with the ability of Goten and Trunks to fuse as Super Saiyans,
  suggest that Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn is set around episode 253,
  where Goten and Trunks successfully use the Fusion technique as Super
  Saiyans for the first time. Additionally, Mr. Satan is not at Majin
  Buu's house in the movie, which is consistent with the fact that he
  left the Majin's house in episode 253 to get dog food for Bee. As
  shown on Videl's watch, the movie takes place on a Saturday, the 16th;
  which is 9 days after the 25th World Martial Arts Tournament (which
  took place on May 7 of Age 774).

  [Source]

Basically, this movie is placed within the Buu saga, while Goku is dead, but after his SSJ3 transformation. As you can see, it "fits" in cannon, but very oddly (in my opinion).

So, why does Goku have a halo? Because he is, temporarily, dead. But he seems to be off and on dead throughout the series, and still manages to save the universe, so it shouldn't be that surprising.


Can Kai Chisaki fuse with anyone? IIRC Kai Chisaki was just introduced in the last episode of the anime. I havent read the manga, but in one My Hero Academia wikia they state Kai Chisaki fused with another villain. How does this work? Can he fuse only with people who wants to fuse or could he fuse with anyone, for example, Midoriya and obtaining One for All by exerting his powers?

His quirk allows him to shape matter to his own extent just by touching the area. He touches the other person's body and it explodes than it comes back and merges into his own. He all he needs to do this is to get the hands on the said person.


Potara earrings allowed in universal tournament? In the most recent episode of dragon ball super (episode 115) we were shown the new fusion; Kefla.

This fusion was achieved by the use of Potara earrings. But from what I remember items and such weren't allowed. Otherwise universe 7 would bring a lot senzu beans for survival. Potara earrings aren't items that belong to the fighters and are therefor external. Isn't the use of this against the universal tournament rules?

Apparently they are allowed in the tournament. Otherwise Zen-Oh sama would have erased Kefla instantly for cheating.
Also, the DBZ wikia states it openly in the rules of the Tournament of Power:

Fighters cannot be killed, use weapons, or use healing items (e.g. Senzu Beans) during the match.

However items that are not dangerous by themselves such as the bottle Master Roshi uses as part of the Evil Containment Wave were permitted by the Zen-Ohs, though it is implied that was because they thought the technique was cool.

Potara Earrings are permitted as well thus Potara fusion is allowed and the items are not dangerous weapons that can directly harm an opponent.

If someone is killed by their own attack being deflected by someone else or by a inherit flaw in a fighting technique, it's not considered a violation of the rules.


Why is Jewelry Bonney crying after Whitebeard's death? I saw her crying hard after Whitebeard's death.

She even tried to avenge his death. Given the fact that she encountered Blackbeard so soon after the war, it seems likely that she has grudge on him, as he was the man responsible for Whitebeard's death.

What is her relationship to WhiteBeard?

Still, it is not clear whether she is crying because of whitebeards death or Ace death.
But as per this theory she is crying because of the Ace's death.
Also you can read this.


What Manga chapter is Episode 414 of Naruto Shippuden from? I want to start reading the manga Naruto Shippuden, but I would rather start reading from the last episode that was aired (currently episode 414). Do you know which chapter that episode (episode 414) would be?

The next episode "The Two Mangekyo"(416) is parallel to Two Mangekyō (chapter 666) from the manga. So you can start with chapter 666.


Why can't Boruto use Odama Rasengan & Taju Kage Bunshin? When Boruto was practicing to enhance his skill in episode 16x Kakashi mentioned that he can't create Odama Rasengan because he has low Chakra reserved. Likewise, several previous episodes also mentioned that he cant create even more than 10 Shadow Clone.
Kakashi explained that Naruto can do it because he is a Jinjuriki. Now, that is a bit contradicting since Konohamaru can actually do Odama and Taju as seen in episode of chunin exam between Konohamaru and Naruto.
So, why can't Boruto use Odama Rasengan & Taju Kage Bunshin? But Konohamaru can.

After researching your question, I can see why there is confusion on to why Konohamaru "can" use these justus while Boruto cannot. Unfortunately the simple explanation is "because it's not-cannon"
When it comes to cannon, it is undetermined if Konohamaru can actually use either Big-Ball Rasengan or Multi-Shadow Clone Justu. The only appearances of him using these justus are in filler episodes1 and an OVA2.
While it been stated before that Konohamaru and Boruto both have large charka reserves, Kakashi seems to be implying that it is not enough to safely perform either justu without the charka provided by a tailed beast. By safely, I refer to the reason why the Multi-Shadow Clone justu was marked as forbidden for being a risk to the user's life due to exerting too much chakra

1 Naruto's Favourite Pupil
2 Chūnin Exam on Fire! Naruto vs. Konohamaru!


What makes an anime a classic? I remember when one of Hayao Miyazaki's films came out, it was considered a new classic. What makes the anime a new classic.

... Is this regarding Howl's Moving Castle?

It was based on a classic fantasy novel (by Diana Wynne Jones) so maybe some people were actually referring it to a new take on a classic, or it was classic in the sense that people knew it was going to be a classic because the quality of that film was on that tier. Kind of like how in the same way Disney movies turn out to be classics even when a new film comes out because of it's rich history in making classic animated movies.


What did Rina know about the "legendary cosplayer" Alice's true identity? In episode 11 of Photokano, the "legendary cosplayer" Alice helps Rina during the culture festival. At that time, it's clear that Rina knows something about Alice, very likely her true identity. However, Alice tells her to keep it a secret.

What did Rina know about who Alice is?

Rina knew that Alice's true identity is Uchida Yuuko.

Earlier in the same episode, Rina sees through Yuuko's stealth ability and invites her to try some cooking. She eventually agrees and seems to have fun.

During the school festival, Rina once again sees through the cosplayer Alice's "stealth" ability of masking her true identity. In a low voice, extremely similar to Yuuko's normal voice, Alice simply tells Rina to keep it a secret.

In a previous episode, Maeda Kazuya also noticed a similarity between Yuuko and Alice but he thought it was just his imagination, so he didn't give it any further thought.

This may seem like speculation, but fortunately the episode's credits back it up.

The line I've highlighted says this:

  Uchida Yuuko (Alice)     Takagaki Ayahi

So it seems like Rina is not only very good at noticing the people who tend to just be "background noise" to everyone else, but she can also easily see through the "disguise" of a costume and different personality to see who someone really is. Both are pretty great abilities if you ask me.


Are there any female mangaka pretending to be a male? Manga magazines are usually targeted to a specific age and gender of readers. Usually shounen manga are written by males even if there are notable examples of female artists working on shounen series (e.g. Rumiko Takahashi, CLAMP).

Are there any case of a female mangaka pretending to be a male using a pen name to adapt to a specific gender or just to challenge her readers and later reveal herself?

I think none.

First of all, in this link, these are the only manga examples created by authors who pretended to be the opposite sex using pen names.

In the anime ef - a tale of memories, Hirono Hiro, 17 year-old male who is a professional mangaka, writes under the pen name Shindou Nagi, claiming to be female. Given that his work is shoujo, it's understandable.
In Otomen Tachibana Juuta writes sparkly romance shoujo manga under the penname Sachihana Jewel, and refuses to disclose his real identity even though the manga is hugely popular, because he's afraid readers wouldn't take well to their shoujo manga being written by a man. He goes as far as crossdressing whenever he needs to appear as Sachihana.
There's also his (Tachibana Juuta's) favorite mangaka, Mira-sensei (short for "Mirage") who dresses, speaks and behaves like a classic '70s shoujo manga character, for the same reason as Juuta. His motto is "Because we're professionals!"
In Himitsu No Hanazono the four brothers work under one female name to publish their shoujo manga.

Which all are male mangaka pretending to be female for their shoujo manga. And in this list are female mangaka, and you can notice some created shounen manga. If there are some of them who pretended to be male, then it should have been stated there because it's a must-know.

Why none?

According here, female mangaka were greatly accepted so I think there is no need for them to use pen names to hide their true identity, either for the reason of having their shounen manga accepted or the reasons you mentioned above. And there exists a lot of female mangaka who created/creating shounen manga.

  Later popular artists include the highly prolific and successful
  Rumiko Takahashi and rising star Akira Amano (both drawing primarily
  shonen stories for boys) as well as the female collective CLAMP.

Furthermore, I think male mangaka receives more discrimination for writing shoujo manga than female mangaka writing shounen manga. It's much like the discrimination when females are okay to hold hands with females (most will think that they are best friends) while males holding hands with males are.. not so acceptable. If you know what I mean. :P

Well, the links I provided might not be complete or I might be wrong (forgive me) so I'll just update this answer if I find something. As of now, this will be my answer.


Song used in the after credits scene of Boku no Hero episode 47 with the introduction of All For One On episode 47 of Boku no Hero, after the credits scene when All For One is introduced, there's a piano and operatic and just so chilling.

What's this song?

that's all for one theme (you can't run)
https://soundcloud.com/thighpocket/my-hero-academia-all-for-one-theme


What song is playing in My Hero Academia episode 88 (season 4 episode 25) at 8:50? As the title say, What song is playing in My Hero Academia episode 88 (season 4 episode 25) at 8:50?

I believe this is I'm Seriously Going to Crush You although with a different mix.


Where is Tobi's teleportation space location? While battling with Tobi, I have seen ninjas getting teleported to a place, which is kind of a dark room, having floor made up of blocks.

Is it a real place like a cave somewhere far? Or is it Tobi's subconscious mind?

Justification is required when considering a fighting scene between Tobi and Kakashi-Naruto.

When Kakashi is teleported into that place, Kakashi counter attacks with Kamui making Tobi bleed (cough blood). And Kakashi manages to return back to battle field.

It's explained in more detail in the manga. Anime viewers wouldn't know exactly what Tobi's power is.

That location is an alternate dimension, unique to him.

   Actually, since Tobi has the same eye as Kakashi, their dimension is shared. Tobi can freely insert and extract objects to/from his dimension. Kakashi can apparently insert things from a distance, and extract them directly from his eye.

 Kakshi's counter attack happened because Tobi used his Kamui to teleport a part of him (that was going to get hit in the 'real' world), to the alternate dimension. Kakshi was waiting in that alternate dimension and hit him from there (in the stomach, causing him to spew blood). Kakshi later returned to the real world with his own Kamui.


Why did Erza challenge that many monsters at the Pandemonium? During the Pandemonium contest at the Grand Magic Games,

   Erza challenges all the 100 monsters at once, but she could have won the full 10 points by challenging and beating "only" 51.

Why did she do it?

During the Phantom Lord arc, Erza herself mentioned that Fairy Tail is not concerned about competition with other guilds. As Natsu told Sting during the Chariot competition, they entered the Grand Magic Games for their comrades, and to prove that Fairy Tail will keep going forward. They wanted to win the Games to regain their guild's lost respect.

   As such, the Pandemonium contest was more than just winning 10 points for Erza. If she had only challenged 51 monsters, it was possible that she would get to battle mostly the weaker monsters, and someone else might beat the S-rank and A-rank monsters.

That would not earn them any respect, but people would just consider that she was lucky. Erza did not want to take that chance.

Also, Fairy Tail from 7 years ago was known for going overboard and doing things rashly. Doing it differently now would not convince people that Fairy Tail is back, but only create a perception that they have become weaker and are lacking in confidence.


Are the Code Geass manga just different perspectives? I know that there are multiple Code Geass manga, but it's been a long time since I've read them. I was wondering if they covered different timelines or physical areas or if they were different perspectives of the same thing going on.

Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion is a retelling of the anime. It's been ages since I read this, but I don't recall there being any major differences in terms of plot. (It wasn't a shot-for-shot adaptation, though; there were minor changes here and there.

Code Geass: Suzaku of the Counterattack starts out as a retelling of the anime from Suzaku's perspective, but diverges fairly quickly into an alternate-universe story. Suzaku and Lelouch end up joining forces to fight Schneizel

Code Geass: Nightmare of Nunnally is an alternate-universe story featuring mostly the same characters and some of the same historical background but otherwise wildly different. As the title suggests, Nunnally is the main character, and Lelouch is mostly out of the picture. Nunnally makes a contract with a being called Nemo, which allows her to control an unusual Knightmare, things unfold from there.

Code Geass: Tales of an Alternate Shogunate is an alternate-universe story featuring alternate versions of many of the characters, back in the year 1853. In this story, "Geass" is actually the power to summon and control Knightmares. The characters use this power to fend off Perry's Black Ships (except that this time, Perry is Brittanian, not American). Stuff happens thereafter.

Code Geass: Renya of the Darkness is supposedly set in the main continuity (back in the 1800s), but is basically an alternate-universe story. I've only read part of this, but basically none of the main characters from the main story appear besides C.C., and the name "Knightmare" is given to weird human-sized beings that cause trouble for the main characters.

Code Geass: Oz, the Reflection is an alternate-universe story supposedly set between the two seasons of the anime. I haven't read this, so I don't know much about it.

There is also apparently a 4koma manga called Barcode Geass: Lelouch of the Sales. I haven't read it, but it appears to be a parody manga about Lelouch working as a store clerk, and as such is clearly an alternate-universe story.


In Noragami, why does Nora attack Yukine? Nora attacked him several times with Ayakashi, seeming with intent to kill. However, we find out later that if Nora really wants to kill Yukine, she just needs to rekindle his curiosity about his former life. That makes all her attacks seem kind of pointless.

In reality, Nora wanted to infuse fear in Yukine's mind, as she was trying to remove all Yato's connections which connect Yato to goodwill.

Basically, she wanted to break Yato's connection with Yukine, him being Yato's (Yaboku's) exemplar. She was continuously trying to make Yukine leave Yato (in fear), so that she can awoke the previous Yato, whose intention was to kill.

As that would have left Yato in enraged and mentally weak state (easy to control) that the death of Yukine (which could have resulted in fall of Yato).


Why is Hinata's hair short? In Part One, Hinata cuts her hair short and it makes her look hair look like a duck's tail (sorry, Hinata). She lets it grow long in Part Two, the cuts it short again in Part Three. There may not be any reason why she does so, but can someone tell me why Hinata cuts her hair short (if there even is any reason)?

I think it's just a device to show aging. In part one, she is a kid and has short hair, in part two, she is a teen and has long hair, and in part, three she is an adult and has short hair again.


Why is class 3-3 still open? I was wondering why would the school keep a cursed class open for more than 20 years when people are dying.

I think they Misaki mentioned in the anime that the school tried to change the class name to "3-C" or something similar, but was there a reason why they just didn't remove the class entirely so they go "3-1","3-2","3-4","3-5",...etc.

Is there a canon explanation of why the school is just ignoring the deaths an leaving it to the simple "ignore one student" strategy? Moreover why do students openly join a cursed class instead of moving to another class? another school? another city?

I do not think there is a canon expanation, but there are several factors to take into account to explain the fact that class 3-3 is still open:

The society believes the curse to be a superstition. There is no scientific proof of the curse existing (even the members of the class have a hard time believing it with people BEING MURDERED in front of hem), and the very curse has effects to hide its occurence (modifying memories and written records).
Schools in Japan have to meet demand. The school board for their town might have determined that there must be three third year classes because of the population size in the neighborhood. Removing one class would mean transfering kids to schools further away, and would make the school administration seem lazy (almost a sin in Japanese culture). Remember kids walk to shcool in Japan, so they usually attend school near their homes. For further reading into the japanese school system, click here.

  These boards are responsible for making recommendations on teacher appointments to the prefectural board of education, choosing textbooks from the MEXT-approved list, conducting in-service teacher and staff professional development, and overseeing the day-to-day operations of primary and lower secondary schools.
  The curse might be self-sustaining. A curse that can change written material, delete people's memories could very well act every time someone in charge thinks of closing the class and modify their heart about it. You might even think of it as having some sinister intelligence.

  From our outsider perspecive, watching the story from a 3-rd person omniscient narrator, it is easy to reach those logical conclusions, but to the limited awareness of the characters (specially the stakeholders that are unaffected by the curse, or only receive the news after a time, already filtered down) it is almost impossible.

Also there is no evidence that making the school have only 2 classes wouldn't make the curse move to class 3-2 instead. Who said it was bound to the THIRD class of the third year and not the last one in the rooster.


How could Vegeta defeat Hakaishin Toppo so easily? In the previous episode God of Destruction Toppo absolutely destroyed Golden Frieza (who is supposed to be as powerful as Super Saiyan Blue) and Android 17. His Hakai was also much more powerful compared to the Sidra's Hakai. Goku even with SSB Kaioken struggled against Sidra's Hakai ball whereas Frieza could easily control it. So Golden Frieza just before the Tournament of Power can be considered as strong as SSB Goku.

Also Vegeta's new found power is not as strong as UI Goku because UI Goku could go toe-to-toe and even gain up on Jiren. So if Vegeta's new found power is considered close to or slightly greater than SSB Kaioken then how did Vegeta manage to defeat Toppo in the very next episode so easily?

There are a few inaccuracies in your question.Firstly, Goku was in his base form when Freiza hit him with the Hakai energy and he didn't turn SSJB or Kaioken. In episode 125, we see the Destruction energy capable of destroying all forms of energy, so it is very likely Goku couldn't turn SSJB while he was stuck inside the energy ball. Freiza, on the other hand, was in his golden form and strong enough to break out of it.Based on the fight after, we see SSJB Goku per tournament was on the same level as Golden Freiza. It has to be noted that Goku in his SSJB from grew substantially stronger because of multiple Zenkai boosts.UI Goku was fighting against a very suppressed Jiren. UI Goku against Kefla was a lot stronger and she was strong enough to take blows from him(Which remarked by Whis weren't powerful as Goku hadn't mastered the attack portion of UI yet). Current Jiren is using a lot more power than he did then.Vegeta's new form before his fight with Toppo, was relative in power to SSJB+Kaioken*20 Goku(The stronger SSJB Goku), hence making him a lot stronger than Golden Freiza. Freiza in his golden form is even weaker than characters like Anilaza and Kefla in terms of strength. Toppo in his God of destruction form, was stronger than Kefla who was at that time the third strongest(With 1 being Jiren and 2 being Goku). This is why we see Vegeta overwhelmed by Toppo during the initial stage of his fight. When Vegeta powered up after, he reached a level of strength a lot stronger than Kefla and Toppo but weaker than UI Goku and hence was able to knock out Toppo.During the fight between Universe 7 vs Anilaza(We see 3 SSJB tier characters (And let us assume Gohan and Android 17 are even SSJB tier which they definitely aren't), so 5 SSJB characters being able to hold their own in a beam struggle with Anilaza. Kaioken * 20 SSJB Goku is the same power multiplied 20 times and UI Goku is immensely stronger compared to Kaioken Goku. Vegeta's form is relative to this(initially) and he was a lot stronger than Freiza when he first fought Toppo which is why he wasn't completely Toyed around with.


What type of Sage Mode does Hashirama enter? We all know that the following people are capable of entering Sage Mode:

Naruto
Jiraiya
Orochimaru (learnt but couldn't use because of his body, or rather his vessels)
Kabuto
Hashirama

Naruto and Jiraiya learnt it from the Toads (at Mount Myōboku), hence they go into the Toad-style Sage Mode. Orochimaru and Kabuto learnt it from the Snakes (at Ryūchi Cave), hence they go into the Snake-style Sage Mode. But what type of Sage Mode does Hashirama enter? I read a lot about the Sage Mode and Senjutsu, but couldn't find any info about Hashirama's Sage Mode.

Before I deliver my answer, we must ask ourselves what Sage Mode is.

What is Sage Mode?

From Sage Mode article:

  Sage Mode is the empowered state humans enter when they learn to draw natural energy inside them and blending it with their chakra. By doing so, the human creates new senjutsu chakra that allows them to enter Sage Mode.

The next question is: Where do shinobi learn it from?

  Thus far, Sage Mode has been shown to be taught in two places: at Mount Myōboku by the toads, and Ryūchi Cave by the snakes.

The articles clearly states that Sage Mode is achieved when the user learns to draw natural energy and mixes it with their chakra, and Mount Myoboku and Ryuchi Cave are two known places where they can learn to do so.

Now, the requirements for learning Sage Mode:

  According to Fukasaku, only those who already possess "extreme chakra levels" can utilise natural energy to invoke senjutsu.

Hashirama Senju's Sage Mode

Let us move onto Hashirama Senju.

  Because of his large chakra reserves, Hashirama is able to use senjutsu by entering Sage Mode, a feat he could perform instantaneously; it is not known where he learned it.

If we look at his abilities section:

  He is similarly knowledgeable of skills he has no training in, being able to recognize the Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.

Taking into consideration the aforementioned details, in conclusion, it is possible that Hashirama learned Sage Mode by himself. Since it is self-taught, it is not animal-influenced. Hence it would be something-like a "Normal-Without-Animal-Influence-Sage-Mode".

What led me to this conclusion?

  Learning Sage Mode at Mount Myōboku or Ryūchi Cave grants the user with a toad and snake-influenced Sage Mode respectively,

That is the explanation for the toad/snake techniques used by Jiraiya/Naruto and Orochimaru/Kabuto.

However, Hashirama's Sage Mode hasn't shown what animal-influence it possesses so far. Therefore, he couldn't have learned his Sage Mode from Mount Myōboku or Ryūchi Cave.

His Sage Mode strengthens his Wood-Release techniques and his overall performance drastically.

From Naruto manga, Chapter 657, Page 08:

Madara-sama's line: "Only this much power... This will be easy to handle.", shows that an experienced and powerful shinobi can use Senjutsu within mere moments.

Wrapping up

Since there is no official details about what Sage Mode Hashirama uses, my conclusion is classified as a possibility.

Another possible conclusion is detailed in this answer: Is there a slug based Sage Mode?


Why is Aomine so dark-skinned? As you can see above, Aomine is awfully dark-skinned compared to all the other Japanese characters in Kuroko no Basuke. Why is that?

Aomine being dark-skinned is to show that he used to play street basketball a lot. Unlike indoor basketball, where the players are not subject to direct sunlight, street basketball is played outdoor. Since Aomine used to play street basketball a lot, which can be seen from his playing style, his skin got darker. Also notice that although his skin is dark, he is not as dark-skinned as Papa "Otou-san" Mbaye.


Why does Boa Hancock hate men? From what I've known, she is the only female member of the Shichibukai. She is also the "Snake Princess" of Amazon Lily.

My question, why does Boa Hancock hate men? And more particularly, why is Luffy an exception?

Boa Hancock and her sisters were enslaved and branded as slaves by the Celestial Dragons (Tenryuubito), this was a secret to everyone in Amazon Lily.

She loves Luffy because when Luffy was fighting her sisters (Marigold and Sandersonia) he kept the slave mark from being exposed to all people of the island.


When does Badlands Rumble take place? With regards to the rest of the anime series, when does Badlands Rumble take place? Does it happen before the show? After? In the middle some time?

According to this Anime News Network review, Badlands Rumble is canon and occurs "between episodes 9 and 11 (after Vash has met Wolfwood, but before Legato closes in)". See the second paragraph of the "Review" section. However, as they point out, the movie's style doesn't quite match that of the anime at that time, given the higher budget, so it may be better not to worry about when it occurs.

Edit: as atlantiza points out below, the author of this review doesn't cite a source. Until I can find a better source, you should take that with a grain of salt.


Do the Wammy's House members speak to each other in English? Related to this question: Questions about nationalities and languages in Death Note

It seems the Death Note 2015 series tries to incorporate the English language when appropriate, but even though Watari, L and Near are supposedly Western, they speak Japanese to each other. I guess it would be weird if they were played by Western actors even though their characters are supposedly Western. Artistic license and all that.

Might be a dumb question, but in the anime and manga, is it safe to assume that the Wammy's House members speak to each other in English?

I guess it's obvious that when Mello and Near here about L's death, they speak in English to each other and w/ the person who informed them about L's death.

What about for instance when Mello and Near were talking in the SPK place or whenever L and Watari talk privately? It's in English right?

It seems safe to assume they're speaking English. This most likely is an example of a translation convention. As the first two paragraphs of that TV Tropes page put it:

  When a group of people whose native language is not English are
  together, away from any English speakers, the audience may nonetheless
  hear them speaking perfect English.

  This is not a case of Translator Microbes, in which an in-universe
  device is performing actual translation: We are meant to assume that
  the characters are really speaking their own native tongue, and it is
  being translated purely for our benefit (or the benefit of the casting
  director who is then free to hire English-speaking actors), like the
  dubbing of English dialogue onto foreign-made films.

Most of the time, when a translation convention is employed, the writers don't bother indicating that the characters are actually speaking another language, because the audience most likely doesn't care; the audience just wants to know what they're saying.

Further down the page, Death Note is discussed:

  In the Japanese version of Death Note, the scenes at which Interpol
  convenes and speaks with a British detective, as well as Near's
  dealings with the American SPK and Mello's conversations with the US
  Mafia are all presented in Japanese; presumably, they're actually
  speaking English.

  However, in the live-action movie, Lind L. Tailor, L's decoy, was voiced by an American, while a Japanese translator made a voice-over.

  This is how it was done in the manga as well, although only the voice-over is shown.
  This is assumed to be in effect for Wammy's House as well, unless we are to believe that all the residents of an orphanage in England
  speak Japanese as their default language.

There's probably no real evidence anywhere in the series that the characters are speaking English (I certainly don't remember any in the manga). The audience can assume they're speaking English because they're at an orphanage in England. However, as part of the translation convention, we see them speaking Japanese on screen. It's presumed that the audience doesn't care that much to hear them actually speaking English, so the writers just cut to the chase and show them speaking Japanese.

Note, this is different from the situation where L, Near, et al. speak to characters whose native language is Japanese. There, we have to assume they are speaking Japanese (or everyone is speaking English--unlikely, as characters like Misa and Matsuda who probably don't speak English are seen communicating effortlessly with L). But when the Wammy's House members are speaking among themselves, it seems safe to assume they're actually using English and we see it as Japanese under a translation convention.


Is watching free anime in Japan safe? I am talking about watching those shows in websites that provide them for free. I could of course afford to subscribe to paid websites such as Crunchyroll and the likes, but often I couldn't find the series I wanted to watch there. The free ones usually host a load of anime and drama titles.

Is watching free anime and Japanese drama in Japan considered safe?

In Japan or not, sites other than official sites that provides streaming for copyrighted/law protected contents are illegal and against the law. Thus, the answer to your question is no, it is not safe, it is against the law, it is a crime.

From IT (information tech) point of view, many such sites are actually crap sites that is full of ads, click baits, and links that will only redirect you around without showing the content if any. Such sites might also send adwares, malwares and the like to your computer. It might also be used to stole your identity. Thus it is also not safe from IT point of view.

If you are in Japan, however, you can watch the anime when it was broadcasted. This is perfectly legal. In fact, you can also record it if you want to watch later. AFAIK from anime that I watched, this is also legal. Some anime shows that recording a broadcasted show is okay. For example, in Futsuu no Joshikousei ga [Locodol] Yattemita., Yukari recorded a show that is being broadcasted. In Doraemon, Doraemon and Nobita would often record a show since it is being broadcasted at the same time as a baseball match that the father likes to watch.

Of course since it is limited to broad-casted anime only, you won't be able to watch older animes.


Is Headon involved with FUG? As we know from season one of Tower of God, Headon suggested help to Rachel in exchange for some sort of her help. After this, Rachel ended up being helped by FUG, e.g. having Hwa Ryun as Guide, and receiving help from Yu Han Sung. This also later leads to situation, when FUG forcibly recruits Baam.

So, does all of this mean, that Headon cooperates with FUG?

After Bam's test, headon asks Rachel that if she fulfills his request then he will allow Rachel to move to the next floor. What was headon's request to rachel is not known till now. As per wiki headon did conspire with Yu Han Sung so that Rachel can move up the tower. However, it is unknown if headon conspired with Yu Han Sung out of his own interest or because of his request or about any other reason. Further it is unknown whether headon knows that Yu Han Sung is part of FUG or not.


What is the specialty of Nokogiri? Specialties of all other katanas are stated clearly in the show, but the specialty of Nokogiri (seen in the picture below) wasn't explained clearly and in detail. What is the unique specialty of the katana Nokogiri which was under the possession of Zanki Kiguchi?

According to the Katanagatari wiki, the Nokogiri doesn't have any poison but has the ability to cure the effects of the poison from the other swords:

  A wooden sword that sharply contrasts its title as "King of Swords", it is in the possession of Zanki Kiguchi. Unlike the other Deviant Blades, it doesn't have any of the poison found in Kiki's blades. It is the purest blade with the ability to cure the effects of the poison the other swords have on their owners. A small floral mark and yellowish streak on the sword identifies it as Nokogiri.


Is there a name for the art style in Gankutsuou? In Gankutsuou, the art style is pretty weird. Instead of having normal coloring/shading, different pieces (such as hair or a shirt) have their own pattern that doesn't move with the piece. You can see it in the Count's hair and in the shirt below. Is there a name for this type of art, and is this something that is unique to Gankutsuou or to anime?

According to an interview (in French) with the series creator series creator, Mahiro Maeda, the art style of the anime combines western Impressionism with Ukiyo-e, a 19th century Japanese woodblock printed art style that strongly influenced the Impressionism movement around the same time.

One of the particularly notable mini-movements within impressional is the Art Nouveau style, particularly the influence from the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, likely best known for his work The Kiss. Klimt was mentioned to be one of Maeda's most favorite artists and his works gave way to inspire the blocks of strong primary colors seen in the series.

Klimt's style applies a tension of naturalism and stylization, bridged together by turns through fairly intricate multiform and multi-patterned surfaces and bold contrasts of color with highlights of gold, silver, coral, and gems. This is all wrapped around a pervasively mystical and alluring aura brought about the the spiraling and intertwining lines juxtaposed with stark square and triangular shapes. All of this is reminiscent of a ghostly mosaic aesthetic.

For more information on the visual style, I recommend picking up the illustration art book on the series Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo Complete.


What is so "un-tanuki-like" about the name Kaisei? At the start of Episode 9 - Daughter of the Ebisugawas: Kaisei when Yasaburō is having a monologue about how he was arranged to marry Kaisei before her father called off the marriage after Yasaburō's father died, he says,

  By the way, my cousin's weird, un-tanuki-like name "Kaisei", was something my dad came up with.

What makes Kaisei's name "un-tanuki-like" in comparison to the other characters?

Common given names in Japan have a certain format since probably the Showa period.

Old fashioned male names go something like "something-number-郎". Kinkaku and Kinkaku's actual names are 呉二郎 and 呉三郎 (Kunijirou and Kunisaburo).

Female names usually go something like "something-子" or "something-美".

Kaisei breaks from this traditional name sense, which is why her name is un-tanuki-like.


Are pilots produced but not released? I know in American television production there are pilots that are produced, presumably as a proof of concept, for shows that are never aired. Or, alternatively, as with Sherlock on BBC, the released first episode wasn't the originally produced one.

Does something similar happen with anime, or are pilots only produced for shows that will definitely air?

Not really, since Most anime's are based on popular manga's already published.
Making a pilot in the US is byproduct of creator's who try to push their show to producers and executives.
If the manga is popular, the anime will no doubt be successful. This is not always the case in the US and Japan. "The Big O" was a miserable failure in Japan, but in the US was well received.


Why wasn't Hatake Sakumo (Kakashi's father) revived? Kabuto was able to revive almost all high grade shinobi figures. But I was just curious to know why Kabuto didn't revive Kakashi's father.

Kakashi's father, known as Konoha's White Fang, was a renowned, high ranking Konohagakure shinobi. Did Masashi Kishimoto intentionally avoid his ET or was there any specific reason for which Kabuto was unable to revive him?

I am asking this question mainly because Kakashi's father was mentioned in many episodes. He was responsible for killing Sasori's parents, which earned him Chiyo's hatred. He was also responsible for Konoha's mission failure for which he took a grave step of committing suicide.

ET's characters like Pakura, Chukichi, etc, got resurrected. Although they were not mentioned until the Fourth Shinobi Arc started, their ET were given more importance than Kakashi's father.

It wasn't mentioned anywhere. Kabuto never talked about Sakumo when showing off or discussing his reanimations.

We can only assume:

They never found a body, or it was so well guarded that Kabuto couldn't get a DNA sample.
Kabuto was sure of his victory even without Sakumo's DNA, or waited for a right moment to pull him out as a trump card.
Kabuto is an idiot. (He is, what the hell did he think was going to happen when he revived Madara?!).


If Mayu had no contact with the outside world, how did she contact people in the outside world? When Mayu created the selector LRIGs, she was being raised in solitude with no access to the outside world or other humans, apart from maids who made sure her simple needs were met. They did not speak to Mayu whilst in her solitude.

Knowing this, how was it possible for the selector LRIGs to leave Mayu's confined space and enter into the outside world?

The implication is that, upon her death, Mayu's ghost was what made her imagined Eternal Girl system into a reality. (In the flashbacks, we see her orchestrating it from her room with the implication that at that point it was all in her warped imagination.)


Does the Parasyte story and/or manga continue after the anime? I've watched the Parasyte anime series but I haven't read the manga. The anime ends in a way that it could be the end of the story.

How is in the manga? Does the Parasyte story and/or manga continue after the anime?

According to Japanese Wikipedia, the Parasyte anime adapted the whole 64 chapters (10 volumes) of the manga, as such:

  stage:1  - chapter 1-2
  stage:2  - chapter 3-4
  stage:3  - chapter 5-7
  stage:4  - chapter 7-9
  stage:5  - chapter 10-12
  stage:6  - chapter 12-14
  stage:7  - chapter 14-17
  stage:8  - chapter 17-20
  stage:9  - chapter 20-22
  stage:10 - chapter 23-25
  stage:11 - chapter 26-28
  stage:12 - chapter 29-31
  stage:13 - chapter 32-34
  stage:14 - chapter 34-36
  stage:15 - chapter 37-39
  stage:16 - chapter 40-44
  stage:17 - chapter 44-47
  stage:18 - chapter 47-49
  stage:19 - chapter 50-52
  stage:20 - chapter 53-55
  stage:21 - chapter 55-57
  stage:22 - chapter 57-60
  stage:23 - chapter 61-62
  final stage - chapter 63-64

The storyline and the content are basically the same with most modifications related to cosmetic only (e.g. time period and character appearance).

However, there's a new spin-off manga called Parasyte Reversi which debuted in March 2018.


Which chapter of the manga does Season 4 of My Hero Academia anime start in? The trailer of Season 4 of the anime My Hero Academia has been released, and I'm assuming that by knowing in which chapter of the manga Season 3 of the anime ends, you can know which chapter of the manga Season 4 starts.

Which chapter of the manga does Season 4 of My Hero Academia anime start?

According to Mangaupdates and the wikia, Boku no Hero Academia adapted up to Chapter 124 in Season 3. Therefore, Season 4 is expected to adapt the chapters after that, starting in Chapter 125.


Are the OVA of "Baka and Test" more closely related to the manga/light novels than the anime's first season? During the rounds where Aki and Yūji face off against Kyōji and Yūka, Yūji reveals a photo album of Kyōji cross-dressing which came from when he lost to Class F in the first season and was forced to obey Yūji and cross-dressed for a day.

The difference between the anime and the manga/light novels is that photos of Kyōji cross-dressing were taken in private by Kōta which Yūka found the dumped him. In the anime, she sees him cross-dressing when Class C (along with Classes D and E) ganged up on Class A in Mock Wars to tire them out before the real War between Class A and F.

However, in the OVA it explains how Kōta took the photos and afterward Yūka is looking through them, burns the album and dumps Kyōji almost as if she never saw him cross-dressing during the Mock Wars.

I am wondering, does the OVA of Baka and Test more closely adapt to the manga/light novels than the first season of the anime did?

Yes
The OVA, titled Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu: Matsuri (Matsuri = festival), is based on the school festival episode in the 2nd volume of the original source, which is the light novel. (Source: Japanese Wikipedia)

OVA
[...] 原作2巻を元にした学園祭のエピソード。 [...]

Additional info: Japanese Wikipedia also mentions that the story development between the original source and anime's 1st season is different, and even included a lot of anime original story. The 2nd season continues the 1st season's setting while also adapting the original source more faithfully.

特徴

第1期は原作とは異なるストーリー展開、及びアニメオリジナルの展開が多い。第2期は第1期の設定を引き継ぎつつも、原作を忠実に再現している。 [...]


Why is Midori referred to as green-skinned, when she's not that green? During the anime and the manga, the author refers to Midori as green-skinned, in fact, even her name means green. But she doesn't look obviously green:

I would expect a name like Aoi instead if there was some leeway - http://www.omniglot.com/language/colours/japanese.htm

In the manga there is a panel with RGB codes, I thought I'd color her in just to make sure it wasn't an anime adaption problem & I removed the shading:

Midori's skin is hex value #85D8D0 or RGB (133,216,208). The green component of her skin is only 8 units larger than the blue component. Thus, even without my subjectiveness, she can't be considered green-skinned. Several color-focused websites classify the color as Cyan, not a shade of green.

Is there some reason for this - maybe based in language? Why didn't they just say she was cyan / aqua / turqoise? or even, blue?

Think of it this way, Midori is what the Japanese would refer to as a "Gyaru."

One of the more popular styles of gyaru is "Ganguro", characterized by their deeply artificial tan and dyed/bleached hair.

Green skin might refer to her natural skin color. It's likely that she chose another hue as the bronze shade of typical ganguro gyaru is too similar to her original color. After all, ganguro gyarus are not only into radical fashions radical fashions, but also radical makeup. So some order more radically different shade makes sense in this context.

You make the mistake in thinking "midori" can only refer to the kanji [緑]{midori}. If your are unaware the kanji [青]{ao} refers to both the color blue and green (more commonly the former nowadays). Another way to write this kanji is 碧. While typically pronounced "ao," many people take it as a given name and pronounce it as "Midori." The name here might be use in an ironic sense (character design wise), like calling a black cat "White."

Cyan is a greenish-blue or a light blue color. This fits her character and name in two ways:

When tanning your skin color you have to take into account your natural tone, unless you are painting over it completely
Her name is a bit of a pun on her complexion, she's both green (underneath) and blue (outside)


Where can I legally watch the dubbed version of "Kimi no na wa" ("Your Name")? Is there a dubbed version of kimi no na wa, and is there a site to watch the dubbed version of kimi no na wa online legally?

According to Amazon,  Your Name will be releasing on Blu-Ray & DVD in America on November 7, 2017.

You can pre-order the DVD + Blu-ray combo pack for $20.


Is there a way to kill Brook? Is there any possibility of Brook dying?

I mean, you can't really kill him, because his soul always comes back.
Do you have to destroy his bones? But if I remember right, the Samurai on Thriller Bark broke a part of his skull. But now it healed, so is there no way that Brook can die?

You made a mistake in thinking his soul could come back as many times as it pleases. A Yomi Yomi no Mi user can only be resurrected once. He does seem immortal as we have seen him be beheaded and damaged several times, from which he had healed back by drinking calcium rich drinks such as milk. The only two possibilities there are to killing him is by either submerging him into water or by crushing his entire body forcing the soul to leave the body. This would indeed make him quite immortal.

How many times does the Yomi Yomi no Mi resurrect the soul?

The wiki page on the Yomi Yomi no Mi states:

  The major strength of the fruit, as demonstrated by Brook, is that it gives its user another life after dying once before.

The wiki page on Brook states:

  While he was still alive, Brook ate the Yomi Yomi no Mi, a Paramecia-class Devil Fruit. Should the user of this fruit die, it allows them the one-time opportunity to return to life.

Will the soul be able to come back regardless of the state of the user's body?

The wiki page on the Yomi Yomi no Mi states:

  After death, the user continues to exist in whatever state they were revived as and can even go as far as to grant a form of "immortality" that lasts until the user suffers a second death. This of course is negated if the user's cause of death was drowning, and their body remains in the water, or if their body is completely destroyed.

What will kill a Yomi Yomi no Mi Devil Fruit user?

The wiki page on Brook states:

  One advantage is that because he is just comprised of light weighted bones, he can use his speed and light weight to run across water, but, like all Devil Fruit users, he can still drown when submerged.

The wiki page on the Yomi Yomi no Mi states:

  After death, the user continues to exist in whatever state they were revived as and can even go as far as to grant a form of "immortality" that lasts until the user suffers a second death. This of course is negated if the user's cause of death was drowning, and their body remains in the water, or if their body is completely destroyed.

What will not kill a Yomi Yomi no Mi Devil Fruit user?

The wiki page on Brook states:

  He has also proven that calcium (such as in milk) will rapidly heal any damaged bones.

If the user's bones are only partially destroyed, he will be able to regenerate them through consumption of calcium. Eg This was seen after Brook fought Ryuma and was severely damaged.

The wiki page on the Yomi Yomi no Mi states:

  As long as his bones are not hurt any attacks will not go to his core like when Zeo beheaded Brook, his soul managed to repair it and connect his bones together again.


Which Fairy Tail episode did Lucy do a map of everybody in Fairy Tail? I saw in an AMV that Lucy drew a map of everybody in Fairy Tail, and I think she was doing the map to try and find everybody and bring them back into the guild.
Which Fairy Tail episode shows this moment?

Perhaps you are talking about Episode 276: Challenger, this is after the Fairy Tail Zero arc.

   After the guild has been disbanded, Lucy is still keeping tabs of her guildmates's locations that why she have that map


Why does Shura no Toki go through different generations in each season? In the series Shura no Toki it shows the different generations of the mutsu enmei and their battles. I have watch the series and think that is great and recomend it to friends. I like the way that they have done this compared to different animes.

But I am a little confused on why the writers decided to do different generations instead of like a lot of the other animes out there keep with one generation and follow them tell the end of the series.

There's a bit of history here which puts this in perspective. In 1987, mangaka Kawahara Masatoshi first published Shura no Mon. This  is a pretty standard martial arts manga in terms of setting and characters. It primarily follows a single character, Mutsu Tsukumoto. He practices a martial art Mutsu Enmei Ryuu. This martial arts style has apparently never been defeated in its 1000 year history. Shura no Mon ran for 31 volumes and finished publication in 1996. It does have a sequel which began in 2010. It was never adapted as an anime.

In 1989, Kawahara began publishing a prequel manga Shura no Toki. This details the thousand-year history of Mutsu Enmei Ryuu and the Mutsu family. It has arcs for each of the major periods in Japanese history, each with different characters. This was published at a slower pace. In total, there were 15 volumes. The series ended in 2005.

The anime adaptation of Shura no Toki occurred in 2004. They chose to adapt Shura no Toki rather than Shura no Mon, and covered 3 story arcs. Given the timing, this made more sense. Shura no Mon hadn't been released for 8 years, but Shura no Toki was still publishing and nearing its end, which is a good time for an anime adaptation. Of course, given the nature of the work, they adapted it in arcs rather than just doing a single one.

It's a bit of a historical accident that Shura no Toki got an anime adaptation, while Shura no Mon didn't. I don't think there's a single really convincing reason why it happened. Partially, the timing wasn't great. Martial arts was big in the 1980s, but by the mid-90s (when an anime might have started) it had died down in popularity. Shura no Toki was better timed in that respect and also had the benefit of being more historically themed (and hence appealing to a larger group than just martial arts enthusiasts). There's plenty of other speculation as to why the prequel was the only part to be adapted as an anime, but in any event that's the fact of the matter.

So the reason why Shura no Toki took that approach is because it was always designed and intended as a prequel to Shura no Mon, which has the more traditional single protagonist. However, in English, the Shura no Toki anime is the only one with a sizable following since neither manga is well known. Without that context, the style of the anime seems somewhat strange.


Where can I read Sword Art Online (Novel)? Last year, I watched the first season of Sword Art Online and now I'm watching the second season. I really love the anime, but now I would really like to start reading the light novel.

Does anyone know if it is available legally online?

Thank you for the help :)

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sword_Art_Online_light_novels for the list of translated chapters/volumes and their ISBNs which you can use to find the stores which have them on:

http://www.isbnsearch.org/
http://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Search-Books/b?node=241582011


What was Zaimokuza's role in Hachiman's scheme to elect Iroha? In episode 5 of Oregairu S2, Hachiman enlists Zaimokuza's aid in getting Iroha elected president. Zaimokuza then goes on to give Hachiman an earful about how he doesn't want to be the fall guy for the scheme and how Hachiman had better take responsibility, and all of that.

But what role did Zaimokuza even have in the scheme? It looked to me like Hachiman did all the work in setting up the Twitter accounts and pulling the bait-and-switch.

I don't really remember how the anime showed it, but in the light novel Hachiman and Zaimokuza both split up the Twitter accounts between them. Then the night before the day that Hachiman shows the printouts to Irohasu, he had actually called Zaimokuza to change the accounts' display name and images to "Isshiki Iroha Grassroots Account". Understandably Zaimokuza was not very enthusiastic about it, and only agreed after he was convinced that he wouldn't be blamed for it.

That phone call is right in the beginning of chapter 8 of volume 8. So yeah the 'switch' part wasn't done by Hachiman himself. He did take the printouts later though.


Where can I watch Tamako Market? I found out the character name to an image I have. He's Yuzuki from Tamako Market. I want to watch the anime, but I don't know where to watch it.
I don't really know what websites that have anime to be honest.
Where can I watch Tamako Market?

Not knowing where you live, it's not possible to give a definitive answer to where you can legally watch the show, but assuming you're in the US then it looks(1) like Tamako Market is available to stream on Hidive, for which you can either register an account with them or through VRV. As with most streaming services, it costs money to subscribe but you can get a 30 day free trial to start with. Hidive also runs in other countries, but licensing is a complicated business so it's best if you check for yourself.
If you would rather own a copy, then Tamako Market was licensed by Sentai Filmworks in the US, and they sell the DVD and Blu-Ray on their site or through retailers, although as an older title you may have to search around a bit to find a copy in stock.
(1) I say "looks" because I accessed the site from Australia, so it was probably showing me a different list to what someone in the US would see.


Does Mr. Braun still have his secret occupation in the beta world line (1%)? We know that FB is Mr. Braun. Now Okabe is in the Beta worldline, and M4, a.k.a. Moeka, is working part-time for Mr. Braun, a.k.a. FB which is very suspicious...
Technically, they are still operating as Rounders, right? It's just they haven't take any actions against the Future Gadgets Lab yet, apart from retrieving the IBN 5100.

Right guys?

Yes, Yuugo Tennouji (Mr. Braun) still has his secret job in the Beta world line after 1% divergence is obtained.

I base this on the wiki entry, which lists Steins; Gate 0 as its source. Here is what the Wiki says about this:

   When 1% Divergence is obtained, Yuugo is seen running his shop, having apparently never worked for SERN in this world line. But as revealed by Steins;Gate 0, he still works for SERN in the Beta Worldline. Source: Wiki- Yuugo Tennouji

Edit: The anime adaptation of Zero is greenlit, but there is no broadcast date. I haven't read the Visual Novel.

Wiki page for Zero states,

  The Steins;Gate 0 (シュタインズ・ゲート ゼロ Shutainzu Gēto Zero?) anime is an adaptation of a spin-off visual novel by the same name that is being marketed as a "true sequel" visual novel, as opposed to being a fan disc. However, though Zero is part of the main canon, it is narratively not taking place after the true ending of the original story but technically before said ending. Zero is a side story that explores events from the Beta Attractor Field's future that contribute in making the end of the original story possible.


Was any of the movies based off anything from the manga? In regards to the Bleach Movies (Memories of Nobody, Diamond Dust Rebellion, Fade to Black and Hell Verse) were any of them based off anything from the Manga? or are they just as much filler as the Bount Arc?

Speaking to two of those movies, I don't recall any distinct plot-advancing points within them.  They explored some different concepts related to the Bleach universe (such as "Blanks" in Memories of Nobody, and the King's Seal in The Diamond Dust Rebellion), but to my recollection, there wasn't anything that was specifically canonical that the movies were based on.


Can Tanjiro See The Dead? In the first few episodes of Demon Slayer as Tanjiro trains he sees 2 dead apprentice Demon Slayers, Sabito & Makomo. I was wondering if Tanjiro had some sort of ability that connects him to the dead or the reason behind him being able to see the ghosts.
So can Tanjiro see the dead?

He had the opportunity to talk to many souls (or ghosts if you want to put it that way) yes, but it was never officially stated in the manga if he can see the dead. We can safely assume he had those interactions because the souls wanted to. Same is the case with the other characters in Demon Slayer.


What is the difference between king vessel and metal vessel users? What is a king vessel? Is it a dungeon capturer that is rewarded with a djinn? Then isn't it no difference from a metal vessel user?

A King Vessel is a dungeon conqueror who was chosen by the djinn of the dungeon and rewarded with a metal vessel containing the power of the djinn. Almost always they are chosen by a Magi who helps them through the dungeon.

A member of the Kjng's household is someone loyal to them who carries a household vessel, imbued with power by the same djinn the King controls, they have not themselves conquered a dungeon, and have not been chosen by a Magi. They do not have the full power of the djinn, and are unable to use Extreme Magic.


What kanji is this, and what's its meaning? In the anime Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (精霊の守り人), when the Star Diviners are speaking and do not wish for the contents of their conversation to be heard, they say something like "There is no-one else in this room." or "This room has only empty vessels." (depending on the translation, I guess). Then, these other guys in the room (generally people who only light candles and the like) pull a piece of cloth that hangs backwards from their 'hat', and cover their faces. This piece of cloth has a symbol, that I guess is a Kanji (I do not know many kanji, so it is only a guess).

What Kanji is this, and what is its meaning?

It isn't kanji.  The character you see here, and others, were invented for this particular TV series.  They're called ヨゴ文字 ("yogo moji"), and this character in particular is a substitute for the kana む ("mu").

See the following charts for details: kana and numbers

As for what it means, given the context in your question, I would guess the む on his mask is 無 ("nothing").

(As an aside, these characters remind me of Tangut script.)