What happened during the Void Century and the name of the KINGDOM? I'm just wondering about the Void Century in One Piece. What happened during those years? The World Government came to be by taking down the mysterious KINGDOM. I really want to know the name of that kingdom.
Can anybody guess or give me something that would put me at ease?

The events during the Void Century has not yet been revealed, so for everyone it still remains a mystery, except for the Roger Pirates who have read the Poneglyphs and discovered the true history which the study is forbidden by the World Government.

As for the name of the Ancient Kingdom, its true name is a mystery, as the Gorosei ordered that Professor Clover be shot before he could speak its name.

The only details revealed so far are:

  The Void Century is a century-long gap in recorded and archaeological history, the study of which is forbidden by the World Government. These events occurred 800 to 900 years before the current storyline. It was hinted at during the Skypiea arc; the dates were seen in Robin's flashback.

  Birth of the World Government
  800 years ago, at the end of the Void Century, the World Government was born and took political control of the entire world, uniting all countries and forming the Council of Kings. For the World Government, the events of the Void Century were better left unknown as information linked to it is considered far too dangerous.

  Ancient Weapons
  The three Ancient Weapons are three weapons of mass destruction that are powerful enough to bring ruin to the entire world. They are known as Pluton, an ancient ship capable of massive destruction, Poseidon, a Mermaid with the ability to communicate with and control Sea Kings, and Uranus, the properties of which remain unknown. The Ancient Weapons are the argument used by the World Government to forbid the research of the missing years.

You can read more about it here.


Why was Lemiel healed from his wounds when he was brought back from his statue form? When Lemiel was sealed in his statue form hundreds of years ago, he was wounded. But after returning to life, his wounds arent seen anymore and he looks healed.

Why was Lemiel healed from his wounds when he was brought back from his statue form?

in my opinion it is because he has been sealed by nero A.K.A secre swallowtail by using a magic stone and probably also because it has been a very long time since he was sealed and the wound healed by itself


Do we know Kyon's real name? I was just re-watching the anime and it seems like Kyon is only a nickname. Are we ever told what his real name is? Maybe from the light novel? And how come Kyon has such a nickname? Does it have any meaning?

No, we don't.

From quick googling, it seems that it has not been revealed yet, even in the light novel. But it seems some hints exist.

From "Kyon" on Wikipedia:

  The name Kyon is actually a nickname given to him; his real name has yet to be revealed in the series. His sister is responsible for spreading its use amongst his schoolmates, much to his embarrassment and annoyance, and he misses being called Onii-chan (お兄ちゃん, Lit. "older brother") by his sister. In the ninth volume of the light novel (The Dissociation of Haruhi Suzumiya), his real name is hinted at in a conversation between himself and Sasaki, a girl who had known Kyon since middle school, who said that it was a very majestic name that didn't fit him.

His sister's name also hasn't been revealed yet.

Thread in MyAnimeList discussing this - there are many hints and guesses being discussed there.


If the government wants to hide what happened during the void history why won't they just destroy the Poneglyph stone instead? The world government has been chasing Nico Robin for reading history of Void Century on Poneglyph stones. But why won't they just destroy it so the problem is solved?

According to wikia, Poneglyph is indestructible.

The blocks have no real power themselves, apart from their indestructibility; it has been stated that not even explosives could leave a scratch on these stones. However, the words they contain have the power to change the world.
Each one tells a piece of history long forgotten. This history
includes mentions of (at least) three weapons of mass destruction:
Pluton, Poseidon and Uranus. There are two types of poneglyphs: those
that carry information about how to reach the other poneglyphs and
those that carry the records of the "True History". Only when the
stones are read as one will they fill in the Void Century of the
world. In the eyes of the World Government, they are dangerous
artifacts and despite declaring the stones dangerous because of the
weapons, the reality is that the ideals of the fallen Kingdom written
on some of the stones are far more dangerous then any of the weapons.

Because the Government stated that Poneglyph are dangerous artifacts and the blocks also indestructible, the Government prefer to kill peoples in Ohara rather than destroy the Poneglyph.


Do only Dark Knights acquire vices? It seems that I only ever hear Ranta talking about getting the vice from a monster's kill. I understand that by getting these he is able to level up special skills related to his demon. Are Dark Knights the only class able to acquire vices?

Short answer: yes.

Slightly longer answer.

In the beginning of the Anime, when the group including Ranta go to get their class specific training, We are greeted with Ranta having a new ability with him. The 'Vice' you mention.
This is because, as we know 'Dark' knights, offer up sacrifices to some form of a 'Dark lord' and have formed a pact.
Just like the Protag (I forget his name) got the ability to see an enemies critical location, and follow a 'stream' of light with his blade, to reach it. Ranta got his own class specific ability.


Why are not all Exceeds able to transform into an anthropoid (humanlike) form? There are several exceeds known, and as far as I can remember, only Pantherlily and Samuel are shown to turn into human form.

So, why can't other exceeds like Happy and Carla change into human form as well?

I am not sure that this applies for Pantherlily and Samuel, but in chapter 421, Charle could transform into anthropoid (human-like form) because she learned transformation magic.

This may be the cause that Pantherlily and Samuel could transform, and Pantherlily saying that he could maintain that form for certain time only when he's worn out in battle because it requires magic to maintain it.


What happened to Rin's Mana Compass? In Fate/Zero, Rin is given a Mana Compass by her father which she uses in her search for Kotone. I've only seen up to episode 10 but I know she'll appear in a later episode where she will receive the Jewel Pendant which becomes the catalyst to summon Archer in the 5th war and saves Shirou's life.

However I don't remember her Mana Compass being mentioned in Fate/Stay Night, nor can i foresee a situation in Fate/Zero where it would be destroyed. Given how it works it seems to be quite a useful tool Rin could've employed in the 5th war.

So I am wondering, is it stated what happens to the compass, since it seems Rin treasures the Jewel Pendant she was given, since it came from her father, and I would assume she would treasure the compass as well.

To the best of my knowledge, it's never mentioned again (not even later in Fate/Zero), aside from a throwaway reference on the Fake/states night webpage, which describes it (魔力針) as an item you could find in-game and which has Rin's name engraved on the back of it.

From an out-of-universe perspective, the obvious reason why we don't know what happened to it is that it was invented by Urobuchi for Fate/Zero, which was written after Fate/stay night, and it's not so important an object that its whereabouts in Fate/stay night would need to be explained.

From an in-universe perspective, I think the best explanation is that by the time of the Fifth War, Rin no longer needed the device - skilled mages can already sense magic to some extent. During the Fourth War, though, when she was just 5 or 6, she probably wasn't experienced enough to be able to detect mana all that effectively, and so the compass was somewhat useful to her back then.

By the way,

   Rin doesn't get the pendant during Fate/Zero. It's only at the beginning of F/SN (the day before she summons Archer) that she finds it with her father's effects. Rin does happen to show up at the end of Fate/Zero (for Tokiomi's funeral); that's when she receives the Azoth sword from Kirei.


Is the Sword Maiden blind? The Sword Maiden wears a blindfold, which usually indicates blindness.  However, she does not act blind, nor does this wiki entry say she is blind.

If she's not blind, why does she have a blindfold?

Yes, she is blind. In Volume 2 Chapter 7 of the light novel, it was indirectly stated that she is. To quote,

  Sword Maiden didn’t answer. With her blind eyes, she stared at a person who seemed to her a shadow.

Also, in that same volume at Chapter 12, it was revealed how her eyes were blinded.

  She had been shut up in a dark stone chamber, riddled with her own filth and that of her captors, crying piteously…
  They had burned both of her eyes with a torch. That was more than ten years ago now.


Where was Homura taken? In the Rebellion movie, just as Homura was about to become a witch and be claimed by the Law of Cycles, the Incubators trapped her Soul Gem in an Isolation Field.

When the magical girls break the field there seemed to be thousands of Incubators gathered in one place and it was quite barren. Where did the Incubators take Homura, and if it was their homeworld, how did Mami, Kyouko, Hitomi, and Kyosuke get there?

I assume it is on Earth, but on a deserted location (or a post-apocalyptic Earth). During the movie it is mentioned that Kyouko and Mami entered the Isolation Field by coincidence (so did Madoka's parents). They could only have entered this Field if it were located somewhere on Earth.


Is super saiyan blue supposed to be 50 times stronger than super saiyan god? Super Saiyan Blue or Super Saiyan God Super Saiyan is said to be obtained by getting the god ki of a super saiyan god and then transforming into super saiyan.

The multiplier for a super saiyan is x50, if super saiyan blue is when you get the god ki of a super saiyan god and then transforming into super saiyan does this mean the power of a super saiyan blue is super saiyan god multiplied by 50?

Well, at this time there has been no official statement from anyone who matters describing which form is more powerful. The only statement we have was from Akira Toriyama about a year before the blue form was even known about in which he states this:

  “Simply put, it’s because [the red hair] looks so strong,” said Toriyama. “The color yellow has already been used, and blue isn’t really that strong looking, so visually, red is easy to understand.”
  Source: kotaku

But according to the wiki:

  The form, due to the intense training and calm mind needed to acquire it, exceedingly surpasses its predecessor Super Saiyan God, and all of the other Saiyan forms. Despite the form's huge upgrade in power from the original Super Saiyan God, even after training with Whis neither Goku nor Vegeta could challenge Beerus alone.

In Battle of Gods, Whis said that Beerus used 70% of his power while fighting SSG Goku. If SSB was 50x stronger than SSG, it might be very likely that either SSB Goku or Vegeta could defeat Beerus alone given that the 70% thing.


Where can I watch the latest Pokemon Season 18 episodes subbed? Seaon 18 refers to the XY: Kalos Quest. Subtitles should be in English. It can also be English dubbed. I have tried Youtube but most of the episodes are missing.

Asuming you're in the US, you can watch them on Amazon Videos or from the iTunes Store


Why is Touka Kirishima afraid of birds? I'm not sure when she became afraid of birds. Does it involve something from her childhood?

Touka suffers from Ornithophobia, most likely due to being pecked near her eye in her youth by Chunta. Which is also the reason why she covers her right eye with her hair.

   Chunta (チュンタ, Chunta) was an injured bird that was found by Touka Kirishima and Ayato Kirishima. They nursed the bird back to health, keeping it in a cage at their apartment and feeding it worms they dug up. After their father, Arata Kirishima, disappeared and Touka and Ayato were on the run from Ghoul Investigators, they turned back to release Chunta from his cage. After being freed, he pecked Touka in the eye.


Why can Renamon disappear, while Guilmon and Terriermon can't? In Digimon Tamers, we see Renamon disappear or fade out after she is no longer needed several times. (For instance, she disappears at the end of episode 7, after Rika, Henry, and Takato have rescued Guilmon.) Meanwhile, Guilmon and Terriermon do not seem capable of this: Takato has to take pains to hide Guilmon (ep. 2), and Henry has to pass off Terriermon as a stuffed animal when he is at home (ep. 1).

Why is this the case? Does it have something to do with the monsters themselves, or is it an issue of the abilities of the Tamer? (But Henry seems knowledgable enough to me, so I am not entirely convinced by that theory.)

Renamon is based on / heavily influenced by the Japanese kitsune, which have mystical abilities, most famously that of illusions. On top of that, Renamon has ninja-like speed, and I'd say it's a combination of both that it's using here.

Blink an eye and you'll miss it. One moment it's there, the next it's gone and only leaves a fading stand-in illusion of itself (what a trickster), as it's probably hiding away in the shadows or trees. Or it's actually using illusion abilities to straight up become invisible for extended periods of time (that would have to be harder to keep up, but who knows).

Point being, these abilities would have to be balanced for fights - can't just have Renamon "godmode" and stay completely invisible, after all. That's why I'm assuming it has to stand completely still and concentrate to actually become and stay invisible, and therefore, using it's speed to jump away and leaving behind a stand-in illusion from it's physical hiding place would be less taxing and preferable, whenever possible.

A kitsune's mystical powers increase with age and amount of tails they have - from one, up to nine tails (see Kyubimon, Renamon's Champion level). Ninetales from Pokémon, nine-tails Kurama (Kyuubi) from Naruto... kitsune are a big, big thing in Japanese mythology.


Is Rurouni Kenshin going to start back up now that Nobuhiro Watsuki has been fined? So recently, the Rurouni Kenshin series, Rurouni Kenshin: Hokkaido Arc, was put on hiatus for the author's, Nobuhiro Watsuki, involvement in child pornography (On a side note, I think this is a very despicable thing, and I do NOT support it in any way, shape, form, or fashion). As I understand it, he was fined for the action and not put in jail.

Will the story resume now that this scandal has been mostly dealt with? (Again, I do not condone Nobuhiro Watsuki's actions at all, but I am a big fan of the Rurouni Kenshin series)

Rurouni Kenshin: The Hokkaido Arc will continue in July issue of Jump Square, which will be published on June 4, 2018.

[...] This June, it will resume serialization in Japan.
[...]
Starting June 4, however, Rurouni Kenshin's "Hokkaido Arc" will return to print. [...]
Continuing, it added, "The author spends his days reflecting and with remorse, and think as though it's our obligation as a publisher as well as his as an author make a way for us to reply through the work to the various opinions we've been getting, and so, from the July issue, which goes on sale June 4, serialization will resume.”

Source: Kotaku


How could Aang stay alive for 100 years? Is there any clear description as to how Aang survived for 100 years inside of the iceberg?

Can Avatars do that? If they can, then why didn't the other Avatars stay alive for long time periods? And whatever was the case, how did Aapa stay alive too?

From Avatar Wiki:

  However, Aang later discovered that he would be sent to the Eastern Air Temple in order to complete his airbending training far away from Monk Gyatso, whom the other monks thought was too soft on him. Afraid and confused, the young airbender ran away with his flying bison, Appa, though they became caught in a storm shortly after, which caused them to crash into the water. Aang saved himself and Appa from drowning by semi-consciously entering the Avatar State and freezing them both in a sphere of ice through a combination of airbending and waterbending. The Avatar State kept him alive, albeit not fully conscious, in the iceberg for about a hundred years while the war raged on.


Is Subaru ever caught in the vault? During episode 6 of Ro-Kyu-Bu!, Subaru hides in a gymnastic vault in order to watch the basketball game, since Natsuhi is his substitute coach. Not wanting to be caught, he is unable to escape as the vault is moved into a storage room. Before he leaves, however, the girls come in and start to change, but then notice "something white" in the vault, and go to look.

However, the episode ends here, and episode 7 picks up in a completely different place and makes no mention of this. Was Subaru ever caught? What exactly happened here?

Since the bottom of Subaru's untucked dress shirt is seen and tugged on, one assumes by the scream that he was discovered.


Is Tamura the original Homura? The Puella Magi Homura Tamura spinoff manga follows Tamura, who is actually Homura, but no one can ever remember her name and she gets called Tamura (among other things) until it sticks.

During the series, we find out that there's a bar called Akemi-ya where different versions of Homura congregate in between repetitions of the timeline, relax, eat, drink, compare experiences, and do short skits.

Some of the Homuras are radically different from the original Homura in the anime. There's a prankster Homura, a child genius Homura, and a princess Homura served by a butler Homura, like an all-Homura version of Mayo Chiki.

While reading Volume 1, I assumed Tamura, the main Homura, was supposed to be the original Homura from the anime, as in the other spinoff manga. But unlike the original Homura, Tamura is able to reflect on her own actions, recognize mistakes, and feel empathy (sometimes excessively). We see in Volume 1 that there are lookalike timeflows that correspond closely to the original, non-silly timeline, so Tamura could actually be a Homura from a lookalike timeline. What evidence is there in the series for or against Tamura being the original Homura from the anime?

Well, after the volumen 1 and 2, we can assume isn't Homura, because in one of the timeflows she find the one of the Mami's who was crazy and try to shot Madoka.
Beside, Tamura look like she have more empathy than Homura (just remember the dog and her new shield or her encourt with Mami)
But we can't assume nothing until they show us the original timeflow of Tamura


Why is the Monokuma's eye in the school crest? Hope's Peak Academy's crest looks like this:

In the center is a fountain pen and what looks to be a Monokuma's eye:

But the school was established before Monokumas were created if I'm not mistaken.

  Before any of the games take place, Hope's Peak was a small-scale facility that survived on a government subsidiary and graduate donations. However, the research was often blocked by a lack of resources. The school's steering committee was not satisfied with this, so they instituted the preparatory school system in order to bring in more money. (Ref)

Why then is the Monokuma's eye in the logo? Or were the Monokuma designed to have the eye because of the logo?

From the Wikia:

Prior to the series, this cunning and vile being is actually a model animatronic bear used as an avatar to interact with the students by the mastermind. There are seemingly infinite copies of Monokuma, and he seems to also have the ability to teleport everywhere within the academy compounds.
(Emphasis mine)

Prior to The Tragedy:

Monokuma was apparently designed by the Towa Group's robotics division, under the supervision of Monaca Towa. She claimed that she wanted to develop a series of robots that could assist in rescue operations and other scenarios that would be dangerous for humans - in reality, she wanted to build an army for Junko Enoshima's plans. The Monokuma units were then secretly distributed to the various branches of Ultimate Despair, with Junko taking several for her plot at Hope's Peak Academy.
(Emphasis mine)

It can only be assumed that the eye was shaped after the Hope Peak Academy's crest because it was supposed to be a part of the school's rescue operations. At least this much is evident that the Monokuma's eye is modeled after the school's crest and not the other way round.


What episode does Natsu achieve Natural Dragon Force? So far,

   Natsu has been shown to achieve Etherion Dragon Force in his fight with Jellal, and Flames of Rebuke Dragon Force.

In what episode does he achieve Natural Dragon Force without eating any outside elements? I've tried researching but I still don't know when he goes Natural Dragon Force.

This happens only once so far in the anime and Manga, and it is in the Tartaros arc (the last arc of the Anime currently, as it is on Hiatus), during his fight against

   Mard Gear Tartaros

During this fight

   Natsu and Grey are generally losing against Mard Gear's Full power. Eventually, Mard Gear uses his ultimate move, a curse meant to kill even Zeref, and both Natsu and Grey get hit by it and are believed dead for a short time. It is then revealed that Gray was able to counter it using his newly gifted Devil Slayer Ice Magic, and is rendered mostly incapacitated for doing so. Natsu gets enraged and enters Dragon force without eating anything and for a short while overwhelms Mard Gear, which shows that he indeed fully achieved Dragon force, since he and Grey together were unable to do much but take a beating before this.

The event itself happens in chapter 411, which should be episode 263 according to the wiki,
http://fairytail.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Force


Whats the music that plays in Naruto ep. 48 on 16:10? As said, whats the music that plays on 16:10 in Naruto ep 48, it plays when Gaara gets beaten up, but turns out he was defending himself with a sand shell.

I remember this theme also playing in that one filler episode in Shippuden after the Pain arc where they flash back to Naruto's pre-timeskip days, when he went on a mission with that old eternal genin guy (who makes really good soup) and two other jounin. Anyway, the mission went awry, and the team got chased by enemies. The two jounin stayed back to delay the pursuers, but three of the enemies slipped through and caught up to Naruto and the eternal genin. The eternal genin then did a wavy with his arm and did some kind of willow genjutsu technique. And this theme played when that happened.
This track is an unreleased track. It doesn't show up in Naruto Original Soundtrack I, II, or III.
There are some unofficial, imperfect fan-spliced versions floating around on the interwebs, though. For example, this one, titled "Eerie".


What does the emblem on Bolt's jacket mean? Emblem at the jacket's back usually have some sort of clan connection:

In the last chapter of Naruto, Bolt sports a previously unseen emblem on his jacket:

Whose emblem is that? Does this emblem mean anything?

Though it is not explicitly mentioned, that new emblem is most likely the combination of Hyūga and Uzumaki/Namikaze Clan.


Who is this silhouetted figure in the first OP? In the first OP for Tokyo Ravens, the figure pictured below appears for about two seconds, silhouetted the entire time.

Who is s/he? That profile (and specifically, that hairstyle - see this gif) doesn't seem to fit any of the other characters in the show.

Looks like Atsune Hirata who turn out to be a spy for the Twin Horn Syndicate.


Who was the One-Eyed King after all? In the Tokyo Ghoul:re manga, I just got confused at a most critical point. Takatsuki wanted Kaneki to fulfil her wish to 'kill the One-Eyed', but in the end, as far as I can make out, Arima was the One-Eyed King (or was he?). And the next page pictured Kaneki as the One-Eyed King. Can someone explain with references from the manga?

In Ch 86 Takatsuki implies, that Arima was real One-Eyed King (explanation behind the title is glaucoma - Arima was partially blind in one eye). Also, in Ch 89, Tatara also recalls Arima in his memories, and references him as "King". So, it is no doubt, that Arima was real One-Eyed King.

Once title becomes "vacant", Kaneki decides to claim it in the end of Ch 86 (we can suppose, he has full rights for it, since he defeated Arima). I believe, not so many people will question, if he is real One-Eyed King, since only several humans and ghouls were aware of One-Eyed King previous true identity.

As for now, it is not clear, what purpose Kaneki did this for, but this title for sure has some power and influence in world of TG.


Do I need a license to make a non-profit anime streaming site? I am an experienced dev and my goal is to create an anime streaming site. I have made a custom CMS in Python but now need the content. When making the site, I soon realized that the content needs to be real and I don't know how to get it.

I researched further into the field and saw that I need a license to buy dubbed, subbed or anything related to anime. After seeing this, I brainstormed and saw that it only said that to BUY anime it cost this much. A site named Crunchyroll does this and earns money from subscription fees.

I changed my mind and thought I could make a non-profit anime site without a license. Is this true? I'm not editing, changing or adding things to the manga/anime and will not be earning any money off it.

Simply put: Yes, you will need to license your content.

Whether it is for-profit or free of charge, you are still dealing with copyrighted content. If you want to distribute this copyrighted content legally, you will need to license it. When doing this, make sure the license terms actually allow this kind of distribution. Otherwise you are operating no differently than other illegal distribution websites.

You may see plenty of websites similar to yours that don't seem to get mentioned. Take this with a grain of salt, a lot of similar operations employ various "tricks" to get around the law. Such tricks can involve hosting in a country with more lax copyright laws. Just because you see such operations doesn't mean your plans will go just as fine.

Of course, anything in the public domain is fine. There may be older shows where the copyright has expired, so you can get away with publishing those.

However what you don't want to do is solely trust some random dude from the internet. If you are seriously considering this kind of operation, then consult with a copyright lawyer.


Which chapter should I start on in OPM Webtoons? I finished reading One Punch Man manga (until the latest release) and I want to continue on the original webtoon.

Which chapter should I start from?

Short answer: I would suggest you resume reading at Chapter 42 of the Webcomic, which is just after the conclusion of the Boros arc, because while the next several chapters will be familiar from the manga the deviations start to mount up pretty quickly.

As YLombardi indicates, this of course heavily depends on what currently constitutes the "latest release".  It is also important to note that the manga starts deviating pretty heavily from the webcomic, though currently not in ways that fundamentally alters canon (though it's getting close).  Most of the changes involve certain fights being extended and given extra details, as well as giving the non-essential heroes some extra exposition and screen time in other fights.  The most recent manga release (as of my typing this) is concerned with a tournament that never occurs in the webcomic, though this tournament is just part of introducing the two major atagonist powers for the next arc; both such powers and said arc are part of the webcomic.

I will try now to point out when certain major arcs begin/end for the webcomic, up to the current status of the manga (said tournament storyline is closing up).  Anyone completely unfamiliar with the series will, of course, find lots of spoilers in the subsequent.

First chapters, introducing Saitama and his fights against Vaccine Man and the brothers, his "origin story" fight against the crab man, his dream, etc. are essentially identical.
Saitama vs. Ordinary Mosquito, and introduction of Genos: Webcomic Chapters 5-6. Essentially identical between versions.
House of Evolution: Webcomic Chapters 7-11.  Essentially identical between versions.
Paradise baldies and introduction of Sonic and Licenseless Rider (Mumen Rider): Webcomic Chapters 12-15. Essentially identical between versions.
Joining the Heroes Association, introduction of Sneck: Webcomic Chapters 15-16. Essentially identical, but the manga/anime shows a few more tests Saitama does and gives us a better idea of where the tests are held.
Saitama vs. Genos: Webcomic Chapter 17.  Essentially identical between versions.  This is one of the first cases where Murata, the manga artist, has a lot of fun with just plain drawing.  An entire chapter of the manga is basically spent with Murata creating an intimately drawn flip-book for this fight.  The anime basically could have just scanned in the pages for the Murata version of this chapter and called it a scene.  The details of the fight are the same, other than that the landscape is not shown as obliterated by Saitama's partial punch in the webcomic (nor is any of the damage that Genos did shown).
Genos moves in, second encounter with Sonic, Tank Top Tiger introduced: Webcomic Chapters 18-19.
Saitama vs. Meteor; Silver Fang, Metal Knight, Tank Top Black Hole introduced: Webcomic Chapters 20-23. Essentially identical between versions, with a few minor differences, mostly concerned with Genos having an upgrade available.  Murata has fun in the manga again, basically animating (in color) Metal Knight's arrival.  The anime again could have pretty much just scanned in that chapter and called it a scene.
Sea King arc: Webcomic Chapters 24-31.  Essentially identical between versions.  Same heroes are introduced, including Puri-Puri Prisoner and Handsomely Masked Sweet Mask (Amai Mask), etc.
Boros arc: Webcomic Chapters 32-41. Nominal differences between versions.  Saitama encounters Boros slightly earlier in the Webcomic, meeting him at the same time as Geryuganshoop.  Geryuganshoop does not display a gravity power in the webcomic, and only ever use telekinesis to throw rocks and rubble.  The final fight between Boros and Saitama is much longer in the manga/anime than in the webcomic.  Saitama is not knocked to the moon in the webcomic at all.

That's as far as the anime gets, but the manga is at the start of the Garou arc.  From this point on the manga starts to diverge fairly noticeably.  For the most part this does not change anything in the canon, but as previously mentioned the manga gets this arc started with a martial arts tournament which does not exist in the webcomic.  As such there are a lot of new characters and enemies in the manga, but so far none of them look to be important beyond setting things up (but we have to wait and see).

Spoilers beyond this point for those who have watched the anime but have not read the manga (or webcomic).

King vs. Saitama: Webcomic Chapters 42-44
Garou Appears: Webcomic Chapter 45
Saitama meets the Fubuki Group: Webcomic Chapter 47
Garou's hero hunt begins: Webcomic Chapter 51. The noticeable differences arise around this time, as who Garou fights and when is different.  The level of interaction between King and Saitama is also substantially altered, because Saitama is at the aforementioned tournament in the manga, while King is not.
Monster Association appears: Webcomic Chapter 55.  Substantial differences between the manga and webcomic are present at this point, though the essential thrust seems so far to be the same.

This is essentially where the manga is now (which is at chapter 109, by certain reckonings).   I would suggest you resume reading at Chapter 42 of the Webcomic, because while the next several chapters will be familiar from the manga the deviations start to mount up pretty quickly.

   But these 55 chapters are only barely more than half of the webcomic's current length, as the webcomic is at chapter 109 (by coincidence) as of the time of this post.  The Garou/Monster Association arc lasts all the way up through Chapter 94 of the webcomic, making it longer than the entirety of the story up to Boros.  Chapters 95 and on have so far not introduced a clear arc, but a lot of world building, character development, and character backgrounds have been provided.


What if Hashirama had implanted Madara's cells into his body? During the Fourth Shinobi World War, it is revealed that after losing to Hashirama at the Valley of the End, Madara implanted Hashirama's cells into his wounds

   which led to him awakening the Rinnegan.

Later, it is also revealed that:

   Madara and Hashirama are transmigrants of Indra and Ashura, and one needs both Indra's and Ashura's chakra to awaken the Rinnegan.

If Hashirama had instead implanted Madara's cells into his body, would he also have

   awakened the Rinnegan?

It's not the cells but the eyes he would need to have Rinnengan, this is from Naruto wiki:

  Because the Rinnegan was wielded by the Sage of the Six Paths, merging
  the chakra of his two sons, Indra Ōtsutsuki and Asura Ōtsutsuki,
  within one's body brings forth the Sage's chakra, which can evolve
  their Sharingan into the Rinnegan. This was proven when Madara
  Uchiha, Indra's reincarnation at the time, awakened the dōjutsu from
  his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan by infusing the DNA of Hashirama Senju,
  Asura's reincarnation at the time, into his body; however, it did not
  manifest until many years later when he was near death. At some
  point after this, Madara would implant his eyes into Nagato — a young
  boy of Senju lineage.

Also there is a theory from Orochimaru and Kabuto, that says Sharingan came from Rinnegan, so without these eyes no Rinnegan:

  They theorised that because the Sharingan originated from the Rinnegan, it
  was possible for the dōjutsu to change into the Rinnegan as part of a
  "natural evolution"


What's this manga with a woman with body image issues? I was in a bookstore and was looking at a manga listed as a josei manga on the back cover before I had to go somewhere else, and am trying to remember the title. I only looked at the first chapter, but these are the details I remember:

The protagonist is a woman who seems to have issues related to body image. In the beginning, it seems that she eats very little for her breakfast and hopes that it'll be enough for later, but in a later panel we see her eating a lot of food.
Her coworkers comment on her fatness at some point in chapter 1.
Her boyfriend's name is Saito. If I'm not mistaken, he's cheating on her with one of the protagonist's coworkers. She discovers this when she sees them on the street together, and later asks him if they can go out together to some place, which he says is boring. She wonders how he knows this detail when he supposedly never went to said place. The coworker apparently went to a Yokohama hotel with the boyfriend and had sex "three times" with him.
We see an image of the protagonist on her knees in the nude to show her having sex (during a discussion of something tangentially related to that with her coworkers) with her boyfriend.

My preliminary searches didn't give anything useful, but I'll try again later.

I think you're probably looking for Shibou to Iu Na no Fuku o Kite ("In the Clothes Called Fat"). This manga has a protagonist who is overweight and can't manage to control her weight at the beginning. The scenes you describe of her coworkers and her boyfriend happen in this. Her boyfriend's name is also Saito, matching your description. In order to try to keep from breaking up with her boyfriend of 8 years, she develops an eating disorder, which leads to further complications. The main focus is her psychology and self-esteem issues, as well as the issues facing some of the other characters.

The manga was published in 1997, and spans 15 chapters total (collected in 1 volume). The English version was published very recently by Vertical.


Is there such a thing as an 'Indie'/Alternative anime scene? Having followed anime for some time, one thing I have noticed, at least from my perspective, is that there is no equivalent of the Indie/Alternative scene when it comes to anime.

What I mean by this is that the vast majority of anime seems to be produced and distributed by some corporate production studio(s). While my knowledge of anime production is quite limited, this would seem to hold for most anime.

What reasons are there for this trend or am I wrong in assuming the lack of an alternative scene?

If I am wrong, then what can be considered as Indie anime?

Notes: In response to Euphorics's comment, 'Anime' in this context refers to any and all forms of Japanese animated media. The form of distribution, length and animation style are the kind of details I'm looking for in the answers.

Additionally, I am aware of the existence of Doujinshi as a form of independently made Manga, although I wasn't aware of the fact that it included music as well (Thank you Rapitor for that) but I am mainly interested in the animated medium in the context of this question.

There's Voices of a Distant Star, which was "directed, written, produced, character designed, storyboarded, cinematographed, edited, and animated by Makoto Shinkai". Essentially an individual effort except for some voice acting that was done by his wife Mika Shinohara. The DVD release had to go through a manufacturer and distributor, of course but I think that's as close as Indie/Alternative as you'll get.

There aren't many anime like that, as anime TV series or movies are very expensive and time consuming to produce. This is why even small anime studios often rely on production and backing from larger companies (like TV studios). Instances like Voices of a Distant Star is rare because it's short, and probably made no money.


Can Dragon Slayers teach Dragon Slayer Magic? Can Dragon Slayers teach other people Dragon Slayer Magic just like how the Dragons taught them?

According to the Wiki, Dragon Slayer Magic is a form of lost magic. We know that Ultear was able to learn a form of lost magic called "Arc of Time" from Hades.

However, we know that there are currently two ways you can obtain Dragon Slayer Magic:

Learn it from an actual Dragon.
Implement a Dragon Lacrima into your body.

Therefore, I would say yes, this might be a third way to teach someone Dragon Slayer Magic.


Regarding the life of Fisher Tiger in One Piece I'm catching up on One Piece. I'm currently viewing the Fishman Island saga and more specifically, the story of Fisher Tiger.

Obviously, SPOILERS ahead regarding Fisher Tiger:

   During that story we learn that Fisher Tiger managed to climb the Red
 Line with his bare hands (10,000 meters from the ocean surface) and
 attack the Holy Land of Mariejois alone. A feat which shows that
 Fisher Tiger was a man of legendary strengh.

 This is why his death was so perplexing to me. After reaturning Koala
 to her parents he was attacked by Rear Admiral Strawberry and a score
 (?) of marines. He was shot to death.

 How this can be? How can such a powerful warrior die of a score of
 mare marines and a Rear Admiral when he managed to attack and survive
 Mariejois?

Am I missing something?

First, climbing a mountain couple thousand meters high isn't a big performance in the one-piece world. Luffy climbed a 3000m (~9000 feet) high mountain covered in ice and snow when he was on the drum island before the timeskip (Before getting stronger).

Second, Mariejois is the land of the descendents of the gods, the celestial dragon's. Celestial dragons hate every kind of person who's beneath them, even marines, so it's probably not very armed, Marines only use it as way to the New World and they still need to wait months to get access.

  The Holy Land Mariejois (聖地マリージョア Seichi Marījoa?) is the capital of the World Government and functions as the primary path which individuals seeking to enter the other, far more tumultuous and dangerous side of the Grand Line, the New World, pass through.

And third, Fisher Tiger only attacked the home of the celestial dragons, where the biggest defence are the slaves.


What was the Night Class living on (and for how long) before creating the blood tablets? What exactly was the Night Class living on (and for how long) before creating the blood tablets? They obviously lived on campus while working on the tablets, and the Night Class has been at the academy for at least 4 years when the anime started.

So, wouldn't it be kind of dangerous to have them living that close to the humans with NOTHING to help them with their hunger for blood?

Most likely each other. we see later on that Vampires can survive on each other's blood such as when Kaname was drinking from Ruka (while Yuuki was peaking though the door) and later when Rido was resurrected he was feeding off Vampires too1. Also i seem to recall some moments between Senri and Rima when one of them was cut and the other drank from the cut.

However keep in mind that the Vampires of the Night Class aren't Level E's so they have a bit more self control. also one of the duties of the Guardians is to make sure that Night Class Students aren't feeding on Day Class Students who sneak out at night.

in the worse case scenario Kaname, as a Pureblood, can force their obeisance to not drink human blood. also remember that the Night Class is meant to be the foundation for coexistence between Vampires and Humans, as such not only are there school rules against drinking human blood (as Yuuki mentions to Maria) but also Kaname and Kaien would make sure that the only Vampires they admit to the school would be ones who can tolerate not drinking human blood, which at the beginning would be Vampires who would want the Blood Tablets to be successful

1: i suspect they were normal Vampires as some of the women seemed to be wanting Rido to drink their blood rather than wanting to drink his blood


How does the 3D maneuver gear work? In Shingeki no Kyojin, the soldiers use the 3D maneuver gear to attack the Titans and cut the back of their necks. In the last episodes, I have seen that they use a balloon of gas as the power to release the chains to climb the walls and trees. How does this exactly work? Is the gas the only power supply to release the chains?

There's several components to the 3D gear that are separate and operate independently. Not all aspects of the mechanics have been revealed in intricate detail, but there is a pretty good idea of the overall operation.
The short answer is that, yes, it is essentially all gas-powered. The trigger causes the gas to shoot the wire out, and a gas compression is also what shortens the wire to pull the device's user forward.
Operating device
The operating device is what the user holds (where the triggers are located). The mechanics of this are not known, and are described as being a black box.{2} Use of this component is what allows the others to function.
Grapple piston
Once the user pulls a trigger, it activates a piston{4} within the main device. This piston uses a quick spurt of compressed gas to fire forward the grapple hook toward its target.{nt.1} No other power source is necessary for this to happen due to the intense compression release from the piston.
Propulsion
The user's grapple hooks fire from a coil{1} which is located in the device itself. When the user wishes to move forward, their gear must quickly pull the cable back into the device. This is done via a fan mechanism{3} that is also gas-powered. Basically, when the user wants to wind back up, the compressed gas blows into the fan, spinning it rapidly and coiling the wire back up, pulling the user forward.

References and reading

Episode 8, card 1
Episode 8, card 2
Episode 9, card 1
Piston at Wikipedia
3D maneuver gear at the Shingeki no Kyojin Wiki
Note 1: Episode 8's second currently disclosable information states that the gas is "compressed ... and injected"{2}, but this appears to be a grammatical error; see comments below.


How do you extract texts into a text format that you can copy and paste from visual novels? Let's say you want to extract texts from the visual novel for the purpose of looking up the word in the dictionary, or feeding them into a machine translator. How would one go about accomplishing this?

There are some software, such as Anime Games Text Hooker or Interactive Text Hooker, that are especially made for this purpose. Some people use them together with automated translation tools.

An AGTH tutorial, and an example screenshot of how it looks in action:

An ITH tutorial, and an example screenshot of how it looks in action:


Do the novels explain the sudden "hair change" near the end of Gosick? Near the end of the Gosick anime (possibly even just the last episode, I can't remember)... Victorique's hair suddenly changes from gold to silver.

There was speculation about whether this was an intended dye job to hide her identity or representative of her sadness.

Do the original novels give a clear explanation or is it just as ambiguous?

There was a Q&A session with the anime director on the Twitter regarding the last episode of GOSICK in July 2011, and one of the question was about the changing in hair color:

  @namimi_sanjyo: アニメ版GOSICKの質問をいただいてます。少しお答えしますね。お付き合いよろしくです。
  「最終回でヴィクトリカの髪が銀髪になったのはストレスからなのか？それとも自ら脱色したか？」です。
  hyankhさん　GNT_0000さん　からいただきました。続く #gosick

  @namimi_sanjyo: ずばり！銀髪になったのは演出意図です。って答えじゃないかｗ
  コルデリアやブライアンの死のショックで自然と色が抜けたのですが、
  彼女の心象を表すためにも色を変えました。
  ヴィクトリカは金色の妖精でもあり、
  その金色でなくなることは妖精ではなくなった事も意味しました。
  ショックぐらいで色が変わるはずがないと思うでしょうが、私の中でヴィクトリカは妖精でした。
  いにしえの生き物です！
  その彼女が力を失い人間になっていく過程（命乞いをするとか）が、あの逃亡中におこったのです！
  その表現として髪の色も変わったと思って下さいませ。 #gosick

Rough translation

  @namimi_sanjyo: [...] "Was the reason for Victorique's hair color changing to silver due to the stress? Or was it losing color naturally? [...]

  @namimi_sanjyo: [...]. The color naturally lost due to the shock from Cordelia and Brian's death, but it's also changed to express her mind. Since Victorique is also "The Golden Fairy", her hair not being golden means that she is not "The Fairy" anymore. While I don't think that it's possible for hair to change color due to shock, she is still a "Fairy" in my mind. An ancient creature! The process (begging to die) when she lost the power and became a human being happened while running away! Please think that as the expression by the change of her hair color.

Ironically, as it has been mentioned by looper & кяαzєя, Marie Antoinette syndrome actually exists. Also unfortunately, I failed to locate the tweets directly. Either they have been deleted or not indexed.

Source: Otanews (Japanese)


How old was Broly when he was measured 920 of power level? In Dragon Ball Super Broly , Broly is measured his power level when he was a kid and the measure is 920. How old was Broly when he was measured 920 of power level?

Well, it is impossible to point out his definite age, however, he was less than a year old. We know this because Broly was born in the Age 732. He was also sent to planet Vampa this year and his power level was 920 when he was scanned there. Note: This is based on the new Dragon Ball Super: Broly  movie. Previously, Broly was born during the Age 737 and Vegeta was born during the Age 732. However, it seems that both Broly and Vegeta were born during the same Age.


What's the title of this song from Sekaiichi Hatsukoi 2? I've been looking for a certain song since yesterday, and I can't find it. It played at the last episode (12) of the second season of Sekaiichi Hatsukoi; it's at the part where Masamune sat on a bench at a subway station, and he held Ritsu's hand. The song started at 21:39, and it played before Aikotoba (the ending song).

Deleted previous answer. You can always look at the edit history if you want to see it again. :)

Is this the scene when the piano bit plays for a while? If it is then it is actually part of the ending song.

I am not too sure why they decided to play it at that moment before the ending song but I am fairly certain it's part of the ending song.

FYI ;): If you listen really closely, that same tune is actually part of the ending song (Aikotoba) itself at 1:27 (it's actually part of the ending song).


Where did Menthuthuyoupi's eyes go? In episode 116 of Hunter X Hunter 2011 we can see Menthuthuyoupi aka Youpi in the begining, but where did all the eyes that where covering him go ? We can still see the gray spot that was supposed to cover one of the eyes but non of the eyes seem to be there.

As an Enhancer, Youpi's ability "Metamorphosis" allows him to shape-shift at will(1) (such as giving himself wings, as seen earlier in the series). This allows him to hide and reveal those eyes at will.

1) Menthuthuyoupi - Hunter x Hunter Wiki


What is the dimension of Karuta cards? Chihayafuru is an anime about card game called Karuta where players compete to touch the right card based on the poem being read. Chihayafuru wikia lists all 100 of the poem. However, I can't find the dimension of the card they use in the game. What is the dimension of the card used by Chihaya in the matches? Like how many cm x how many cm? If possible, the thickness of the card too.

Competition cards are 74x53mm (~2.9x2.1 inches) in size, and made from "pasteboard". Reference: Japanese Wikipedia article on karuta.  The pasteboard used to make Japanese playing cards tends to be thicker than what we are familiar with in the West for cards. It's called 厚紙 (atsugami = thick paper) and can be quite thick -- I have some Japanese playing cards that are 0.4mm thick, which is thicker than Western plastic playing cards, and I've seen images of atsugami that look quite a bit thicker.

Alas I don't know exactly how thick karuta competition cards are since I never held any.


Who told Toko that she was adopted? In the 4th season of Maria Watches Over Us, it's revealed that Toko was adopted. In the final episode, when she and Yumi went on the half-day date reward which Toko won for finding Yumi's Card, Toko reveals that her real parents died in a car crash which she was the sole survivor of, and she was later adopted by the daughter of the head doctor of the hospital, who happened to be a classmate and friend of Toko's biological mother.

Toko tells Yumi that she had suspected for a while that she was adopted from overhearing "cruel adults". However, it has only been confirmed recently in a couple of episodes earlier. During the scene where Suguru Kashiwagi is driving Toko, he gets angry that Toko has found out and starts questioning her who opened their mouth, naming 3 women (I can't remember their names, but I believe they were the ones who tried to shame Yumi during the 3rd OVA Season). However, Toko doesn't answer, being more scared of Suguru's aggressive speeding.

So I am wondering, is it known who told Toko she was adopted, or did she found out herself?

Nobody ever told Toko directly that she was adopted. As you mentioned, she overheard her relatives speaking about it, and she confirmed it by looking it up in a registry.

Quoting a line from Toko's article on wikia:

  She found out the truth later after listening in to some of her relatives' conversations, and confirming it in a registry

So Suguru just got angry and there was no specific person who revealed the secret


Can Twice copy One for All? Monoma who has the quirk copy, it's said he can't copy One for All (or at least, he can't copy it effectively) What about Twice? Can he copy Midoriya along with his powers?

Yes, based on the description in the wiki, which is also from the manga, the quirk of Twice can copy any person along with its abilities, albeit it would be weaker and less powerful than the original.

If I recall correctly, Midoriya has not yet been copied by Twice so we have no way to find out if there is an exception to his ability, like with Monoma.


What would the list of manga genres in Japan be, based on bookstore labeling schemes? I've seen various lists of manga genres in English, but in my experience they haven't lined up to the writing that I have read in Japanese book stores.

Note, so that the question is not too broad, I limit the scope of this question to the genres you would find in the labeling scheme of a book store in Japan. Obviously subgenres on to infinity can be defined.

Basically, at a Japanese bookstore (like Kinokuniya), what would the aisles be named?

I ask, because I imagine the perception of genre to the English speaking otaku may be different than what is considered in Japan.

For instance I see yaoi sections marked as BL
There appears to be a section for young girls, but I can't read the kanji
Perhaps scifi? But again I can't read the kanji.
Is giant robot considered a genre in Japan, is that something you'd see an aisle for in a bookstore?

What would be the idioms be in Japan?

Basically, at a Japanese bookstore (like Kinokuniya), what would the aisles be named?

M.I.A's comment hits it right on the head. In the US (and, I think, much of Europe), books in bookstores are often broken down by subject or genre or category or whatnot.

This is also true in Japan - to a degree. You will still have broad categories like "computers" and "art" and "foreign language" and "fiction" and "comics" (manga). But within the manga section, you'll probably find that the manga are grouped by publisher (Kodansha, Shueisha, Kadokawa, etc.), rather than by genre/etc. I don't know if this is universal, but this is how it worked in all of the manga-selling Japanese bookstores I've been to (not that I've been to all that many).

I guess the closest you'll get to genre-based categorization within the manga section is e.g. that certain publishers almost exclusively publish shoujo content. I can't remember the names of any of the big publishers in that sector, but if you go to a Japanese bookstore, you'll easily be able to identify the shoujo-publisher section by its garish pinkness. The same is true (to an extent) for yaoi/shounen-ai. But for subject-matter-based categories like "science fiction" or "romance" or "giant robots", you're unlikely to find subsections of the manga section devoted specifically to those things.

Incidentally, given that you seem to be located in NYC - if you want another perspective on what Japanese bookstores tend to look like, I'd recommend visiting the basement of the Book-Off on 45th St if you have a chance. (But Kinokuniya does still have a much better selection.)


Why Orochimaru's Edo tensei gives summons white eye but the recent edo tensei has the black eye? I'm just wondering why the first and the second has white eyes and their faces are clean no cracks?

When Orochimaru used that jutsu against 3rd Hokage, he hasn't mastered it yet, which is why both 1st Hokare and 2nd Hokage were that weak. With weak I mean they were not revived with all their power available for them to use.

Later, Kabuto mastered the jutsu, thus enabling him to summon the dead with all their power available for them to use. It seems that this also makes their appearance change quite a bit like you noted, in that they have different eye color and cracks.


What are the Naruto hand seals based on? There are a number of hand seals in Naruto that are used to perform jutsus. I know that the seals themselves have different zodiac signs. Is there any lore or historical basis for these seals, or was it invented by the creators of Naruto?

The hand seals in Naruto are based in Mudra, which are symbolic/ritual gestures associated to Hinduism and Buddhism. Mudra are used in everyday life, from religious practices to dances, going through martial arts as well. The most well-known Mudra is probably Añjali Mudrā, which often accompanies the greeting Namaste.
In the French version of the Mudra Wikipedia page, they do indeed link directly to Naruto's hand seals page, unlike what happens in the English page. However, they don't add much info other than the fact that they are called Mudra, and that they're based on the Chinese Zodiac.

From Wikipedia's page on Mudra, on its use on Martial Arts (highlight by me):

  One of the more curious things that I encountered in my martial arts training was the use of mudra in combative arts. Mudra (Japanese: in), for those who aren't familiar with them, are these weird hand gestures that are derived from esoteric Buddhism (mikkyo), particularly the Tendai and Shingon sects. These gestures are supposed to generate spiritual focus and power which then are manifested in some way externally.

However, as far as I know (and also according to this page) the use of Mudra in Ninjutsu is made up by Kishimoto (once again, highlights by me):

  Although the use of hand seals in ninjutsu is entirely made up by Kishimoto, seals are used as ways to focus energy during Buddhist meditation. Also, special hand signs, called mudras, are used to convey a certain concept into the user. For example, a right hand raised with palm facing outwards means “no fear”, and grants the user that concept’s blessing through their meditation. The seals in Naruto are from the oriental zodiac, the 12 animals which name the years (I was born in the year of the snake, for instance), the properties of each seal representing what that animal’s qualities are - Eg, Tora/Tiger seal is fire.

Basically, in real life hand seals are used in meditative practice, and are supposed to help the user get into a certain state of mind.
In the Naruto universe, Kishimoto decided to use these ancient signs in a different way (associated to Ninjutsu), but their purpose is basically the same. The user performs hand seals in order to gather/mold chakra, which means that he is entering a certain state of mind when he does so. Also, when a user masters a jutsu he needs to perform less/no signs before he can do it, which means that the meditation phase before the use of the jutsu can be skipped/sped up. Similarly, the more one meditates, the easier it gets for him to get into a state of meditation.
So they are basically based in an existing concept, but used in a different context (in Ninjutsu), with basically the same function.

For more info in Mudra, also see this page.


What happened to the third iteration of Yuki? In the Redial conclusion to Future Diary, we see the 3rd iteration of Yuno living a normal life in the 3rd reality after the incident caused by the original Yuno and the 2nd Yuki saved her family's future. She has no recollection of Yuki at all in this world, even though she knows she is missing some very important memories.

This is almost identical to the state Yuki is in while trapped in the "ideal" world created for him by the original Yuno. However, she purposely removed herself from that false world, so it makes sense that Yuki can't even recall her name.

So what happened to the third iteration of Yuki that meant the 3rd Yuno couldn't remember him? He isn't seen at all in the final episode, so I'm confused as to what occurred in that regard. 1st Yuno wouldn't have had a reason to kill him as she wished to "try again" in that timeline, and Yuki, of course, wouldn't want to kill his own self.

Is there an explanation as to what happened to the 3rd timeline's Yuki?
And if he did still exist in that iteration, why can't the corresponding Yuno remember his identity at all?

In episode 26 from around 17:25 third world and all the diary holder are shown one by one. Everybody are living happy life. At19:50 Yuno is shown with her friend in some restaurant and she sees Yukiteru outside with his family and the girl Moe Wakaba. He is the 3rd universe Yuki. Looking from those clip, Yuki is happy with his family and Moe Wakaba.

Here is the YouTube video.


Where does the anime take place? Does anyone know what city or country the anime Gungrave takes place in?
I viewed the wiki and read a couple of forums and could not find an answer.

I know it's mafia-based but the anime shows a town similar to how Roanapur is portrayed in Black Lagoon as a lawless Thai city.

The anime Gungrave was made off a game from what I can tell, it doesn't have much thought into its original setting or a place.

Based off of how the anime is set up, I'd anticipate 70's or 80's era in some part of Japan or Italy, but there isn't a real answer to this.


If Kurama is the living embodiment of hatred, then what about the other Tailed Beasts? If Kurama is really the living embodiment of hatred (not some self proclaim title), then what about the other Tailed Beasts? Are they the embodiment of something else?

As per naruto.wikia.com

  Long years of receiving humanity's negative treatment caused Kurama to
  develop intense hostility and distrust against them, even going as far
  as proclaiming itself to be the living embodiment of hatred.

So, he was not embodiment of hatred by itself from start but became like this later on. So its not a tailed beast characteristic to represent as embodiment of single emotion per tailed beast.


Hellsing Ultimate music theme in episode 8 I am looking for the music theme which plays during Alucard's zero level release, while the Major is singing (talking). Can you please help me find it?

The music starts at around 0:50 in this video: Hellsing's Zero Release

That will be Letzte Bataillon from the Hellsing OVA I-V Soundtrack “Nazi CD”. It's listed as song number 2.


Why does "merk" mean "meld"? Is it Japanese, or Hymmnos, or something else? Why does "merk" mean "meld"? Is it Japanese, Hymmnos, or something else?

According to the EXA_PICO Universe Wiki's Grathmeld article, in the original Japanese, it's グラスメルク, or "Glassmerk"?

Ar tonelico Qoga: Knell of Ar Ciel Original Soundtrack Disc 2: Song 24 is originally titled as Merk~Tilia in English letters, which makes me think it's Hymmnos. A translation is Meld~Tilia.

I haven't seen any "merk" entry in any Hymmnos vocabulary list, so I'm not sure what language "merk" is from.

Although, I suppose it could be a distortion of "make" or something, if it is Hymmnos?

It comes from the German word Merck, and it's just the shorthand variation for Glassmerk. So it's just a made-up term that is not in Japanese or any of the conlangs made for the series.

First, Merk is the official romanization Gust gave to メルク, and the only relationship there seems to be is the name of a pharmaceutical company and Gust's liking for German-sounding names. So they just grabbed that as what they thought most convenient as the name for a synthesis system for their made-up world.


On the origins of the term "forced drama" as it is used in discourse about anime User /u/JekoJeko5 has recently posted on /r/anime his observation that the term "forced drama" is almost exclusively used in discussions of anime. It is difficult to give a concrete description of what "forced drama" is, but many users in the linked thread have offered their opinions on the matter. The one that seems most "correct" (or at least, most pithy) to me is this one by /u/OverKillv7:

  Forced drama is every idolmaster-like show that has the stupid sprain-the-ankle-before-the-big-show thing... every time for no reason other than they need something to happen.

In retrospect (now that the topic has been brought up), I do notice that the term really isn't used in non-anime circles. I find it interesting that the English-speaking anime community has developed this term, presumably to describe a particular kind of frustrating storytelling that is common in anime.

What I would like to know is this: how did the term originate and gain cachet in discussions of anime? (Basically, I'm looking for something analogous to my earlier answers about "waifu" and "best girl".)

As with many internet neologisms, I suspect this one originated on 4chan, though I'm not sure whether we can pin this on /a/ specifically. Snowclones of the term are reasonably popular on 4chan; for example, "forced fun" on /v/ and "forced animation" on /a/ (both of these examples are mostly used parodically). The /a/ archiver returns results going all the way back to February 2008, when archival began, which gives us an upper bound on how late the term could have been coined. I'm not sure how to proceed for getting to the root of "forced drama", though - and that's where you come in, dear answerers.

Unfortunately, my research skills weren't up to the task of finding out how the term "forced drama" first appeared in the anime fandom, so all I can is speculate. I hope that someone else can contribute an answer which sheds more light on that particular aspect of the question. However, I did find some interesting information on the origins of the term, which can be found long ago and outside of anime. It seems that this phrase was actually in use among film, theater, and art critics before anime or 4chan, although it wasn't particularly common.

Here's a screenshot of Google N-Gram viewer for the phrase "forced drama":

We can see that the first appearances of the phrase are shortly after 1900. One of the earliest I found was a theater review of the play "Dr. Wakes' Patient" from a 1905 issue of Illustrated London News:

  The real play, it must be admitted, only begins at almost the close of
  the third of its four acts, when the old farmer rounds (in true
  Adelphi fashion) on the scornful peer who is horrified by his
  "common"-ness. But then come tears and affecting if rather forced
  drama [...]

As in the classical music book from 2003, this usage seems to be just a nonce coinage, not a discrete lexical item like the question describes.

I dove into the results from the years 1926–1952, but most of those usages, again, seemed to mean something slightly different from what the OP describes. Many of them seemed to refer to uses of color (in art) or pageantry and costume (on the stage) that the writer found overblown or unnecessary. E.g. this Art Magazine issue from 1947.

However, the years 1954–1997 proved more fruitful. Italian director Vittorio de Sica seems to use the phrase with more or less the same meaning as that understood by anime fans. In an interview, De Sica and the interviewer are discussing his film Two Women, which was based on a novel that the interviewer seems to feel de Sica may have adapted too faithfully:

  S [the interviewer]: Don't you find it [the novel Two Women was
  based on] melodramatic? Can you believe that the young girl, after
  being raped, would turn so quickly to sexual license?

  DS [de Sica]: That's the way it is in the novel.

  S: It seems opposite to the kind of truth I find in The Children are
  Watching Us and Umberto.

  DS: Yes, it is forced drama

This interview was published in 1972 in the book Encountering Directors. You can read more of the interview in the 2000 anthology Vittorio de Sica: Contemporary Perspectives, where it is included as the first chapter, De Sica on de Sica.

In Two Women (novel) on Wikipedia, the girl that de Sica and the interviewer are discussing, Rosetta, is described as "a naive teenager of beauty and devout faith." However, during the novel:

  On their way home, the pair [mother Cesira and daughter Rosetta, returning to Rome after it is taken by Allied forces during World War II] are attacked and Rosetta brutally raped by
  a group of Goumiers (Moroccan allied soldiers serving in the French
  Army). This act of violence so embitters Rosetta that she falls numbly
  into a life of prostitution.

De Sica and the interviewer find this event unrealistic. They have a hard time believing that a "teenager of beauty and devout faith" would immediately become a prostitute upon being brutally raped, and imply that this only happened because the writers wanted to make the situation more dramatic. This appears to be nearly the exact meaning that the anime fandom generally assigns to the term: an event is "forced drama" if it is improbable or feels contrived with the sole purpose of creating drama that would not arise naturally from the situation.

The 1986 fiction book Hollywood Heroes also seems to use this phrase in the same way as anime fans:

  "Yeah, you know, soap operas aren't what they used to be. I mean, they
  used to be a joke. Forced drama and organ music. [...]"

The stereotypical image of soap operas in the US is also in keeping with the anime fandom's usage of "forced drama"; conniving ex-girlfriends and evil twin brothers are constantly coming out of the woodwork to throw a wrench in the heroes' and heroines' plans at happiness.

In my initial searches, I found several uses of "forced drama" in modern film, television, and theater reviews, including this review of the film Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen and this review of the film A Little Help. Both of these articles use the term in ways that seem consistent with Vittorio de Sica's usage, which I have argued is very closely related with the usage in the anime fandom.

My own research did, however, suggest that the term is much more common in discussions of anime than in discussions of other types of media, as presented in the question. I have only speculations for why this is. "Forced drama", across all the usages I've found, is a broad, subjective term which consistently describes dramatic events which are implausible and written without subtlety. Anime, by its very nature, does not lend much plausibility to the events which occur. Though there are anime which are subtly written, the norm for anime writing, especially in the genres most commonly seen in Western countries, is not subtlety.

Since there are many anime containing events which could be reasonably described as implausible and unsubtle, it makes sense that a term describing such events would become common among anime fans. However, as I mentioned at the outset, I wasn't able to find out exactly when the term entered the anime fandom, and I have no proof to support my hypotheses about how it gained popularity. I hope that another answer can fill in these gaps.


Why didn't Pro heroes help NightEye First of all, i didn't read the manga, so if the answer to this is a spoiler, please abstain or mark it as a spoiler so i can avoid it.

My question itself is a spoiler for those who didn't see Season 4 yet:

   As we have seen in season 4, NightEye was gravely injured, survived long enough to be put in a hospital, until he died.
 Why didn't pro heroes use Eri quirk to save him ? rewind can cure his injury. If you say "Eri was sick", why didn't they bring Neito Monoma, the kid with the Copy quirk ? he can copy Eri rewind and save NightEye, it's not like it's going to take a whole day.

Edit:
Also Aizawa was present to cancel the quirk if it gets out of control

Neito Monoma couldn't use Eri's Quirk, because it is not compatible with his own Quirk.

Although Neito Monoma can indeed copy any Quirk, he only copies them in their "base" state. We could say Neito Monoma obtains the Quirk as if he was a baby and the Quirk manifested for the first time.

When Neito Monoma tried to copy Deku's Quirk, he found himself devoid of any super-strength. As he explains himself in Chapter 217, since Neito copies Quirks in their base state, any Quirk that needs to charge up or stock something over time to function is useless to him. He correctly guessed that Deku's Quirk only stockpiled strength over time and didn't simply grant him super-strength. Similarly, Neito Monoma cannot use Fat Gum's Quirk as it relies on cultivated reserves of fat to function.

We have seen that Eri's Quirk, Rewind, depends on the length of her horn to function. As she uses her power, she depletes her reserves and her horn gradually shrinks. This means she had to grow and cultivate that horn to use her power ; in other words, Rewind needs to stockpile something to function.

Since Neito Monoma's copied Quirks can only for only 10 minutes at most, he absolutely does not have the time to stockpile whatever Eri needs to activate her Quirk.


Is it true that Toei mentioned 3 months ago that Caulifla has an infinite power/potential? This video from a Spanish speaking dragon ball youtuber with close to 900,000 subscribers mentions Toei has said in a Trailer Caulifla potential is infinite.

Youtube video 1

This another video from a spanish speaking dragon ball youtuber with close to 600,000 suscribers also mentions Toei released a video 3 months ago saying than Caulifla has an infinite potential.

Youtube video 2

Now I havent found the original video which is in japanese, but this screencapture from the video shows in japanese the word "power" and the word "infinite" next to an image of Caulifla

What does that original video from Toei says, have anyone seen it? Or at least this japanese text? is it Caulifla power infinite?

That was a trailer teasing the fight between two new female super saiyans from universe 6.

Clip from Youtube

  潜{せん}在{ざい}能{のう}力{りょく} (senzai nōryoku) translates into hidden potential.

In this context it's simply says that Caulifla has infinite hidden potential waiting to be awaken.


How do you train in a jutsu that kills you if used? For example, Guy Sensei and Rock Lee can use the Eight Gates technique. If the last gate is opened, you die.

There is a lot of emphasis in the series that shows that one must train very hard to perfect a jutsu, technique, etc.

But how do you train and perfect something that you can only do once... and then just die?

It's like jumping off a building.

You can jump from the first, second or third floor and survive. The method to reach all the floors remains the same (Climbing by stairs... or you may call this training.).

However, after a certain number of floors, you will come to a realization that after you jump through this floor (let's just say the 20th -- you need not practice climbing 20 floors for this -- the experience of climbing one floor is just fine), you will become extinct.

You don't need the experience nor practice to reach the 20th floor but you will surely become extinct if you jump from there.


Can Fana still summon the Salamander? While Fana was being possessed by the "Eye of the Midnight Sun", she was able to use spirit magic to summon and control the Notorious fire spirit- Salamander. However, it was the "Elf fana" that was manipulating her and using its magic through out the entire time.

Can Fana still summon and control the Salamander? because ideally, it was in her Grimoire but then "Elf Fana" was actually the one doing everything behind the scene.

  Also, can the elemental spirits die? Asta had previously defeated the Salamander but did he actually kill it?

With elemental spirits, the understanding is that they choose their hosts, and then greatly boost their elemental magic powers. However, the spirits themselves cannot be 'killed' outright.

When Fana was defeated, she loses control of the Salamander. Later (spoiler chapter #171)

   Fuegoleon Vermillion awakens with the power of the Salamander.


Can the Three Great Magic of Fairy Tail be only used by Fairy Tail members? Fairy Tail has three legendary magic: Fairy Law, Fairy Glitter, and Fairy Sphere.

Can anyone outside of Fairy Tail learn and use these magic?

Yes and no, some of the Fairy spells are distinctive to the guild, and the skills that can be used by outsiders are not easily learned/taught. This makes the likelihood of Fairy spells being used outside of Fairy Tail very unlikely.

As for leaving members who know one or more of the 3 great spells, there is a rule which states:

  1. You must never reveal sensitive information about Fairy Tail to others for as long as you live.

Fairy Sphere, cannot be used by outsiders

Fairy Sphere uses the Fairy Tail member mark (pair of wings mark) and the emotion of those who wield it to obtain magical power. Therefore, this spell can not be used by outsiders.

Fairy Glitter, cannot be used by outsiders

As it is a distinct spell of Fairy Tail, and the fact that it is sealed in the grave of Mavis and needs the approval of Mavis herself to use, it makes it highly unlikely that anybody outside of the guild members can/will ever be allowed to use this.

Fairy Law, most likely can be used by outsiders

It is also a distinct spell of Fairy Tail, but most likely, it can be used by outsiders.

We know for a fact that there has been at least one instance where an outsider knew how to use Fairy Law, since Laxus also knew how to use this skill. Another case is Precht, the second guild master of Fairy Tail, now known as Hades, who left the guild but could still use Fairy Law.

The likelihood of learning this skill outside of Fairy Tail is close to 0, making it not likely to ever happen.


What does "plus ultra" mean in My Hero Academia The credits for My Hero Academia add "plus Ultra" after the series name.  Occasionally All Might shouts "plus Ultra!" as sort of a battle cry when he is about to strike a foe.  From context, I guess it means "extra power" or "boost", but "plus ultra" seem so random. Is there more meaning to the two words than this? Is this just something which does not translate well from Japanese?

"Plus Ultra" is actually a Latin Phrase. It translates to "Further Beyond." In My Hero Academia, it has been adopted as the school motto of U.A. High. It's uncertain in-universe whether or not the motto was around before All Might, or if he's the one who came up with it, and his alma mater adopted his personal motto.

In-context, it is an extremely gung-ho statement that tells you to push past your limits and go further than you think you can.

It also happens to be the national motto of Spain, previously the personal motto of King Charles V. Which he adopted as a rejection of the words inscribed on the Pillars of Hercules "Non Plus Ultra" (Nothing Further Beyond) after the discovery of the Americas.

Even IRL, it carries that same sort of gung-ho "You told us there was nothing beyond this point...let me prove you wrong!" sort of sentiment.

The fact that it sounds cool to Japanese Ears by using a pair of English-adopted words that they like is bonus points. But this phrase is not, in-fact, "English" gibberish as anime/manga occasionally produces on account of their writers not being entirely fluent in English. It's a Latin phrase with real-world history.


What happens to the members of W.I.S.E. near the end of the Psyren? Towards the end of the manga,

   After Ageha presses Miroku to go a different way to making a society of Psi users,
 we are shown an airstrike that flies in and demolishes a huge portion of the forest.
 WE actually see Ageha and his friends escape, but there is no mention of Miroku and his
 companions.  In the last chapter, it is mentioned that the world "believes" they are dead.

Are we to assume that they die? Or is it that they go off into hiding?

If you look at chapter 145 (page 4) in the manga, you can see this:

Yoshina asks No. 7 about Ouroboros, and she says that it has disappeared into space again in exchange for her brother's and Grana's lives.

So, if we take the words of No. 7 seriously, yes, they died.


Which chapter of the manga does Kirishima unbreakable form appear? The Boku No Hero Academia wikia states that Kirishima has an unbreakable form, which is seen in the manga. So far in the anime until season 3 episode 20 we havent seen it. Which chapter of the manga does Kirishima unbreakable form appear and it's far of close of what the chapters of the manga the anime are covering?

Kirishima unbreakable form appears in Chapter 133. The anime is currently at chapter 110 and will likely end just before the arc in which this happens.


Are there any foreign seiyuu that have been credited for anime work? In many anime, characters that are supposed to be foreign (particularly English or American), it's clear that the seiyuu are Japanese because of the heavy accents. For example, Chris from Itazura na Kiss is supposed to be English, but her English has a thick accent and comes about as naturally as Naoki's (who is a native Japanese character).

But sometimes the English appears to be natural, such as in the opening scene for Eden of the East, where both the security guards outside the White House and the policy officer who questions Akira, seem to have no accent at all. Unfortunately, I was not able to find out if these were voiced by actual English speakers or just very skilled Japanese seiyuu because they were very small roles.

Do anime production teams hire native English (or other languages) speakers?

Anime production teams tend to hire native speakers of other languages to voice non-Japanese characters.

To use your example of Eden of the East. there are a number of English-language voice actors who are used for when it is set in America. For example, David Whitaker played the black man in the apartment in episode 1. Policeman A was played by Gregory Pekar, who has actually appeared in other Japanese movies/shows such as Hana Yori Dango, as well as American movies such as Lost in Translation.

These seem to generally appear in small roles and/or roles where they only speak English, such as the policeman.


What if a Poké Ball was lost and couldn't be opened? I was reading a question on what it is like inside of a Poké Ball. It made me wonder what will happen to a Pokémon if the Poké Ball is lost or damaged. If the Poké Ball was unable to open, would they simple die?

There have been several instances in the show where a Pokémon was in its Poké Ball for a long time, such as in Sandshrew's Locker. In this episode, Ash and friends helped Mira recover Sandshrew's Poké Ball from the bottom of the lake, where it's been for a long time. Additionally, Mira and her friends discovered Sandshrew's Poké Ball themselves. In the episode Two Degrees of Separation! James found his Carnivine's Poké Ball inside a box containing one of his bottle cap collections, where he left it as a child. So, the precedents in the show indicate that Pokémon can survive a long time unattended in their Poké Ball, though it is unclear as to why since how the Pokéballs work is not well explained.


Could the Elric brother's mother have been an alchemist? The mother seemingly exposed to alchemy a lot must have tried it herself sometime. If anyone could be an alchemist that is. She might have been a state alchemist once who knows? If she was an alchemist she could have been a little help to Edward and Alphonse.

Taking a look at the wikia page, the brothers "would always try to cheer her up with their alchemy. In fact, Alphonse once said that their mother's happiness was part of the reason that they continued their research in alchemy because it made her smile. However, they didn't realize that she smiled because it reminded her of Hohenheim and his own talents in alchemy."

So as lentinant said, no.


Why do some works [anime, manga, novels] have a trailing dot? Pure curiosity.

Why do some series carry a dot [.] at the end of their titles?
Is there a meaning to it or is it convention?

Ex: Ore, Twintail ni Narimasu., Kobato.

The punctuation symbol  。 is called a 句点 (kuten). Although it often functions like the English period (a.k.a. full stop), it is not identical, and is used as the punctuation mark for a question sentence far more often than the ? symbol is (the question mark is called 疑問符 [gimonfu] or はてな [hatena]. Historically, Japanese did not have the question mark, so although it exists in Japan now, it is not used in Japanese academic writing). In horizontal writing, the kuten is placed in the same position as a period would be in English: at the bottom right of the preceding character. In vertical writing, it is placed immediately below and to the right of the preceding character.

Wikipedia explains that

  Starting in the 1980s, advertising copy writers began incorporating full stops in titles and other advertising. In the 1990s, the group Morning Musume (モーニング娘。) began using a full stop in its name, starting a fad for this usage.

Other cases include

バクマン。 (Bakuman) manga by  Ooba Tsugumi and Obata Takeshi
いいひと。 (Ii Hito) manga by Takahashi Shin
野ブタ。をプロデュース (Nobuta wo Produce) live-action TV drama

As you can see, "Bakuman" is not a full sentence by itself, and "Nobuta. Wo Produce" intentionally slices a single phrase into two fragments by the placement of the kuten (Nobuta is the nickname of a main character that the protagonist decides to "produce," meaning to make-over Pygmalion-style.  Grammatically, you cannot make "Wo Produce" into its own sentence), so these are both examples of a kuten that should not be interpreted as a period for ending a sentence. The kuten can be utilized as a sentence ender, but it is often used for style without any grammatical meaning. Similarly, some series titles make use of other Japanese typographic symbols for style such as　, ＊, ☆, ♪, and ♯ (for example, うたの☆プリンスさまっ♪ [Uta no Prince-sama] and おジャ魔女どれみ♯ [Oja Majo DoReMi Sharp] and the choice of a star to be read as the letter A in ST☆RISH, an idol group in the former).


What does the symbol on Akatsuki's costume represent? I'm referring to the red-colored, white-bordered cloud-shaped pattern which is present on the costume of all of the Akatsuki members. What is it called and what does it represent? Do they have a special meaning regarding the mission of Akatsuki or is it just plain-art with no real significance to it?

Akatsuki was formed by Yahiko, Konan and Nagato. They originally belonged to the Village Hidden in the Rain (Amegakure), who were war orphans. Their costume consisted of long dark cloaks with a red cloud, a red interior, and a chin-high collar. The Red cloud represents the rain of blood that fell in Amegakure during the wars and was seen as a symbol of justice by its original members.

Source.


Who is Prince of Darkness? When Ichigo was using Hiyori Sarugaki's workout machine, there is some banter with the Visored such as Kensei Muguruma complaining about Lisa Yadoumaru reading swimsuit magazines instead of watching Ichigo.

At one point, Roujuurou Ootoribashi asks Love Aikawa if he has heard the new Prince of Darkness CD that has just come out, who then replies if he had read the latest issue of Shounen Jump.

Now I get why Shounen Jump is featured because the Bleach manga is serialized in it, but I am wondering, is Prince of Darkness a real life band? If so, then what is their connection to Bleach? Is it just merely product placement?

NOTE: this is in the English Dub.

It is most certainly a reference to Ozzy Osbourne. Ozzy Osbourne - Prince of Darkness.

As for why, this is what I found in  The Bleach Breakdown: The Unofficial Guide
by Issei Handa, Walt Wyman in the Character Breakdown Section, for Rose, emhasis mine.

  Rose
  Long, Blond, wavy hair and seventies hard rock clothes. Seems like a narcissist, and maybe gay. Calls Rabu "Love" (he pronounces it "Ravu", which is one step closer than the typical Japanese pronunciation, "Rabu"). Wishes Rabu would let him read his Shonen Jump. More calm and easy-going than most of the Vizards. He plays the guitar. At one point he mentions "Prince of Darkness's new Album." It can be surmised that he is named after Ozzy Osbourne's legendary first guitarist Randy Rose. Prince of Darkness is an Ozzy Osbourne album.

Thus I consider it mostly an easter Egg about the name Rose.


Why no one else used Conqueror's Haki? In Marineford, there were other people than Luffy who had Conqueror's Haki (Whitebeard, Hancock, etc.). Why didn't they use it when Ace was about to get beheaded? Because if Luffy did not use it unknowingly, Ace would have died sooner. Or was it the case that no one had Conqueror's Haki as powerful as Luffy's which could act at a large distance?

Yes, there are other people who could use Conqueror's Haki at that moment. On rescue team, they're Shirohige and Hancock. But only Shirohige knows about Ace's situation and Hancock was fighting somewhere else. However, Shirohige wasn't in good condition to use Conqueror's Haki. He was sick and badly injured by some attack by Marine just before Ace's execution order.

Some other source said Conqueror's Haki needs heart to use it and Shirohige couldn't use Conqueror's Haki because his heart was injured. But at this point, I can't find any canon source to endorse the statement.


What was the first anime-styled Visual Novel? I enjoy reading about old anime and manga, but I don't know too much about the history of anime in the gaming industry. And I have been wondering what the first visual novel from Japan was.

More specifically, one featuring anime-style characters (rather than a Visual Novel in a different style). I've searched myself, but I haven't found any reliable source that gives me an answer. Perhaps some japanese-based resources would prove more useful.

What was the first/earliest-known visual novel to feature anime-styled characters?

I spent a few hours diving. Here are the shiniest pearls I hence doth bequeath thee:

Lolita was the first anime-styled visual novel, as asked.
The Portopia Serial Murder Case was the first visual novel, but I argue that its visual style deliberately mimicked US games of the era.
Taking the question a little differently for extra style points: Dragon Knight was the first VN game with an anime adaptation.

Juicy details follow:

Lolita (Yakyuken) (orig. 「ロリイタ （野球拳）」)

This eroge from developer PSK was published in 1982 or 1983 (sources disagree). It is the oldest game tracked by vndb. The title screen art is distinctly in an anime/manga style:

And so is the gameplay. Here's a screenshot (thanks user Cor 13 at Moby Games):

The game is basically a video-game version of yakyuken; strip rock-paper-scissors, against the computer. Winning reduces the girl's clothing until she's naked, at which point the police arrive and arrest the player character. (Yes, seriously.)

Here's a gameplay video. The video description credits it as the "first anime game", but does not explain the reasons for that title.

The story is pretty thin, and so are the visuals (also literally), but I would argue that there's still a story there and that it's undeniably visual.

The Portopia Serial Murder Case (orig. 「ポートピア連続殺人事件」)

If the facts one day surface, and Lolita actually was released later, this game, developed by Yuji Horii in June 1983 for the NEC PC-6001, would be next in line. Though it is historically very important, its visual style may disqualify it for the specific honour of being the first anime-styled VN.

The game involves solving mysteries by interacting with items, characters and the game world, and Retro Gamer (in issue 85) asserts that it “defined the visual novel genre; it was the first from which all subsequent titles followed”. Those are big words.

However, the cover clearly isn't in an anime style (ⓒ Square Enix nowadays, from Wikipedia):

The in-game graphics were so limited it's hard to tell, but based on a gameplay video (thanks YouTube user cokescrew) the style isn't obviously approximating anime either:

Retro Gamer magazine interviewed the game's developer Yuji Horii in issue 35. I found a copy, and sure enough he explains the game's origin story:

  I read an article in a PC magazine about a US genre called ‘adventure games’, which allowed players to read stories on their PCs. We still didn't have them in Japan, and I took it upon myself to make one. [...]

That scarcity is perhaps the reason I couldn't find other old Japanese VNs or text-adventures. The quote does clearly point Portopia's intended genre more at text adventure than visual novel though, and suggests its main influence was western games, casting doubt on its eligibility for the specific honour in question.

Dragon Knight

If we take the question extremely firmly, to mean that there must be a corresponding anime of that visual novel, then based on Wikipedia's list of anime based on video games, the oldest is this 1989 eroge/RPG by developer Elf still in business! with a 1991 hentai OVA adaptation of the same name.

Here's the game's cover art (ⓒ NEC Avenue Ltd. & Elf; thanks vndb):

Greetings from Game Development SE! ♥


What type of glasses is Tsukishima wearing? All it says is that they're prescription sports glasses. Are they similar to any brand or particular model? Below is a pretty zoomed-in panel of the glasses, although there may be more descriptive images online.

Tsukishima's seems to be a pretty common type of prescription sport glasses. It is easy to find some reasonable similar ones. See for example here, here and here.


How did Naruto elude the Ninja chasing him at the start of Episode 1? Everyone who has watched Naruto knows that Naruto isn't good at clone jutsu. However, there's a part which confuses me: how did he elude those 2 guys chasing him after he steals that forbidden scroll in the first episode?

In the anime, from 1:40 to 1:50, it showed the same wall where Naruto passed by and followed by 2 guys. Then, 1-2 secs later Naruto was revealed hiding behind the wallpaper. How did he do that? He couldn't have used a transformation jutsu; if he did he could just stay in the transform jutsu. He shouldn't be faster than Chuunin or Jounin, but from 1:41-1:45 it showed them chasing him at the same speed (Although, if they have higher speed than Naruto, they would have caught him).

First of all, he was vandalizing around the town when the two guys were chasing him. He steals the scroll later on. And it wasn't the transformation jutsu either. Just a simple trick with the wall paper. Now don't ask me where did he get that wall paper.

As for speed, even if he is a rookie, he is still a ninja and the other two didn't seem to be exceptionally skilled either. If it's someone like Kakashi, clearly he didn't have a chance.


Is the "Ace" position in Haikyuu just made up for the manga/anime? I've had a look online and can't find any evidence that the term "Ace" refers to a position in volleyball; the only definition I could find was that of a service ace.

Is this term solely used for the sake of the anime/manga or is there any evidence that points to its use in real life?

It's not a "position" in the same sense that "libero" and "middle blocker" are positions. That is to say, you probably aren't going to find any references to an "ace" as a position in, say, the Japan Volleyball Association's rulebook.

When Haikyuu!! refers to Azumane as Karasuno's "ace", that's in the usual colloquial sense - he's the best (offensive) player on the team. In English, this sense of "ace" seems to be fairly restricted to baseball (where it refers to the best pitcher on the team), but the Japanese equivalent (エース ēsu, borrowed from English "ace") is used fairly often in real life for team-leading players in other team sports as well, including (at minimum) soccer and volleyball.

As it turns out, this turn of phrase has made it way into other parts of Japanese volleyball lingo. A wing spiker (Eng. "outside hitter" or "opposite hitter") who focuses primarily on offense may also be referred to as a "super ace". But this is not the sense in which Haikyuu!! tends to use the term "ace".


Are Wendy Marvell and Sherria Blendy a couple? We know they've been living together for 2 years (time skip).

Are they a couple?

I mean, 2 girls living together means they like being with each other. They must also like each other as individuals. Liking leads to feeling love. Feeling love leads to making love.

They're not a couple. They are friends. I live with another dude. We pay 400 dollars each to rent an apartment close to our university. And I assure you we're not a couple.

Wendy and Chelia have always been stated to be friends. Also, one of the last chapters has disclosed and confirmed that Wendy has never done anything sexual with another human being (chapter 508). It's a confirmation, Wendy and Chelia are just friends and did nothing sexual (not even a kiss) during that year.

There are just 2 hints that may lead into thinking they're a couple:

That they lived together for 1 year. As I said before they didn't do anything.
The famous quote: "Don't cry, Wendy... Even if I don't have my magic, at least I'm still alive... And love is way stronger than anything magic could offer."

It is exactly how it sounds. Wendy was going to die and Sherry saves her, but she loses her magic. The "love is way stronger" can be interpreted many ways, and most aren't yuri related. Since the beginning of the series everyone says love is the strongest force and it's usually not related to love affairs. Ultear sacrifives herself, Lucy almost dies a few times trying to protect Wendy...
protecting each other is something Fairy Tail does with everyone of their members regardless of gender. Wendy joined Lamia Scale because Fairy Tail was disbanded and has been part of that Guild for a whole year, more time that what she has spent beeing a fairy tail member.

In the future the author may change that if he wants but so far they are good friends.