How can Orochimaru use his techniques when he takes possession of another body? In the anime, during the fight between Itachi and Kisame vs Kakashi, Itachi tells Kakashi that he cannot use his Sharingan as much as an Uchiha can, as he does not possess Uchiha blood. How can Orochimaru use his techniques when his soul is inside another body which possesses blood different to his blood?

I might not able able to cite proof of this answer in all instances, but from what I could gather these (Kakashi's sharingan and Oorochimaru's body transfers) are two entirely different instances. Spoilers alert! :)

In case of Kakashi:

On Kakashi implying that could awaken his Mangekyo sharingan (chapter 257), Itachi in astonishment credits his genius. Kakashi would still have the inability to use the Sharingan over a long period of time or to full extent of its power owing to the lack of chakra.
Kakashi does not have the liberty to switch to normal vision like the other Uchihas could do, instead he covers up his Sharingan eye to prevent it from sucking him dry off his chakra.
Adding more to the previous point is that Kakashi despite being a jounin of exceptional caliber does not have a great amount of chakra in comparison to his compatriots or foes. This might perhaps be attributed to his clan (though other than Kakashi and his late father the Konoha whitefang not much is known if Kakashi belongs to a specific clan like the Sarutobi/Senjuu/Uchiha). This is brought into light on multiple occasions such as:

a. His fatigue after fighting Zabusa the first time in the water country arc saying he used the Sharingan too much.

b. When he fights Pein and uses a ligtning clone where Akimichi Choza wonders aloud how much chakra kakashi has left.

c. When Kakashi explains to Nara Shikaku about how greatly his Kamui's (power of his mangekyo to create a portal and suck objects into a different dimension) ability could be used with Naruto/Kyuubi chakra for massive teleportations such as swapping himself or Naruto in comparison to being done with his own like the case with Deidara where he could barely absorb his hand after a very long preparation.

In case of Oorochimaru:

Oorochimaru does not appear to have any visible bloodline limits on his own. What mostly has been observed until now is a normal summoning of a giant snake (Manda), ability to use a bunch of snakes shooting out from his arm to grapple victims and in some cases moult out of a body (a new Oorochimaru comes through the mouth of the current one which becomes like a shriveled snake skin) and a brief multi-headed hydra like form which Itachi makes short work of.

From what we know these might not be bloodline limits at all, merely forbidden jutsus or a result of his self-experiments. In one case Sasuke in his cursed seal transformation uses a bundle of snakes when Itachi chops off one of his wings during their fight.
Oorochimaru 'takes over' the body of the host that he wishes to use (more of a parasite like characteristic). Hence he would only posses complete control over someone else's body (which has the bloodline limit in it) and use it. In one of the episode (a filler if I remember it right) a potential victim tries to resist from his mind being taken over but finally gives in to one of Oorochimaru's promises.

Hence in a nutshell while Kakashi's use of Sharingan is restricted to that of a ninja tool restricted by his own chakra capacity, Oorochimaru is free to explore the limits of abilities of the shinobi whose body he takes over.
Hope this helps.


Why couldn't Mob stop Dash Granny? Apparently, Mob couldn't stop the Dash Granny because she wasn't a ghost but a real person? But Mob can exert his psychic powers over ghosts and humans, so why couldn't Mob stop Dash Granny?

From the anime, we know that he won't use his power against humans. There is one reason why he couldn't stop Dash Granny.
This is speculation. The other reason I can think of is because there is a different type of psychic power to be used against humans or ghosts. So, when he tries to use his psychic power to manipulate ghosts against Dash Granny, it seems that it doesn't have any effect. That's why he knows that Dash Granny is not a ghost.


How does Goku's hair grow longer when he becomes Super Saiyan 3? TIL Super Saiyan 2 Goku's hair is the same length of his normal hair, but when he transforms into SSJ3, his hair starts growing and becomes pretty long.

Even if the hair grows while in SSJ3, it should not shrink back when he's returns to normal. The growth could be the result of the pressure exerted from his body, but shouldn't shrink back when he's normal.

Is there an explanation for that or is it just the way it is?

Before we begin an answer:

I prefer honestly saying that there is no answer for this (or I personally never saw something that answers that on the web), but we can use some deductions from what we know and experienced from the long series of the anime.

As we already know from Dragon Ball, the trademark characteristic of the transformation is the user's hair, it goes golden yellow at the Super Saiyan 2 level as a representation of achieving a higher level of energy.

I guess you could also ask:

why does his hair goes golden yellow at the first place ?

For me I know no reason of getting hair color changed when rising the energetic level, but by assuming that saiyans are a different race than humans, we could explain it as a result of the rise in Ki consumption, for example in SS3 :

  The rigid hair of the Super Saiyan 2 state becomes flowing and smooth again, and grows down to or sometimes passes the user's waist. The eyebrows vanish completely, making the forehead and eye ridges appear larger and revealing a more prominent brow ridge. A small increase in muscle mass is evident, and muscle tone is sharply defined. Energy radiation is so great that the aura pulses at an extremely high frequency, almost to the point where it seems static; the sound of the aura is also pitched even higher than that of Super Saiyan 2. Bio-electricity, like in the Super Saiyan 2 form, is again constant, and may reach further outward from the body than before. The Saiyan's voice may become slightly deeper, though this is obviously a feature only found in the anime. If the user of the Super Saiyan 3 form has a tail, it turns yellowish gold.

Source

So as a personal explanation:

I can say that just like when you eat a lot you get fat (as a human), when you open your body for a perfect Ki consumption (as in SS3 level) your hair will grow as long golden yellow (as a Saiyan).

And as a remark:

The body must change the morphological shape to achieve a higher efficiency in using the current level of energy for combat (for example largest muscles in SS3, tallest in SS4 .. etc), and as one can deduce: hair has no effect on the combat course, but personally again, I think the complete opposite: the hair style may cause more effect than muscles, it have an impact on the moral and psychic state of the enemy, to make it even clear:

Just like the lion is scary with large hair, so is the saiyan in SS3, he looks stronger sometimes more than what he really is. Unlike what was the small evil Boo, his physical appearance didn't show his strength therefore it had no impact on his enemies (Goku and Vegeta).


How do psychoframes work? Exactly what are psychoframes? And what advantages does it give the pilot? We see that units that have a built in psychoframe can drastically increase a pilot's abilities, but exactly what does it do? Amplify your Newtype abilities? Mental connection to the control interface to reduce input lag? I feel that this in particular has been left out quite a bit in terms of the development of the series.

From: http://gundam.wikia.com/wiki/Psycoframe

  The Psycoframe is a technology that builds on the brainwave-to-machine code translator known  as Psycommu into the atom-level of the metal frame of a Mobile Suit. This allows a Newtype
  pilot to control the mobile suit as if it were his/her own body with limitations.

Although not very obvious it seems that Psycoframes allow Newtype pilots to have something like a mental connection to their Mobile Suits allowing them to control them as if they were a part of their body.


Can a reanimated person, be revived? If someone is brought back to life with the endo tensi, could they also be brought back with justu's like Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique or what Chiyo used or again with the endo tensi?
I would like to point out the diffrence between my question and Can reanimated Chiyo use One's Own Life Reincarnation technique?. The latter focuses on the paradox of using a life taking justu on an immortal person, while my asks about bring back someone twice, so that there are two of them at the same time.

Also, can you use an endo tensi as a sacrifice for an endo tensi? This way you could have an army with only one sacrifice.

It seems as it is possible, as Madara has attempted to take control on Obito to use the Rinne Tensei on him. Madara usually knows what he's doing, so we can assume that reviving a reanimated person is possible in that matter.

I don't know about other techniques though.


What OST plays in episode 10 of season 3 around 15:00? What is the OST used in the Bakugou rescue scene when Midoriya is describing the rescue plan? In Season 3, episode 10, at 15:00?

That song is called I Don't Need Pretend Friends and it is from My Hero Academia 2 Original Soundtrack Disk 2

You can hear it here


Does Trunks have god ki already? In the discussions about Dragon Ball Super, it's always been wonder if Trunks got some level of god ki after transforming into "Super Saiyan Rage" , since there's partially a blue aura and some features of the ki are drawed similar to those of a Super Saiyan Blue and not a regular Super Saiyan. Now in the preview of Dragon Ball Super manga 24 it's been revealed that...

   Trunks became a Kaioshin apprentice and because the hability of healing people just like Kibito did. We know kaioshin have god ki, does a kaioshin apprentice also have some sort of management of god ki, making Trunks able to have some sort of management of god ki already?

Recall how Goku had his Super Saiyan God. Although Trunks is Kaioshin Appr. It does not satisfy your question if he has god ki or not.

Having a blue aura before the normal super saiyan aura doesn't mean he got the aura of a god.

To make things simple since I'm watching Dragon Ball Super. Goku needs a combination of 5 people who have the blood of Super Saiyan before he had it so I think Trunks also need that too in order to achieve it.


What exactly is the deal with Black Blades? Zoro recently (in the anime) unleashed an impressive torrent of attacks using Busoshoku (Armament) Haki infused blades. This was not all that surprising but his flashback was (to me).

Zoro flashed back to both his training with Dracule Mihawk and his fight with him in the Baratie arc. Mihawk's main blade, Yoru apparently, is clearly shown to be black throughout this fight and the flashback stresses the fact that it is the strongest Black Blade.  Yet, the episode seems to say that Black Blades refer to swords turning black when infused with Haki.  As Mihawk is the strongest swordsman, it seems guaranteed that the world's strongest "Black Blade" may or may not have anything to do with Yoru's color itself.

In addition, you can note that both replicas of Yoru we see (Mihawk's mini sword and the one wielded by the Mihawk-like monkey Zoro trained against) have silver blades.

This all leads to 3 closely inter-related questions:

Did I understand this right? Does "Black Blade" refer to the sword or the technique?
Did Mihawk use Haki on Zoro so early in the series?
Does Yoru (as we've seen it but in universe) look black, silver, or does it vary from person to person? What if Yoru is not wielded by Mihawk?

Firstly, I would like to reply to this:

  In addition, you can note that both replicas of Yuro we see (Mihawk's mini sword and the one wielded by the Mihawk-like monkey Zoro trained against) have silver blades.

Mihawk's pocket knife, also known as Kogatana is not a replica of Yoru:

  It is an ordinary knife, so bland and small that Mihawk enjoys demonstrating his skill with it.

As for the Human Drill having the same sword as Mihawk, it was a filler. There is no mention of the Human Drills in the manga. Hence, it doesn't have much relevance to the story, and it's assumed that the sword carried by it is nothing but a replica.
From the One Piece Wiki page on Yoru:

  The blade itself is pitch-black with a very strong sheen..

Some conclusive evidence in favor of this is:

It has been black since the start of the series when the blackening effect of Haki wasn't introduced
It is black even when it's on Mihawk's back
As you pointed out, if it were Haki, even Mihawk's short knife would have appeared black in color to the audience.
It's not the only black sword shown in the series. Zoro's Shusui is also shown to be black in color (and in this case, it's definitely not the Haki that makes it black).

Hence, I'm inclined to say that it refers to the sword rather than the  technique.

Based on this image:

It may have been clad in Haki even during the earliest part of the series, but I doubt that he actually used Haki against Zoro during their first fight, simply because he didn't have to. We saw him defeat Zoro using his short knife, so there was no need for him to actually worry about getting his sword nicked.

However, there's no conclusive evidence on this. It may have been clad in Haki or it may have not. I believe that it wasn't.

Yuro being a black sword appears black even in-universe. Tashigi even describes it as a Black Sword, although I don't seem to remember in which chapter. Not only that, the name of the sword is "Yoru", which means "Night" and can also be translated as "Black Sword".


How exactly did Obito escape from Itachi's Amaterasu? Itachi attacked Obito with Amaterasu through Sasuke's eyes, when Sasuke saw Obito's Sharingan. As soon as Obito was engulfed by the flames, he went into the dark region of the room and got rid of the lethal flame. How did he do it? Did he achieve that with Kamui?

I've been thinking about this question, and I've found a theory, which would explain a few things:

I'm almost 100% sure that the Amaterasu had hit Obito, as in the anime we can hear the damage being received. As from that moment, we can't talk about the Transportation Technique, because the Amaterasu lasts until his target is completely gone.

So that would reach the 5 minute limit and Obito would have been dead, just as it would've been the same result in the fight with Konan: those paper bombs kept coming, and they would've reach the 5 minutes limit, IF, and here it comes my theory. Obito escaped with the same technique both times, the Izanagi.

Since he had a lot of Sharingan eyes in reserve, he could have easily replaced the eye he had just used, just as he did after fighting Konan. AND he could have implied this, by the lines (if I recall well), "Even Itachi didn't know everything about me". That he could use Izanagi, or that he has those Sharingan reserves (since Itachi never knew about the eyes collected by Tobi, or Tobi's expertise in using this rare and forbidden jutsu).


What is the name of this action anime involving magic that I had watched about a couple of years ago? I don't remember anything but this one scene.

There is a shrine or temple and someone is carrying boxes. They trip or something and these beads fall out. The beads do something that makes the character crazy and not too far off is a couple people reading under a tree. Then a fight breaks out.

The Shrine/Temple was not the main setting of the anime and one of the people under the tree was maybe a little girl.

I believe the person carrying the boxes was a girl with purple hair and the beads were some type of jewellery. I think they were absorbed making her angry or jealous to the point of fighting someone at/near the tree.

I want to say it was a fantasy type setting but I don't remember monsters or such however there is more fighting with magic or magic like abilities.

I watched it only a few years back maybe like 2013, but I'm not certain though it had a "newer" art style.

The anime you are looking for is Kannagi, the events you described are from episode 2. The purple-haired girl is either Nagi or her sister.

  Our unlucky protagonist, Jin, uses the trunk of a sacred tree to carve a statue for a school project. When he takes it outside, to his surprise it begins absorbing the surrounding earth and transforms into, hold your breath on this one, a girl! So like all similar setups this guardian deity is pretty pissed that her tree was cut down and lives with Jin while she takes out her anger on squashing bugs....er, cleaning the "Impurities."


How is each saiyan transformation/form achieved? So now , depending how you count them and which sources you count, there are among 10-20 transformations/forms can attain. (counting Oozaru, non exclusive saiyan forms, etc.) Which saiyans transformations are the result of rage , which are the result of training and which are the result of something else?

TransformationsSuper Saiyan: Any Saiyan with a sufficient amount of S-Cells and increase their battle power, they gain more S-Cells. Once the Saiyan attains enough S-Cells, a feeling of strong anger or sadness can trigger the Super Saiyan transformation. After the transformation is attained once, they can transform into it any time by focusing their energy into their back to make it tingle. Saiyans with a very high amount of S-Cells can do the transformation without requiring a trigger.Super Saiyan 2: There are multiple ways to attain this transformation. Firstly, a Saiyan must be strong enough to generate a lot more energy compared to the Super Saiyan form. The first way to attain this transformation is when the Saiyan experiences a powerful emotional upheaval, much like the Super Saiyan transformation, but to a greater extent. The second way is through harsh training. The third way is out of instinct from a desperate need such as when someone's life is at stake. Finally, the fourth method is for the Saiyan to feel out the tingly feeling in their back. The power output emitted by this form is greatly increased.Super Saiyan 3: This form is obtained generally after harsh training and usually under out of the norm circumstances. Goku was able to achieve this form while he was dead and training in the other world. Goten and Trunks managed to achieve it only during fusion. It's basically a transformation that increases the amount of ki utilised.Important Fact: Akira Toriyama stated in the Saikyō Jump's June 2014 Interview that the SSJ2 and SSJ3 transformations are nothing more than powered up variants of the SSJ transformation. Hence you could potentially surpass the power of SSJ3 or SSJ2 while using the SSJ transformation by either training or through rage like in the case of Future Trunks and Vegeta. Although Trunks's Transformation is referred to as Super Saiyan Rage or Super Saiyan anger, it's basically a powered up variation of SSJ2 which was caused because of rage.

Hence to answer your question, there isn't necessarily a regular Super Saiyan transformation which can only be attained by either rage alone or training, it can be attained in both ways.However, the Super Saiyan God transformation can only be attained via the ritual and not by anger. (Based of the manga), training vigorously with a Deity and practicing extensive Ki control could also help you attain this transformation as we see Vegeta use the same against Goku Black in the Manga. The Super Saiyan Blue, on the other hand, can also only be attained by training vigorously and absorbing the ki of a god and then transforming into a Super Saiyan. Super Saiyan Rose is basically the Super Saiyan Blue transformation when done by an actual deity (Zamasu). Apart from the God transformation, all the regular Super Saiyan transformations can be attained through training, rage or even when you are in a life or death situation. Based on the recent episode, we see Vegeta reach a level beyond Super Saiyan Blue without actual training but while feeling a strong urge to protect someone(Keep up his promise made to Cabba), which could be compared to Gohan attaining the SSJ2 transformation when Cell the Baby Cells were beating up the Z fighters. So if you possess God ki and can use the transformations, attaining a level beyond through rage and emotion like the Super Saiyan transformations seems plausible.

Source: dragonball.wikia.com


Anime where character's hand transforms? I discovered this animated image: http://gfycat.com/SoftDesertedAyeaye

What anime is this from?  In an attempt to avoid including animated images, here is a still-shot from it.

In the animation, the character runs from 2 guys, but gets cornered.  At this time, the hand appears to act on it's own, transforming into tools to subdue the pursuers.

I've tried Google's search by image tool, but no help.  I'm also not sure what "Soft Deserted Ayeaye" would mean, but searching it brings up some creepy animal pictures.

As our discussion in the comments suggest, the anime you are looking for is Mardock Scramble

  The story is about a girl named Rune Ballot who was taken in by a man named Shell who later tried to kill her and left her for dead. She is saved and turned into a cyborg. It is up to her to stop Shell and his evil gang.

Ref. Wikipedia


What is "Vrajass" a reference to? There's a Keijo character who's ethnically brown with a rock-hard ass when she flexes, and she's nicknamed "Vrajass"/"Vajrass". I don't know what the reference/joke is besides presumably some Indian god maybe?

金剛 (kongou) is the Japanese term for diamond (though diamond is more common in modern days) or material incredibly hard, taken from the Sanskrit word "vajra" which can mean either thunderbolt or diamond.

It is also a weapon in Hindu and Buddhist legends with both lightning and diamond (or basically the hardest material) properties, though Japanese usually makes this distinction, calling the weapon 金剛杵 (kongousho), diamonds 金剛石 (kongouseki). The Keijo!!!!!!!! name 金剛尻 replaces the last character with the character for "butt", and whatever translation you saw probably took the opportunity to combine "vajra" with "ass".  Note when she attacks, an image of one of the 金剛力士 (kongo rikishi)、阿形 (agyo) is shown in the background, as in in Buddhism, he wields a 金剛杵, or vajra. (Pic of Agyo here for comparison)

It also ties in with the the joke when the announcer says 南無阿弥陀仏 (namu amida butsu) when Yoshida falls, as that is a Buddhist phrase to send off someone after death.


Does Kibutsuji purposely choose Nezuko? Is there a reason why Nezuko is the only one in his family that turned into demon?

We all know that Nezuko has a strength that is in par with the Twelve Demon Moons, So I'm assuming that shes the only one from her family the has been successfully turned into the demon without dying even after Kibutsuji injected a large amount of his blood?

So far in the series, it's not explained why Nezuko is the only one that was turned into a demon, but chapter 196 of the manga does give some insight into what happened when Kibutsuji attacked the Kamado family.

So from this you can determine that:

   Kibutsuji doesn't necessarily pick Nezuko to turn into a demon. He was trying to make a demon that could conquer the sun and appears to try with every member of the family. All family members were assumed dead, Kibutsuji comments on it not being easy, and only later does Tanjiro show up to save Nezuko and find out she's a demon. In other situations, like when Kibutsuji turns the man into a demon when he first meets Tanjiro, the process happens immediately. The best information as currently available in the manga points to Kibutsuji trying with the entire family, assuming he failed, and moving on only to later find that Nezuko was "alive."

Will update if new information becomes available in later chapters.


How do the various Yurikuma Arashi adaptations relate to each other? Since I liked Revolutionary Girl Utena and Mawaru Penguindrum, I'd like to watch the Yuri Kuma Arashi anime, particularly since it's spawned some interesting questions on this site.

Now, Wikipedia tells me that there is a manga, an anime series, and a light novel, which MyAnimeList give nearly identical summaries for (1, 2, 3). The Wikipedia description suggests that the announcement was first for an anime series, but the manga is ongoing and started first, whereas the anime is already done with. Moreover, the Wikipedia character lists suggests that the manga occasionally differs from anime characterization.

How do the various adaptations of Yurikuma Arashi relate?

Can I just assume that the "original" medium was the anime?
Is the manga simply an adaptation, or is it the "original" work?
The light novel and manga are listed as "alternative versions" on MAL. Are there any major content differences? (Is there anything comparable the differences between the two Fullmetal Alchemist continuities, or maybe even just the differences I've heard of between the various adaptations of the basic content of Revolutionary Girl Utena?)

The "original" author of these anime is a group rather than a single person.

When Kunihiko Ikuhara created Revolutionary Girl Utena, he created the group named Be-Papas and discussed the main story with the group.
The other group members are Chiho Saito who is a manga writer and Youji Enokido who is a story writer.
Ikuhara created the anime version of Utena, and at the same time Saito wrote the manga version of Utena.
They discussed the main story of Utena, but they created the different works independently and the details of each story were different.

Both anime and manga were original works; neither is an adaptation of something.

Ikuhara did same thing for Mawaru Penguindrum and Yuri Kuma Arashi.
The group members are different, but they created main story as a group
and created the manga and anime versions separately.

By creating as a group, they can create a better story. They can also release anime, manga and novel versions at same time; this will lead to better sales by a synergy effect.

Ikuhara is not only person who use group system.
An old robot anime Patlabor was created by the group Head Gear.
For newer example, Madoka Magica was created by the group Magica Quartet.


Who's stronger, Vados or Beerus? In Dragon Ball Super who's stronger, Beerus or Vados?
I'm up to date with the anime but I still don't know.

Well its definitely Vados. We know that Beerus himself told that Whis is stronger them him and when we were first introduced to Vados, I think Goku asked if she strong and it was stated that some time ago she was stronger then Whis too.

Also generally, as far as we know angels are taking care of gods of destruction and training them so it implies that they are usually stronger too.

"Vados is confident of her fighting skills. When telling Goku who was stronger between her and Whis, she claims to be superior but Whis objects to this. Vados wanted to test their power after Whis stated this. She can also be rather blunt and coy at times. Vados tells Goku that by looking at Champa's and Beerus' physiques, you can tell who's stronger."

http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Vados


Exceed rank 8, 9, and 11 No Game No Life have 16 race and ranked from 1 to 16, based on this wiki

There are :

Old Deus
Phantasma
Elemental
Dragonia
Gigant
Flügel
Elf
?
?
Exmachina
?
Dhampir
Lunamana
Werebeast
Seiren
Imanity

Anyone know about race ranked 8, 9 , and 11 ?

As also stated in the comment's the 3 remaining races are already known and are the

dwarf
fairy
demonia

The 3 respected race's have not yet been ranked, but will most likely fill the blank spots of rank 8, 9 and 11.


What happened to the punishment for stealing an S-Rank Quest? In episode 19, Natsu, Gray, Happy and Lucie should have been punished because they "stole" an S-Rank quest. However, the master wasn't there, so they wanted to take another quest. When they read the quest content, it swapped their bodies/minds. The master then entered and tried to help them, and the episode ends.

Episode 20 starts in a forest where Natsu and Happy are fishing, so the "ending" of Episode 19 is missing.

Did I watch a wrong "source" or is this part really missing?

Episode 19 (filler episode) and episode 20 (omake episode) are non-canonical from a continuity perspective. In the manga, when they return to Magnolia, Erza reminds them about that punishment (just like in the anime), but then they see their guild building destroyed. This begins the next Phantom Lord arc, and thus the punishment matter gets dropped naturally. Since the punishment was never shown in canon, they probably decided to skip it in the anime too.

   In any case, that punishment is most likely something silly, such as the one in episode 75 later.


What does the pink note left by Taiga say? In Episode 25 near 11:23, Ryuji goes to Taiga's condo and finds a note. What is written on it?

The text of the note is:

  竜児へ

  竜児___ね…ずっとずっと自分なんかが
  ___愛されるはずないと思ってた。
  でもそれは逃げてただけなのかも知れない。
  自身がもてないのを親のせいに…周りのせいにして…
  でも、竜児は私をそのまま愛してくれた…。
  自分に誇りをもって…

  竜児を愛したいから。

  相坂大河

There are two blanks (on the first two lines of the body) that cannot be made out because of the pen in the way. However, this turns out to be pretty much the same as the narration that Taiga does starting around 10:28, so we can fill in the blanks: the first blank is 私 and the second blank is 誰かに. Now, a rough translation:

  Ryuuji,

  Ryuuji, I... always thought that there was no way anybody would ever love me. But maybe I was just running away [from my problems?]. I blamed my lack of confidence on my parents... on my situation. But even so, you loved me the way I was. I'll be proud of myself...

  Because I want to love you, Ryuuji.

  Aisaka Taiga

The letter omits the lines to the effect of "I won't run away anymore; I'll change; I'll accept myself" which are present in her narration.


Why Tifa is conscious in The Last Order? In the short anime Final Fantasy VII: The Last Order, which retells events of Nibelhelm conflict, when Cloud arrives to Nibel mountain reactor Tifa regains consciousness and sees Cloud, stating that he came to save her just as he promised.

Yet, in original Final Fantasy VII Tifa remains unconscious, so she doesn't know that Cloud ever was in Nibelhelm (and some plot details heavily rely on this) until visiting his memories.

So, is this a mistake in the anime script? Or is it somehow explained why Tifa later doesn't remember Cloud visiting Nibelhelm?

It is known that there are various account on what happened in Nibelheim. The scene where Sephiroth falls into the Mako stream in the reactor was different. In the original FFVII,

   Sephiroth stabbed Cloud, but Cloud overpowered Sephiroth, lifted the latter and throw him into the Mako stream below. In another adaptation (forget which one), Sephiroth gladly throw himself into the Mako stream.

This could possibly because the scene in the game was based on Cloud's memory, thus it might be a bit hazy. In other words, he might not remember it correctly (the game version of the story).

Quoting Wikipedia,

  Although the 77,777 copies of Advent Pieces: Limited that were released in Japan sold out months in advance of the official release date, Last Order received a negative fan response due to changes in content and presentation from the original Final Fantasy VII game, and because of this, the crew working on Crisis Core avoided recreating certain scenes from Last Order.

As for why Tifa doesn't remember that Cloud went to Nibleheim, in the game she was unconscious and the Soldier member that was dispatched to Nibelheim was Sephiroth

   and Zack. Cloud was a Shinra Trooper and he didn't take off his helmet, so Tifa was unable to recognize him.


Why was Kugo Ginjo kicked out of the Soul Society? I remember that Kugo Ginjo used to be a Substitute Shinigami, but he got kicked out and lost his shinigami status. Why did this happen?

It is not that Kūgo Ginjō got kicked out. He left on his own accord after feeling betrayed by the shinigami.

  Some time ago, Kūgo became the first Substitute Shinigami and in recognition of that was given a Substitute Shinigami badge by Captain Jūshirō Ukitake. How he gained Shinigami powers is unknown, but according to Captain Suì-Fēng, he murdered many Shinigami in order to steal their power. At some point, Kūgo found out that his badge was a surveillance device used by Soul Society to observe him and limit his power. After that discovery, Kūgo thought he had been betrayed and disappeared without a trace. - Bleach wiki


How are Higurashi and Umineko related? I haven't watched Higurashi and am a bit hesitant to do so after seeing some clips of it and I haven't gotten around to watching Umineko but I've been wondering: apart from the obvious in how they have the alias "When They Cry #", how are Higurashi and Umineko related?

VNDB does not list any of the 4 visual novels as sharing any characters with each other than Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai and Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru sharing characters from the unofficial Minagoroshi-hen Bad End ~Rika-hen~.

Higurashi and Umineko take place in the same story universe as far as I'm aware, but there is no character overlap. As for Umineko, there is an entirely new cast of characters. That said, events in Umineko may shed some light on the workings of the Higurashi / Umineko universe, and it references Higurashi quite a bit.
While it is not strictly necessary, I think you would get more out of Umineko if you watched Higurashi first, even though the cast and story are entirely different. Also, if you can manage, I'd recommend reading the Visual Novels for Umineko instead of watching the anime. The anime is poorly done and ends prematurely, leaving you with far too many questions unanswered and no real resolution.


Why can Devil Fruit users use their abilities while wet? My understanding was that the sea is supposed to weaken devil fruit users and rob them of their powers. The One Piece Wikia elaborated:

  Devil Fruit users are susceptible to all types of water, not just seawater. This includes the white sea surrounding Skypiea. [Oda] elaborated on this, saying that "moving" water, like rain or waves, does not weaken Devil Fruit users, while standing water does.

The Wikia also states the users cannot use their powers while submerged.

  Even if a part of the user is submerged, they cannot use their Devil Fruit powers, no matter how much or how little is submerged. However, if the user's body has been permanently altered by the fruit, then the user's ability can be manipulated by outside sources (eg Luffy's neck was stretched while submerged at Arlong Park).

My questions:

How did Ajoki freeze the ocean?

May I emphasize he submerged his hand in the sea to use Ice Age?
How did Luffy fight Crocodile while wet at Marine Ford?

He was dripping wet after having fallen into the sea. Does the water not weaken him since he was now submerged? I assumed since sea stone worked just by touching it and it has the same effect as the ocean, then by having part of the ocean "touch" him would drain his power.

Are these just plot holes or am I missing something?

TL;DR

Kuzan freezes the water without touching it. So the water doesn't nullify him. Think like how Ace tries to vaporize sea water with fire. He only creates those fire he isn't the fire in that case.
Sea water doesn't cancel Devil Fruit powers it only weakens it for the Paramecia type.

From Wikia article on Kuzan:

  In addition, Kuzan is one of the few Devil Fruit users who has adapted
  their powers to travel efficiently across the sea. In his case,
  freezes the water underneath Ao Chari then rides across the sea, due
  to the water freezing as the wheels pass over it. This freezing
  ability, which can be used on a very large scale, renders Kuzan one of
  the few Devil Fruit users who can actually counteract the weakness of
  falling into a large body of water and drowning, as he can just freeze
  the water and stand on the ice.

From the Wikia article on Logia

  Logia Devil Fruits allow a person to create, control, and transform
  into a natural element or force of nature, depending on the fruit. The
  user can transform partly, or completely.

For Luffy's case, check this post.


How were there 80,000 ninjas in the Shinobi World War in Naruto? I have been watching Naruto anime for a few months and just started to watch Shinobi World War arc. I was shocked to see 80,000 ninjas assembled. Where did they come from? If we take into account that 5 countries and samurais make 6 countries total, each country would contribute around 12,000 ninjas. But only around 100 ninjas were seen in Konoha in the previous episodes. How did this number come from? Were they living in other villages under the orders of their respective Kage?

Let's approximate the size of the Hidden Leaf based on the size of the Nine-tails in his attack:

As you can see, the village is quite large. I can estimate a population of over 100,000 easily. Since many of them are shinobi, I don't think it's exaggerated to think that there are at least 12,000 shinobi there (probably more).

So that's where all of them came from. Don't forget that we are focusing on only one (two) set of academy students as they progress, in reality there are new (and old) classes every year that graduate, get their own Jonin sensei, and take on missions etc. Those unimportant characters are often seen as what I like to call "shuriken throwers" (they only know how to throw shuriken, nothing else). You usually see them die when a strong opponent arrives.


What the intense plucky guitar song that begins at 3:35 in My Hero Acadamia Season 3 ep 62/24 I can't seem to find the song. It's on Episode 24 of season 3 or ep. 62. It starts at 3:35 and its a really nice and mysterious guitar melody!

Its "People Always Reaching for the Top" from the 2nd OST :)


How long ago were the flashbacks? On occasion during the series there are times where we see Yui, Ui, Nodoka, Ritsu and Mio as children such as when Mio was remember when Ritsu was giving her confidence to speak infront of the class (where Ritsu pretends to be a Pineapple) or when Yui was drawing and offered Nodoka the Red Crayon she had....before thinking about eating it herself.

I am wondering how long ago these flashbacks occurred?

These are the 2 scenes you probably mentioning in your question.

1) You can re-watch episode 8 of K-On!!, roughly at 07:20, Nodoka answers Mio that she first met Yui in kindergarten. (Approx. 12 years ago)

2) In the same episode, at 12:38, Ritsu relate her first impression about Mio back in elementary school. (Approx. 8 years ago)

3) The actual year is not confirmed yet, maybe plus minus a year or so.


Why is Nakuru Narumi so dark skinned? As we can see Nakuru Narumi has dark skin compared to other characters. So why she has dark skin tone ?

She actually does not have dark skin tone. It is fashion called Ganguro.

As MAL Describe her character as:

  The cat-eared ganguro student that is spying Konoe and Kinjirō.

Below is the defination of ganguro as described by Wikipedia.

  Ganguro (ガングロ?) is an alternative fashion trend among young Japanese women that started in the mid-1990s, distinguished by a dark tan and contrasting make-up liberally applied by fashionistas.


A guy who can steal people's identity and power - what is this anime? Possibly a late 90's/early 2000's anime. Memory is really fuzzy, but it had this female character who was a time traveller/or from space/another dimension.

There was a villain who was able to shape shift. There was one scene where the bad guy changed into (either by accident or deliberate) the main character and tried to rape the main character's love interest by locking himself and her in a closet at the gym. When the bad guy tried to touch her, electricity was discharged from his hand which caused him to flee.

Last scene I remember was the main character furiously riding his bike to face off against the bad guy. The bad guy was in a mansion(?) and he apparently was stealing the life force/identity of several victims by squeezing their face with his palm.

Watched the whole thing in Japanese. No subtitles. Wonderful anime.

It could be DNA² you are talking about

The girl in question seems to be Tomoko and as soon as the villain Ryuji touches her, he changes to her I guess. I don't remember if the last line of sucking others life force. But the description brought back the scene from DNA². Check out episode 10 of the series and tell if it is the one you want. Hope this helps :D


What are the "tentacles" coming out of people's heads? In the alternate world (which almost the entirety of the show takes place in) of Super Dimension Century Orguss, everyone has 2 "tentacles" that come out of their heads. Aside from the occasional using them to move objects or press buttons, what's their purpose?

After Kei comes to, he finds out that the Earth he knows has been fractured into many different realities, a majority of the  of the planet being controlled by 3 main powers: the Emaan, the Terram, and the Mu.

The Emaan are nearly identical to humans, except for prehensile antenna-like tendrils that come out from the backs of their necks. Emaan males have one, while females have two. They seems to respond and move based on the emotions of the host (like cat ears or dog tails). These tendrils don't exert enough power to actually be able to move or lift heavy objects, so it's assumed that to be some evolutionary artifact. It's mentioned that in the series Emaan acting as spies in Terram have these surgically removed.

The Terram are probably closely related to the humans of Kei's world. The Mu are a robotic race, they were created to serve their creator, but later turned on them and wiped them out.


Why don't the Shinigami just hang around the human world? In the first episode, Ryuk makes a point that the Shinigami world is absolutely boring and monotone. Shinigami just spend their days gambling and napping, and just kill the bare minimum to stay alive.

It appears that they can freely traverse to the human world, and back. Which makes me wonder if there is any reason why they'd rather stay in their boring world in the first place.

They can potentially do whatever they want in the human world - is there something that ties them to the Shinigami world? Even if they truly just want to gamble and nap all day, might as well do it in a more interesting world. Hell, Ryuk has shown that it is possible for them to eat (albeit completely unnecessary) and enjoy themselves regardless.

Because it is stated in one of the rules that a god of death or shinigami cannot go to the Human World without any clear or significant reason. As stated here,

  The god of death must not stay in the human world without a particular reason. Conditions to stay in the human world are as follows: (Death Note - How to Use It: XXIV)

  When the god of death's Death Note is handed to a human.
  Essentially, finding a human to pass on the Death Note should be
  done from the world of the gods of death, but if it is within 82 hours this may also be done in the human world.
  When a god of death stalks an individual with an intention to kill
  them, as long as it is within 82 hours of haunting them, the god of
  death may stay in the human world.

If these rules or the rest of the other rules not mentioned are violated, then they will be severely punished. That's why Ryuk was hesitant at first when writing the fake rules Light asked him to since he thought it might anger the Shinigami King.

  There are laws in the world of gods of death. If a god of death should break the law, there are 9 levels of severity starting at Level 8 and going up to Level 1 plus the Extreme Level. For severity levels above 3 the god of death will be killed after being punished. For example, killing a human without using the Death Note is considered as the Extreme Level. (Death Note - How to Use It: XLVI)

In case you're wondering where these rules are since these might not be in scanlations or unofficial translations, the official English VIZ volumes that I read have them in-between each two chapters.


Is Hellsalem's Lot a reference to Jerusalem? Hellsalem's Lot, the current name of formerly New York City, immediately strikes me as a reference to Jerusalem, since they sound extremely close.

In fact, in Japanese, they only differ by one mora:

  ヘルサレムズ・ロット (Hellsalem's Lot) vs. エルサレム (Jerusalem).

Is Hellsalem's Lot a reference to Jerusalem? If that is the case, what are the aspects in Hellsalem's Lot that make reference to Jerusalem?

Kekkai Sensen's Intended Association: Evil Living Among Humans
Both the fictional town 'Salem's Lot and the real city of Salem, Massachusetts are associated with witchcraft and evil living among regular humans. This fits the ethos of Kekkai Sensen's 「ヘルサレムズ・ロット」, which is the mystically transmogrified version of New York City after a gateway between Earth and the Beyond opened, so that extra-dimensional creatures and humans dwell in the same paranormal melting pot.
Origin of the Phrase 'Salem's Lot
Jerusalem's Lot, Maine is a fictional town created by Stephen King which he has used as the setting for a number of his novels, novellas, and short stories. Within his worldbuilding, the town is nicknamed 'Salem's Lot (including the apostrophe) and the Lot.
The town called 'Salem's Lot first appeared in his 1975 novel 'Salem's Lot, but has reappeared as recently as in his 2014 novel Revival.
According to Wikipedia, the description of the fictional town is:

The town that would become Jerusalem's Lot was founded in 1710 by a preacher named James Boon, the leader of a cult of schismatic Puritans. The cult became notorious in the region for its open embrace of witchcraft and for its amoral sexual practices, including inbreeding. Jerusalem's Lot became an incorporated town in 1765, but was abandoned in 1789 after Boon and his followers mysteriously vanished [...]
When Jerusalem's Lot was incorporated in 1765, Maine was still part of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The town got its name from a myth about one of the earliest residents, Charles Belknap Tanner, who raised pigs; one of these pigs was named Jerusalem. One day, Jerusalem escaped from her confines into a nearby forest, and became aggressive and wild. Tanner began warning young children who trespassed on his property to "Keep 'ee out o' Jerusalem's wood lot," lest the pig devour them. Eventually, the phrase "Jerusalem's Lot" was adopted as the town name.
[...] Jerusalem's Lot has been identified as a residence for great and mysterious evil, particularly vampires.

Other Derivative Uses
The fictional town is also mentioned in Alan Moore's 2002-2003 comic book series The New Traveller's Almanac, in the 2002 Eminem song Lose Yourself, and in the 1993 Nirvana song Serve the Servants.
Katakana and Pronunciation
Kekkai Sensen's 「ヘルサレムズ・ロット」 (Herusaremuzu Rotto) sounds similar to both the fictional town 'Salem's Lot (「セイラムズ・ロット」 [Seiramuzu Rotto]) and the Japanese word for "Jerusalem" (「エルサレム」 [Erusaremu]).
The Japanese title for the novel 'Salem's Lot is 『呪われた町』 (Norowareta Machi, meaning "cursed town"). In the Japanese translation, the name of the town is katakana-ized as 「セイラムズ・ロット」 (Seiramuzu Rotto), using the spelling of Salem, Massachusetts (「セイラム」= Seiramu), infamous for witch trials, not the Japanese spelling of Jerusalem (「エルサレム」= Erusaremu). The place name Salem (perhaps ironically) is a hellenized form of the Hebrew word for "peace" (שָׁלוֹם = shalom).
In Hebrew, the pronunciation for "Jerusalem" is Yerushalayim:

Conclusion
「ヘルサレムズ・ロット」 is not a reference to the city of Jerusalem, but rather to a fictional town known for housing monsters and named after a pig.


Who is fixing the Going Merry? Recently got done watching the Skypiea Arc, and it has just been bugging me constantly, but in Episode 167 Usopp goes to the bathroom and sees someone fixing the Going Merry. No where else is this addressed in the Arc (at least anime-wise): was Usopp just seeing things because he was tired or was there really someone fixing their ship for them?

Here is a picture of the scene I am talking about:

It was fixed by a Klabautermann.

  A Klabautermann is said to be a water spirit (or fairy) that dwells on ships and is basically an incarnation of a ship that has been well cared for. It is a merry and diligent creature that is said to warn sailors when a ship's in danger and help in bigger ways sometimes. They are normally considered to be only a legend among seafarers.

It is explained later in Episode 247 (Chapter 351 of the manga)

   Franky hears by Usopp about what happened to the ship and in particular to the fact on Skypiea you mentioned and explains him about that creature he knows from legends.

For more information about the klabautermann folklore itself you can look at its Wikipedia page.


Is Kid Buu twice as strong as Super Buu? I was watching the fight between Goku and Kid Buu in English, and in a moment Goku says Kid Buu is "twice as powerful as he was before". Is this something of the dub or is this a literal japanese translation? Is Kid Buu twice as strong as Super Buu?

"Darn you, where's your weak point? You're twice as strong as you were before. Your speed, your power"I am assuming this is the line you are talking about. Technically this could be considered filler as Goku fights Kid Buu using only Super Saiyan 3 in the manga and never turns Super Saiyan 2.
Also, this line would be with reference to the fat Majin Buu who Goku fought and not Super Buu as there is sufficient evidence to establish the fact that Super Buu is stronger than Kid Buu.


Were Luna and Artemis the only (sentient) cats in Sailor Moon? In Sailor Moon, there are two cats, Luna and Artemis, who I believe act as advisers for Sailor Moon's mother, the queen.

It's been a while since I've seen the anime, but were there any other sentient cats in Sailor Moon? Or were these two the only ones?

There is also Diana, who was born on Earth. She first appears in episode 126 or 133 (English and Japanese dub respectively) of the anime and is revealed to be the daughter of Artemis and Luna. In the manga, she first appears in Act 18. She comes from the future and so when Luma first sees her (in the anime) she is confused because Diana refers to Artemis as Daddy. She is the advisor to Chibiusa, as Artemis and Luna are Usagi's advisors.


Why does Eren loses his equipment after being Titan? Why does Eren loses his equipment after being Titan ?
And why Annie doesn't lose the equipment after being Titan ?

That old bearded titan who ate Eren didn't take a bite of him, he swallowed Eren.
so Eren will be dissolved in his stomach's acid, but Eren unconsciously activated his titan power and turned into a titan and....
so his ODM gear slings must have been torn apart while he was inside the titan's belly.


Why do we hear "English" speech in Philadelphia in episode 3? In episode 1 of Time Travel Shoujo, it is established that Mari can communicate freely with local folk when she travels back in time. For example, when she travels back to 1600 and meets William Gilbert, she perceives Gilbert's speech as being in Japanese, and Gilbert perceives her speech as being in English. The audio itself is fully in Japanese during Mari's sojourn in Gilbert's time.

However, in episode 3, something curious happens. Mari has been sent back to the year 1752 and meets Benjamin Franklin. Again, she is able to understand him and vice versa. At around 14:37, though, we hear two background characters say the following in English audio:

  GIRL: Rain, rain, go away! Come again on Saturday!

  WOMAN: Good, Laura!

  GIRL: Thank you very much!

To be clear, what I mean is that the viewer hears roughly 「レイン、レイン、ゴーア　ウェイ。　カム　アゲイン　オン　サターデイ。」 and so forth - the voice actor for the girl has a strong Japanese accent, but she's very clearly saying English words (ones that aren't loans into Japanese, in particular).

Now, why is that? Is there some sort of plot-related reason why Mari's "babel fish" didn't work on these two background characters? (The show pointedly addressed the idea of instantaneous translation during Mari's supplementary lessons earlier in episode 3, so I suspect this isn't just a goofup.)

I believe the first reason is because it's a popular English language nursery rhyme. Translating it to Japanese (or other language) might remove the nuance.

The second reason which I noticed when watching this is because the conversation was heard from John's point of view, not Mari. Given that he didn't go to school because he's a slave, the conversation in English that he heard might not even be understood clearly by him. Thus the next 2 lines, "Good, Laura!" and "Thank you very much" were not translated too.


Machine gun feudal anime request I saw half an episode of anime once (7-10 years ago probably) on adult swim(I think).  While this seems minor, it is the one that convinced me to give anime a chance as I had only seen one other and was definitely not a fan. As there are several now that I enjoy, i'd like to know what that one was.

In what I watched, some individual was introducing a machine gun with linked ammunition on a tripod to 4 swordsmen.  I believe one was a protagonist (I believe samurai) while the other 3 were known criminals.  The setting appeared to be japan around the time of Commodore Perry.  Fearing the impact the weapon would have on their home (I think), the 4 swordsmen teamed up against the gunner.

What I remember most is the ending; I believe one criminal sacrificed himself before this.  A large one charges straight for the gunner. As he is killed, a small one jumps from his back as throws a seed or something between the linked ammunition and is promptly shot and killed.  The final guy (again originally antagonistic to the other 3) runs toward the gunner.  The seed jams the gun temporarily and the swordsman slays the gunner.  He is the only survivor.  That is all I remember.

It's Rurouni Kenshin

and the character you talking about is Shinomori Aoshi.

   Kanryū betrays Aoshi and kills his four subordinates with a Gatling gun while they die one after the other protecting Aoshi.

Source - Wikipedia article for Shinomori Aoshi


Which NGE movie package should I buy? I want to know if "Neon Genesis Evangelion - Evangelion Feature Films - DTS" was including The End of Evangelion, that version seems to contain Death and Rebirth + EOE, I wanted to know if that was the right version to buy/watch.

The DTS Evangelion Feature Film collection seems to be correct in having Death & Rebirth and End of Evangelion. According to the Evangellion Wiki anyway.

It's also been remastered with DTS audio which I think means it supports surround sound and other such systems better


Do the pages to which Yuri Nazarov's photograph is clipped come from real publications? In episode 6 of Noir, when Mireille is identifying Yuri Nazarov to Kirika, a shot where his photograph is clipped to some papers with English text appears. Two different pages are shown.

The text in the papers contains references to 1990's American politics, with the mention of Gore, the Democrats, and Congress. Does the text come from any real-life publication from the period? Also, do the two different pages belong to different pieces of writing, or to the same one?

I ran two different internet searches for text that I could identify from the two different pages. Both searches led me to the 2000 article from TIME, "May It Please The Court".

The text copied in left page in the Noir shot begins at:

  The embarrassing admission didn't change Hengartner's overall point that there were serious problems with punch-card voting, but it may have damaged his credibility with Sauls.

The text shown follows that of the magazine article through the next paragraph.

The text on the right page begins at:

  […] remain skittish and ready to bolt - and if they abandon Gore this week, he will almost surely have to concede.

But note that in an actual magazine article, this division of the pages would not make sense, as this would duplicate text that is already on the left page (e.g. ready to bolt). The most likely interpretation is that the "page" was duplicated, and the text used in a Lorem ipsum-like manner.

Something similar happens in ep. 10, where a prosecutor is shown with a volume that presumably contains case details, in French. The two open pages contain identical text. The French does not make sense as a whole, but an internet search with the bits that do make sense leads to this Le Monde diplomatique article from 2001. Evidently, some words have been cut out; I do not know why. The beginning of the text of same article is also shown later on the front page of Libération.


Why didn't Light use Shinigami eyes? Why didn't Light Yagami use the Shinigami eyes? Couldn't it have been an easy task for him? Was it his arrogance and overconfidence?

Alternatively, was he not willing to sacrifice half his lifespan, thinking it would be a loss for him?

Wouldn't it have been a wiser step to choose the Shinigami eyes and make life easier than playing and risking around his life?

From the Death Note Wikia:

  Ryuk offers to make a deal with Light for the “Shinigami Eyes.” Light refuses the deal, stating that he needs to live in order to rule over his utopian world. He asks Ryuk if there is anything else that he should know about the Death Note, and Ryuk says probably not.


Can a ghoul's skin be pierced by earthly weapons? In Tokyo Ghoul, Jason claimed, while torturing Kaneki, that a ghoul's skin can not be pierced by any ordinary metal. If so, then:

How could Rei wound Kurona and Nashiro by knives?
Why don't the Doves use ordinary rifles and swords instead of Kagune to attack ghouls?

These instances are contradictory and paradoxical. Please give an explanation which makes all these instances reasonable.

First of all, Suzuya did not use just any knives, he used a bikaku quinque in the form of knives, the Scorpion 1/56. Thus, since they are made from kagune, these knives can pierce ghoul skin and thus cut Kurona and Nashiro.

  Scorpion 1/56 (サソリ1/56, Sasori 1/56) is a bikaku quinque that takes the form of a switchblade. They are currently wielded by Juuzou Suzuya. It is a set of totally 56 blades which can be used both as a melee and ranged weapon.

The CCG do use regular guns and other modern weaponry, but they are loaded with  Q bullets, which are also manufactured from Kagune, thus, they can harm ghouls.

  Q bullets are bullets with a melted down kagune coating; however, because the material can only be acquired by ghouls, the coating itself is moderately thin.

Therefore, in both instances, weaponry manufactured from kagune are used, which is the only known material to be able to harm ghouls without the use of RC suppressants. Now for the true answer to the question. Can a ghoul be harmed by earthly weapons?

Yes, yes they can, but only under certain conditions.

One cause is Rc suppressants, which effectively makes the ghouls human. Furthermore, this is available in gas form as shown by the Aogiri raid on Cochlea in Episode 4 of Tokyo Ghoul √A. Thus, under certain conditions, ghouls can be harmed by conventional weapons, so it is not odd for them to use such weapons. However, there has not been a single instance where conventional weapons worked in combat without RC suppressants.

  Rc suppressants (Rc抑制液, Rc yokuseieki) are a drug used to suppress the activity of the Kakuhou. They are primarily used by the Commission of Counter Ghoul on Ghoul prisoners, for the purpose of keeping them weakened or for interrogation. It slows regeneration, impairs the Kagune, and makes their bodies vulnerable to mundane items such as knives or needles.

But of course, as stated by lentinant, a strong enough force would most likely be sufficient to pierce the skin and hurt the ghouls, but kagune-based weapons are used most likely out of their effectiveness and swiftness in piercing ghoul skin than other more expensive and large impractical weapons such as a railgun or AMRs as stated by Ryan, which are bulky and hard to maneuver against a speedy ghoul that would rush towards a sniper if there was no infantry to guard against the ghouls, these infantry would of course have to use weapons that are reliable in close combat, such as swords and knives, which need to be made of kagune to pierce the ghoul skin.

A good measurement for close combat in ghouls is Nishiki's skin scrape, which seems to only have reached the hypodermis as the blood vessels and muscle tissue can be seen. This scrape was a result of Kaneki throwing him up about 5 metres (using the van beside kaneki as about 2 metres as measurement) in about 1 second in this video at 0.48, that would mean an acceleration of about 15ms^-2 after accounting for gravity, which means 885N of force since Nishiki is 59kg, implying a pressure of 354kPa is needed to pierce the skin assuming the scrape is a square 5cm in length. This force is 3 times the pressure of the atmosphere, which clearly is difficult to exert from a human, thus, kagune based weapons are opted for by the CCG in close combat.


Silver-haired humanoid? In episode 16, timecode 9:10, of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Milim refers to Rimuru's human form as being a "Silver-haired humanoid". Here is Rimuru (right) and Milim:

Did they just have a bad translation, or does "silver" refer to some broader range of hues in Japanese? Or maybe Milim has some sort of weird color blindness, or sees only in black and white? I'm pretty sure most watchers have assumed Rimuru's hair color is blue, the same color as his slime form.

Well, in the original web novel Rimuru's slime form is silver and the human form is described as having silver hair. But in the light novel and manga adaptations they changed it to blue. The anime's art and story are more closely based on the manga than the webnovel, so I'd guess that's why he appears as having blue hair in the anime too.

In the scene you're referring to, Milim does actually call him silver-haired and it's not a bad translation. Maybe blue just looks better on screen, I don't know why they do this. Although, there are some other anime too where the hair color looks different from what it's supposed to be, I don't pay it much heed.


How did the Female Titan manage to get out of her titan form and escape while surrounded by a horde of titans? In episode 20 of the anime, when Annie, as the Female Titan, falls into Erwin's trap and is restrained, she calls over a horde of titans to devour her titan body. Her titan body is shown to be torn apart and eaten as the titans surround her.

She is next seen in her human form, hiding herself among other people in the squad. When her cover was blown, she turns into her titan form for the second time and eliminates the League of Legends, as seen in episode 21.

How did Annie Leonhart manage to get out of her titan form and escape from the scene, all while surrounded by a horde of titans?

You may have missed this, but it was actually explained near the end of the episode.
Whilst riding on horseback

Zoe: Erwin, why did you order Levi to resupply? There's no time to waste.
Erwin: The female-form Titan was eaten. But did you see the person inside get eaten? I didn't.
Zoe: You can't mean...
Erwin: Ah, yes. If your original hypothesis was correct, they can still move to a degree after regaining human form. If they'd prepared 3D Maneuver Gear in advance...

Major spoiler for those who have not finished watching Attack on Titans
After this we see (unbeknownst to the audience yet), Annie zooming through the trees using already prepared 3D Maneuver Gear
Then we head back to Erwin talking again...

Erwin: The person inside the female-form titan is wearing our uniform right now... The enemy is now camouflaged as one of the troops.

Annie was able to escape her titan form because you can still move to a degree even after regaining human form, which would explain why she was able to escape before getting eaten herself.


Can the Limbo clones use all the techniques of the jutsu owner? Note: This question contains spoilers from the Manga! Anime viewers are advised  not to read it!

Madara uses invisible clones from Limbo. Can those clones use all of Madara's techniques themselves?

It is actually unclear. The Limbo clones can apparently fly and block physical attacks, and they also have the same Rinnegan as the original (they are, after all, clones).

But we haven't seen any evidence of the clones being able to use any sort of technique aside from basic taijutsu.

Since the manga is over and the databook doesn't provide any new data on this subject, the final answer would be No. Limbo clones cannot use ninjutsu by the original.


Can 4 people fuse into 1 powerful person? Can Fusion AB (A fuses with B) and Fusion CD (C fuses with D) fuse again (AB fuses with CD) with something like Potara? Can it even be done?

No, there is no quad-fusion or fusion between 2 a already fused fighters. Similar to this question, you essentially have to be your original self to fuse with another person.


Where do I go to purchase Chinese manhua? I would like to purchase a manhua titled, "Yinhe Biduan" but I am having a very hard time finding here in the States.

Can anyone direct me to an internet store?

Judging by the name, I think it's

銀河彼端

in Chinese so feel free to copy and paste on Amazon or Ebay, I'm pretty sure you'll get your manga.

Do inform me if this doesn't qualify as an answer, I'll delete right away.


What states besides Japan have a/the Sibyl System? I'm in the middle of Psycho-Pass Season 1.
What states besides Japan have a (or the?) Sibyl System? There's this part in Episode 13 where 'world' rather than 'Japan' is used. Does the Sibyl System cover the whole world? Does it or do the dominators apply to anyone anywhere even in Antartica or International Waters? Are the police in third world countries using dominators?
I highly doubt Japan is the only place that has a/the Sibyl System because I don't see why the UN would just allow Japan if it disagreed or would not follow Japan if it agreed. It's like The Walking Dead: I highly doubt it's only the US that's infected. If so, the UN likely would've intervened already (like in world war z iirc).
If any of these cannot be answered without spoilers, please use >! and indicate degree of spoilers (or whatever is the site policy for questions like this).

Obviously, this had to be done with (major) spoiler(s). The spoiler below only to answer your question.

 Apparently japan is in the only one that operated Sibyl System (or any system alike). This fact shown in the movie.

On side note (this spoiler contains major plot spoiler - proceed with at your own risk),

 The movie also shown the fact that the entire world actually get a dive in governance - anarchy everywhere. Then, only Sibyl System preserve peace in Japan. Not to mention how Sibyl System managed to replace the entire Japan Diet Member and convinced to measure the Psycho-Pass of the society - as the consequence of Akane's Request in Season 2.

I hope you'll finish Psycho-Pass and catch up to Season 2 (including the Movie of course).


What is this sci-fi anime from the 90s involving a mute main character and lab experiment by some mad corporation? I believe this sci-fi anime was made in the 1990s.

The main character is a mute and lab experiment by some mad corporation.  At the beginning, he escaped from his pod when they try to transport him via train.  Also, he got some kind of worm living inside his head that gave him super power.

My memory is vague, but he did met up with a little girl and befriend her.  The corporation tried to retrieve him and in the end, he end up destroying their headquarter. The ending shows him hibernating below the lake surface.

Anyone seen this anime and know the title?

I think you are looking for Baoh.

Baoh is originally a manga series by Hirohiko Araki, who is best
known as the creator of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It was serialized
in Weekly Shonen Jump from 1984 to 1985 and was adapted into a
50-minute OVA in 1989.

  Plot Summary: Ikurou Hashizawa was a normal boy until he is captured
  by evil scientists who create the ultimate fighter by attaching a
  parasite, named Baoh, to his brain. The mysterious girl Sumire, who has
  psychic powers, frees him and together they work to avoiding being
  captured by those who want to use their powers.

  BAOH (OAV) - Anime News Network

Amazon.com: Baoh (DVD)


Does Agarest: Generations of War 2 carry on from the true end or normal end of the previous game? I completed Agarest: Generations of War Zero, and now going to start playing Agarest: Generations of War before playing Agarest: Generations of War 2. However, I'm wondering if the sequel carries on from the true end or the normal end.

I ask this, as when I played Atelier Meruru there was a spoiler of the true ending of Atelier Totori:

   Totori's mother isn't dead, as Totori tells Meruru that her mother just showed up. Considering the true end requirements for Totori, which requires defeating Evil Face who Totori's mother set out to kill, it would make sense.

If Agarest: Generations of War 2 carries on from the previous game's true ending, then I would plan on replaying Agarest: Generations of War Zero with Digest Mode since it will always have the true end (I don't plan on doing that right now cause I have to play though all of Zero again).

Which Agarest: Generations of War ending does Agarest: Generations of War 2 carry on from: The true end, or the normal end?

Agarest 2 follows neither ending. It takes place in an alternate reality from the first two games so, aside from a few nods and references to them, is a stand-alone story wise.


Why can Tobi not just use space-time ninjutsu to capture Bee and Naruto? Since Obito can travel through space-time, I wonder why he didn't just teleport to all those jinchuuriki? He could then easily bring them to an Akatsuki hideout where the combined force of them could capture them without others interfering.

The answer is because of the nature of his jutsu. His jutsu works by moving whole or part of his body into the other space. His jutsu has a weakness in that the bigger the object he is transporting, the longer the time needed for him to do it. This was noted by Konan and was mentioned during the fight between Konan and Tobi when the latter was about to retrieve the Rinnegan from Nagato's corpse. If I remember correctly, to move his entire body he needs about 5 seconds.

Now add another person to the equation and you get 10 whole seconds before he can do the jutsu successfully. 10 seconds next to a Jinchuuriki that knows you're going to kill him. There's no way they're just going to sit tight and enjoy the trip. So this makes kidnapping the Jinchuuriki and ganging up on them at the hideout like you're suggesting as an impossible thing to do.


Why was the Shinobi War started? Why was the Shinobi War started if

   Kyuubi chakra was all that was needed? Without Naruto (Kyuubi) and Killer B (Hachibi) being captured, the eternal genjutsu (Moon Eye) was initiated by Tobi/Madara. The reason being they could do it, is because they had one of Hachibi's tentacles (courtesy: Sasuke) and Kyuubi's chakra (Gold and Silver brothers). So which means all they needed was a sample of Kyuubi chakra (since all 7 Tailed Beasts were sealed, it was powerful enough to begin Moon Eye, also they had Hachibi's tentacle). Why did Tobi initiate the war if he could have collected Kyuubi chakra somehow? If Tobi knew about it earlier, could the war have been avoided?

His ambition could have been achieved without any war.

The aim was to revive the Ten-Tails in its prime and that is why they wanted to seal both Kyuubi and Gyuuki completely too. But after the Edo Tensei was released by Itachi, Obito lost all the revived Jinchuuriki's of the other 7 tailed beasts. Though he had them sealed, he couldn't use them in the battle anymore and facing both Naruto and Killer B alone would have been difficult for him.

Thus he decided to revive the Ten-Tails with just the 7 beasts and the little chakra samples of Kyuubi and Gyuuki he already had(sealed Kinkaku, Ginkaku and a piece of the tail of Gyuuki) so that he could become its Jinchuuriki and complete the Eye of the Moon plan.

Here is a sequence of images from the Manga, which will help you understand the whole thing better. Most of it is from the Manga Episode 594, and is finally out in the anime too, Naruto Shippuden Episode 341.


How old is Conan meant to be? I was rewatching an old episode of Detective Conan with a friend and we started discussing how weird it would be to hear a young child say some of the things Conan says. Then, I realized I didn't know the exact age that Conan was really supposed to be acting. I don't recall Conan's age to ever be mentioned in the show. How old is Conan supposed to be now? What was his age before he shrank?

Of course, Conan's real age is the same as his age before he shrank. He was 16 at the time he shrank.

Conan does mention his age in the first volume of the manga in File 2, when he almost accidentally tells Ran that he is 16, instead of 6.

Later in the series, Conan's age is 7, as he has experienced a birthday.

Conan is also around the same size as other kids that age, which is probably why he was put in class 1-B when he started going to grade school. In Japan, first year grade school students are between ages of 6 and 7.


What's the difference between Digimon Adventure 1999 and Digimon Adventure 2020? while I was checking out some sites gathering info on another series i saw mentions of a new Digimon series just called Digimon Adventure (2020)

those look like the same characters/Digimon from the 1999 series include Hikari who wasn't added until mid way though. is Digimon Adventure (2020) different to the original 1999 series

Aside from the New Songs in Digimon Adventure [2020] (or also called "REBOOT" ) there are some changes made in the anime.
One Notable Factor was that:
The first three episodes of 2020 was basically a movie
they're basically one long prologue to the new series. The end of episode 3 essentially feels like the true beginning to Adventure 2020.
another one is that introduction

As much as I love 99, I think we can all agree 2020 has it beat, at least in its introduction. 99 throws you into all the characters with no time to breathe, and then becomes and episodic show as it develops its world and characters. An approach that worked, but so far 2020 feels so much more like a properly paced series that will slowly add to the cast, which I think will pay off in dividends.

CHANGES TO THE VILLIANS

Digimon Adventure 2020 series: Has Anything Changed From Past To
Present - The Illuminerdi The foes in the series have had some changes
as well with new Digimon entering the series as the obvious foe but
still, there are wild Digimon that the kids must face that may be evil
or just hungry and animalistic in nature. Whether will see some of the
big villains of the original series is yet to be clear but it will
definitely be completely different from the original series.
The original series also had Black gears that made good Digimon evil
but so far they have yet to make an appearance so whether this will be
part of the show later or the new Digimon has replaced them, has yet
to be confirmed.

Another Notable feature about Reboot(2020) is that it had better animation. We know the fact that it is new hence better animation. (or should I say CGI)

This year, fans of the original DigiDestined were in for a treat as a Digimon Adventure reboot was released. Needless to say, the series already has fans buzzing. While there are some obvious changes to the original, Digimon Adventure 2020 has kept a lot of the elements the fans loved. Here's are 5 things the reboot has changed and 5 things they've kept the same so far.

10. Changed: The Date Of Events

In the original Digimon Adventure, the date was an important detail to the plot. The kids get transported into the Digital World on August 1st, 1999. When the kids return to their world they think they've been gone for months, only to realize it has just been a few minutes.
In the reboot, the year is 2020 and the world has been updated. Everyone has a cellphone, laptops, and the Japanese landscape that is shown is one that matches real life. The date is not mentioned at all. All we know is that Taichi and Koushiro are getting ready for summer camp.
9.Stayed The Same: The Effects Of The Digital World

In both the original Digimon Adventure and the reboot, the first episodes show how closely the Digital World and the real world are linked. In the 1999 series, it starts snowing while the kids are at camp, even though it's summer. The entire real world is experiencing weather phenomenons due to the issues in the Digital World.
8. Changed: The Order Of Events
The 1999 Digimon Adventure picks up the story with the DigiDestined at camp before being transported into the Digital World. In the American version, there isn't much information revealed initially as to why these kids are chosen. However, fans of the series now know that the events that took place in the first Digimon movie are canon, explaining why.
In the reboot, the timeline is given a fix. They combine the first movie, The Digimon Movie, and the second, Our War Game. We see glimpses of the other kids but they are not initially involved. We also get the Omegamon evolution, which occurred in Our War Game. At the end of the third episode, it appears the kids have finally arrived in the Digital World as we know it.
7. Stayed The Same: The Roles Of Takeru And Hikari
Yamato's younger brother, Takeru, was initially shown as the runt of the DigiDestined. Alongside Patamon, he was very naive and was often trying to prove his independence. Patamon was the last Digimon to Digivolve to his Champion form, Angemon. Hikari, who doesn't join the group until later, gained Gatomon as a partner who's Ultimate form, Angewomon, is the counterpart of Angemon. Together they play a pivotal role in defeating the Dark Masters.
6
Changed: Introduction Of The Digimon
One of the interesting things about the original Digimon Adventure was that we met all the Digimon companions in their baby forms until they Digivolved into their rookie forms, in which they stay most of the time. This provides a good insight for the DigiDestined and the viewers since any time the Digimon are too exhausted, they can regress to their baby forms.
When Taichi is transported into the Digital World in the reboot, he sees Agumon's baby form, Koromon, as they are falling. By the time they land Koromon has Digivolved into Agumon. Later on, when Taichi has been transported back into the Digital World, Taichi sees Agumon, not Koromon.
5
Stayed The Same: The Personalities Of The DigiDestined
Although not all of the main characters have been introduced yet, it's clear that the characters haven't been given a makeover as far as their personalities are concerned. So far, in Digimon Adventure 2020, we have seen Taichi, Yamato, and Koushiro in action.
4
Changed: Summer Camp
The fateful trip to summer camp changed everything for the kids in the original anime. The kids were at camp together, and right before a big wave hit to drag them to the Digital World, they all received their DigiVices. The camp was also important because it united Yamato and Takeru who did not live together due to their divorced parents. Hikari was also supposed to attend the camp but did not because she got sick, leading to her being sought out later on as the 8th DigiDestined.
In the reboot, fans were thrown through a loop when the kids arrived at summer camp, and... then they left promptly after. This may have been a small way for the show to tribute the original but it also explains that the reboot is taking a different approach.
3
Stayed The Same: The Focus On Taichi And Yamato
It goes without saying that all eight of the DigiDestined played an important role in the original Digimon Adventure. It is clear though that Taichi and Yamato have always had more of a spotlight, especially in regards to their relationship with each other. Early on in the original, Taichi and Yamato were often butting heads as they were both trying to be leaders.
2
Changed: The Abilities Of The DigiVices
One of the coolest parts of being a DigiDestined is owning a DigiVice. The DigiVice is the connector between the kids and their Digimon. The original DigiVice would light up when a Digimon was about to Digivolve, it had a small on-screen map, and most importantly, it played a huge role in stopping the world from being destroyed.
In the reboot, the DigiVice appears to have undergone a complete hardware makeover. The DigiVice now seems to light up dramatically, display the crests in full color, pull up maps, and even allow for holographic communication.
1
Stayed The Same: The Emphasis On Teamwork
Digimon Adventure may have its stand out characters as mentioned earlier, but one of the reasons it has held its ground for the last 20 years, throughout different adaptations, is because of its emphasis on teamwork. No one character or one Digimon could have saved the world by themselves, a point the original Digimon Adventure made sure to drive home time and time again.
In the new series, the saving of Tokyo could not have been possible without the combined efforts of Taichi, Yamato, and Koushiro as well as their Digimon partners. While it may seem like a small detail, the main story has always been about friendship and working together to overcome obstacles.
here are some of the differences in the anime versions explained by CBR
OFFICIAL DIGIMON ADVENTURE (2020) SYNOPSIS

In the year 2020, a series of cyber-attacks across Tokyo are the
result of catastrophic events in another world within the internet,
the Digital World, where creatures called Digimon roam. While getting
ready for summer camp, eight children are transported to the Digital
World where they acquire Digivices and Digimon partners while learning
that they have been chosen to stop the unknown threats to their
worlds.


What's with Steve Job and crabs reference in Aiura opening song? In Aiura opening there's a lot Steve Job and crabs reference

There are still lot more than this. And the whole opening song is all about crab, and sometimes Steve Jobs make some appearance like two pictures above randomly. The anime it self has nothing to do with crab. What's with that? Why Steve Jobs? Why crabs?

Transcluding bcy's answer from the previous instance of this question, under the assumption that the answer wasn't what triggered the DMCA complaint:

  It may actually be a layered joke on the title referring to a Japanese battle. First "Aiura" is pronounced the same way as "iUra", like an apple product, hence Steve Jobs in the OP. On the other hand the Tale of Heike says that the spirits of samurai who fell during the battle of Dan-no-Ura are carried by Heike crabs, and that's why their backs sort of look like a human face. That explains why there are crabs everywhere in the OP, which happen to also be linked with Steve Jobs since he died from cancer.
  Thanks 4chan for this explanation : https://desuarchive.org/a/thread/87335497/#87336503 https://desuarchive.org/a/thread/87872828/#87880558

[Note: I updated the 4chan archive links to point to an archive that is still alive. archive.foolz.us went down quite some time ago.]


What is the name of the soundtrack playing in One Piece episode 527 when Sanji cries on Fishman Island? Is there anyone who can tell me which soundtrack this is? I couldn't find it.

It's called Resort Island from One Piece Movie 6 OST.


Why do some anime in Japanese contain English? It seems that many anime and manga aired or printed in Japanese, before they are dubbed or localized, contain English text or lyrics.

I've tagged a couple of examples here.

The first is from Digimon Tamers, wherein there are a couple English lines within the otherwise Japanese title sequence:

And another example from Neon Genesis Evangelion, where the text on the monitors is printed in English:

There are countless other examples (one I couldn't find was another scene from Tamers in which a beer can reads "BEER"); so, my question is:

Why do these English words make their way into otherwise entirely Japanese productions?

There are two different ways that one can use English words in Japanese.

The first is through loanwords. The Japanese language was more-or-less standardized during the Meiji Restoration, in the late 19th century. Before that, Japan was a very isolated culture for a very long time, so a lot of concepts simply didn't exist in the language. As a result, it was decided that rather than creating new words for all of these concepts, they would just borrow the words from other languages. Most of the words came from English, though there are also some from other western languages.

In this case, the words are written in katakana (カタカナ). There are a very large number of loanwords, but it's fairly standardized what is a loanword and what is not. Also, some of the words are pronounced differently in Japanese than English (e.g. energy becomes エネルギ (enerugi) with a hard g sound). In case it's ambiguous how to pronounce English words in Japanese, these are also usually standardized.

That doesn't really represent a use of English, though. The loanwords are borrowed from English, but both the meanings and pronunciations can be radically different from the English words. They're better described as Japanese words which are based off English words. The examples you've given don't really fall into the above category, but there are many examples like this so it's worth mentioning.

The other way they can use English is just by writing/speaking in English. The examples you've given seem to fall in this category. This is done to sound/look cool, because most people in Japan only hear and see Japanese for most of their day, so it stands out. Since most Japanese people have at least a passable knowledge of English vocabulary (it's part of the standard curriculum), it's a way to make a statement, sort of like how stylized fonts would be used in English except a bit stronger.

Now that we've made that distinction, we can answer the question. The answer to your question "Why do these English words make their way into otherwise entirely Japanese productions?" is that English is fairly common in Japan, not just in anime/manga. This isn't solely a phenomenon about anime/manga, nor am I convinced that it's particularly common in anime and manga. For instance, you can probably spot several instances of English in this picture of advertising in Tokyo (I found 3, with another 2 cases of the Roman alphabet being used to write non-English words, and quite a few katakana loanwords as well):

So in summary, it's because English is common in Japanese culture. But that's not a very satisfying answer by itself. Rather than answering the broad question of why modern Japanese culture often uses English (which I think might be better posed at Japanese.SE with some modifications) I'll address the particular cases you have mentioned, in part because a full answer to the former question is probably impossible and in part because it's off-topic.

Using English is very common in music, where whole lines may be written in (oftentimes broken) English. This is not solely a Japanese phenomenon, as Korean and Chinese pop artists also often use English (Indian pop artists do so very frequently as well, but English is a fairly common language in India). As far as I can tell, it isn't particularly common in anime songs, though of course I don't have any statistics to back that up.

Essentially, it's done in music to sound cool, for the reasons I listed above. It also somewhat expands their audience, since people around the world speak English. I don't know if there's an analogy that would be familiar to people who only speak English, but the closest I could come up with is that Latin is occasionally used in English-language music.

In fact, English use in Japanese music predates J-Pop itself (which is the genre that most anime music falls in). Japanese rock musicians in the 1960s and '70s were mostly inspired by their western counterparts, most notably the Beatles. For a time, Japanese rock singers believed that the Japanese language was too restrictive to be able to sing rock-style, so most of them sung in English (see here). The first really successful band to sing in English was Happy End, but even after that, people continued using English at least occasionally. It's possible to write long academic papers on the use of English in Japanese music, but I'll stop here for brevity.

For Digimon Tamers, and indeed many series, the title is displayed in English. In fact, most series now have both an English and a Japanese title, which do not always mean the same thing. In the case of Digimon, the word 'Digimon' comes from two English words, 'Digital' and 'Monster'. Tamers is also an English word. The title could be written 「デジモンテイマーズ」, but it's more authentic-looking to use the English title. As for why the title was chosen in English to begin with, again, this is best explained via the rule-of-cool, since English sounds different and interesting. Of course, not all shows do this, and it's mostly a stylistic decision, so it's probably impossible to give a better explanation.

As for Eva, most computer systems, even in Japan, are based on English. Most programming languages are also based on English. As a result, it seems more authentic (or at least, it did at the time) to have computers and technology things entirely or mostly in English. I don't know if this is changing, now that there are Japanese-language programming languages, operating systems, etc.

As for "BEER", it is not uncommon in Japan to advertise beer in English. This example is a fairly small company which I found from reading Moyashimon, but it's certainly not uncommon for beer to be written in English. I don't really know why. My suspicion is that this is because beer originated as a western drink.

I could probably go on for a while, but I think this answer is already too long and there's no point to continuing to list examples, so I'll end it here. As I said above, this might make a good question on Japanese.SE if you phrase it appropriately. It could also make a good question on the proposed Japanese Culture site.


What is Abe's first name? When they first introduced her, they called her Yukiko Abe, but then the next few chapters that I read were translated by a different translator, and they translated her name to "Yukiyo Abe". However, Wikia says that the kanji for her name is 由紀子, which would be read as "Yukiko".

So which is it? Yukiyo or Yukiko?

Her full name is Yukiyo Abe.

Japanese Wikipedia listed her name as

  アベ ユキヨ（黒髪ポニーテール）
  Yukiyo Abe (Black Ponytail)

MyAnimeList also confirms the name as

  Yukiyo "500 Year Old One" Abe

As for why the translator seemed to confuse "Yukiyo" with "Yukiko", コ (ko) and ヨ (yo) looks similar, having only 1 stroke difference. In addition of that, Yukiko is a more popular name in Japan than Yukiyo. Note however, her name is never written in kanji, thus there is no official kanji representation of her name.


Anime about old people nursed in high-tech beds At least 7 years ago I was shown an Anime that revolved around the premise that due to medical advances and low birth rate there were a lot of old people and as such there was a huge demand for old-person care nurses. One of the main characters was such a nurse, but there was also another guy as a main character.

Anyway, a company develops some high tech nursing beds that take care of bodily function needs and provides mobility but the prototype bed (and it's AI) begins interfacing with various electronics in the room and eventually becomes mobile and begins consuming other machines and devices and this bed (along with the old guy still inside) begins terrorizing downtown. Eventually the military is brought in and the bed is stopped somehow.

I'm surprised that I couldn't find it myself, but maybe I'm just unlucky. Any ideas? It's either a movie or a OVA I'd think.

Sounds like you're looking for Roujin Z:

  Roujin Z is set in early 21st century Japan. A group of scientists and hospital administrators, under the direction of the Ministry of Public Welfare, have developed the Z-001: a computerized hospital bed with robotic features. The Z-001 takes complete care of the patient: it can dispense food and medicine, remove excretory waste, bathe and exercise the patient lying within its frame. The bed is driven by its own built-in nuclear power reactor — and in the event of an atomic meltdown, the bed (including the patient lying within) would become automatically sealed in concrete. The first patient to be "volunteered" to test the bed is a dying widower named Kiyuro Takazawa. He is an invalid who is cared for by a young nursing student named Haruko. The electronic elements within the Z-001 somehow manage to transcribe Takazawa's thoughts through Haruko's office computer, and he uses the communication to cry for help.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZH4K3OkRqL8


Does Sidonia no Kishi's 256 frame formation have scientific advantages? In episode five or six of Sidonia no Kishi, Tanikaze and Shizuka were rescued by their fellow knights against orders of the captain. The rescuers adopted a 256 Gardes formation traveling to and from the protagonist's location. Is the scientific reason behind this peculiar formation explained anywhere in the series (because I can't recall)?

Their formation was a perfect circle when they traveled to Tanikaze's location but was uneven as they carried his frame, hence balance might be out of the answer. This formation was also used later in the series when they were going to attack the massive Gauna (as the picture shows). They used all 256 for the formation but still, the mission-grouping were in 128 frames per objective.

I don't think this question is a duplicate of this question because I'm asking for the scientific explanation of the formation. I'm also aware this question may be put on hold or closed as too speculative, but it's an interesting thing to ask if the explanation is in the series anyway.

I believe krazer's explanation to the question above (as ton.yeung comments below) is on spot after a little research. However, what I really want to know is the benefits in having everyone in one giant ring when they could create two 128-frame rings that would've been apt on the later event I mentioned. They could even have 64 4-frame rings that might cover a greater area in the long run (or not). Does it save energy, minimize danger, or perhaps guarantee a lesser chance of being lost in space?

Having studied orbital dynamics and aerospace engineering, I can simplify your answer down for you.

Let's just say 1 mech exhibits a mass of about 5 units. However, the engine can lift up to 10 units, so in a 2-mech clasp formation:

(2x10)-(2x5)=10 units

This means that they effectively double the output of their engines.
So, the thrust of a 256-unit clasp formation, and let's also include the weight of one broken mech:

(256x10)-(257x5)=1275 units

This would give them an extremely long range compared to the distance only 2 or 4 mechs could fly.

To answer your question as to how they would balance it, simply cut the engine of 1 or 2 other mechs in strategic locations

This may just sound like I'm saying they can lift more, but the point is the amount of thrust generated exceeds the thrust needed to lift all of the units' mass, thus translating to more speed and range

Hope this clears it up for ya!


What is the hole in Obito's chest? In Chapter 629, when Obito and Kakashi fought in Kamui's dimension, Obito revealed a hole in his chest and told Kakashi that the hole was opened by the hell of this world. It didn't seem to be a literal hole in his chest (like the Hollows in Bleach), because it wasn't present in the later part of the battle.

Was this hole used figuratively to indicate that Obito's heart was void of emotions, or did he teleport that part of his chest just before Kakashi stabbed him with Raikiri?

There was never any real hole in Obito's chest. It was a genjutsu, as shown in Chapter 636.

The genjutsu was activated right from the moment Obito pierced himself into Kakashi's Raikiri. Kakashi realises the genjutsu after a while, asks Obito to drop the act and fight for real.


What does the title "Aldnoah.Zero" mean? I recently watched "Aldnoah.Zero" and started with "Aldnoah.Zero (2015)". I was wondering about one of the main elements in this anime.

   Aldnoah is something that was found on Mars ("Vers" as it's called by the Martians) and is something old from an ancient civilization no one knows much about. They power up their "weapon systems" (mechs) with this thing too.

What is Aldnoah really? Is it some sort of stone, or some sort of energy? If it were just energy, they wouldn't have so advanced weapon systems, or not?

Where does the "Zero" in the name come from?

I believe Aldnoah refers to the power/energy itself. "Aldnoah.Zero" or "Aldnoah Zero" is never named or stated in-series. It could just be meant as a cool title, but I like to imagine it refers to the Terrans who fight without Aldnoah or other Versian weapons/technology. ;)