How was Nagato able to re-awaken and control the Rinnegan?

Nagato did not need to awaken the Rinnegan. Madara already did that part for him (waiting for the Senju DNA to manifest and combine with the Uchiha DNA in order to awaken the Rinnegan). Since Nagato is an Uzumaki, which makes him a distant relative of the Senju, he can control the Rinnegan. All Nagato needed to do was activate the Rinnegan. (Senju relative + evolved Uchiha eye = Able to use Rinnegan)

The important part is Madara had the awakened Rinnegan and gave it to Nagato. Note that since Nagato received the Rinnegan and activated it, he never reverted back to normal eye form or Sharingan form. The best explanation for this is simply because Rinnegan does not cause eyestrain like the Sharingan and Byakugan. Rinnegan is the perfect eye form, and thus does not take a toll on Pain's body.

As for activation, we know that Nagato activated it upon the death of his parents. Keep in mind that these are Uchiha eyes and Uchiha has been known to have a stronger passion for love than Senju. Thus the activation of his eyes were out of love for his parents as he watched them die.

For control, the only requirements for Rinnegan is both Uchiha DNA and Senju DNA(the uzumaki clan were infact relatives of the Senju, sole holders of Sealing jutsu, to smoothen further ties and relations to the senju, and this point konoha, the 1st hokage married Uzumaki Mito, to further strengthen blood ties) which Nagato had. In general, mastering control comes with practice, just like with every other jutsu.

We know that Pain did not have full mastery of the Rinnegan as he didn't master the Outer Path. In order to use the Outer Path, Pain had to sacrifice his life when he revived everyone in Konoha.


How did Light know that Hideki Ryuga is the real L?

His father confirmed it.

L when tells Light his real identity, he made it in such a way that Light couldn't kill him.

If Light tries to kill "Hideki Ryuga", he is not sure if he is the real L. If the fake imposter dies (Like the one on TV), Light confirms he is Kira
He might kill the real "Hideki Ryuga" by mistake and not gain anything while exposing himself.

But he plays L's game and finally ends up in the HQ of L's team where his father confirms he is the real L. Later when L realizes about the Shinigami eyes, he tells Light that he has made arrangements with his Father that if he dies in the next few days that Light is Kira.

Thus he didn't get a chance to kill L until he was able to manipulate Rem.

EDIT: Found the source. Light's father confirms this in hospital in Manga Chapter 22. Here is the screenshot.


The chakra absorbing technique used by Hiruko is Dark Release: Inhaling Maw. While in the case of Pain, or Preta path corpse to be precise, the technique is Blocking Technique Absorption Seal.
These two techniques seem to be no different right? No, it has a major difference.

Hiruko's Dark Release: Inhaling Maw

Classification: Kekkei Genkai, Ninjutsu, Chakra Absorption Techniques
Usage: Extract the physical and spiritual energy of another ninja, even from a considerable distance. He is able to completely remove the victim's chakra, potentially causing death.

Preta path corpse's Blocking Technique Absorption Seal

Classification: Kekkei Genkai, Ninjutsu, Dōjutsu, Fūinjutsu, Chakra Absorption Techniques
Usage: A highly advanced sealing technique that is capable of absorbing any chakra, regardless of any shape or nature transformation. As a result, this technique can absorb any ninjutsu based technique, rendering it ineffective on the user.

As I mentioned just now, there's a major difference, that is the classification. Note that Preta's path corpse's technique is classified as one of the Dōjutsu and Fūinjutsu. Dōjutsu, which possesses a number of passive abilities that normal Ninjutsu don't. Moreover, Fūinjutsu is also part of the classification. Recall what is Fūinjutsu -- Fūinjutsu are a type of jutsu that seals objects, living beings, chakra, along with a wide variety of other things within another object. Ultimately, Hiruko's Ninjutsu absorption technique is just an absorption ninjutsu. With any Ninjutsu that possesses larger amount of chakra than his absorption technique, he will end up being killed. However, Preta path corpse's Ninjutsu Absorption Sealing technique is stronger than Hiruko's one. Do you remember that Jiraiya sealed Itachi's Dōjutsu, Amaterasu with his Fire Sealing Method(A kind of Fūinjutsu)? Even the highest level of fire release that cannot be extinguished with water or any other normal methods could be sealed, not to mention it's absorbed by Hiruko's absorption technique. That's the power of Fūinjutsu.
[Source and info are taken from Narutopedia. A wiki filled with SPOILERS about Naruto series :)]


How could Amagiri have eggs on him after he teleported with Brita?

That is one of the eggs he and Amber made together earlier in the episode.  He pulled it out of his pocket after she rewound time to save his life.

So Amber put the egg in his pocket.  That's why he stopped and stared at it.


What is the laws of cause and effect in Mirai Nikki?

I think it's just refer to the general Causality concept.

From Causality's Wiki page

  Causality (also referred to as causation) is the relation between an event (the cause) and a second event (the effect), where the second event is understood as a consequence of the first.

There's also Causation Wiki page

From God and the Laws of Science: The Law of Causality

  “the principle that nothing can happen without being caused” (“Causality,” 2009).
  “the principle that everything has a cause” (“Causality,” 2008).

and The Principle of Causality

  Nowhere in the world can there be any phenomena that do not give rise to certain consequences and have not been caused by other phenomena.

And according to the link you gave, even the room where Deus located is called Cathedral of Causality

Hope those above answer the first question.

For the second question, I guess you refer to the content of the law? As far as I know and understand, it's simply the same as its definition:

  “...nothing can happen without being caused” (“Causality,” 2009).

Hope this helps, and sorry if I'm out of topic or get your question wrongly.


Why did Violet's eyes constrict when Major Gilbert was shot?

It's kinda an anime thing...they make the pupil and sometimes even the iris smaller to show that the character is shocked. In anime the eyes are generally bright and big, so I'd guess the motivation here is that dull eyes with more "white" appear more unusual and sinister, probably.

Examples:


What do the sheep dolls represent in Mayo Chiki?

It's a mascot for the series. Subaru is a butler, and in Japanese, "butler" (shitsuji) and "sheep" (hitsuji) sound the same, making it a play on words. The reason it is bleeding is itself a pun because a sheep bleats.


Why did Aleister create the Science Side?

As of revelations from New Testament 19, yes we now know.

   Aleister's first daughter died after caching Typhoid fever. It wasn't anyone's fault, it was just a stroke of ill fortune. So, Aleister decided to destroy all misfortune - that is, destroy all magic and religion. That would remove all forms of coincidence from the world, and no one would ever be unfortunate again. (Though, as Touma points out, that would mean that no one would ever be lucky again either.)


Why didn't Krillin and Gohan store the Dragon balls in a capsule?

I haven't come across a solid answer yet, but http://dragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Capsule might have an explanation.

In the article, they mention that a capsule can't be stored within another capsule (as "the results were catastrophic") so in that regard it is possible for an object to impact a capsule, at least negatively. I then wonder if storing a Dragon ball would negatively impact it, as Colonel Silver in Dragonball said that the balls were unbreakable (and by unbreakable, perhaps unmodifiable and therefore unable to be stored)

It also mentions that "organic corpses" were stored in capsules, but no sapient creatures. To me, this sounds like no "animal testing" has occurred (possibly because a lot of the universe's inhabitants are talking animals and it would be morally / ethically wrong) but I don't know.

So this may be a partial answer, but it'd be nice to have "official" confirmation of why these things haven't taken place before.


Why is Wolf's Rain so ridiculously expensive?

You're looking at the original run of Wolf's Rain, which is no longer in production, and as such is subject to secondhand supply and demand price increases.

I recommend that you look into the Wolf's Rain - Complete Collection Limited Edition DVD Set released in 2005. This set started at 149.99 and is listed on the related auctions on the link you provided to eBay for $195, a ~25% increase from its original price.


Is there a trope for exotic-sounding names?

Japanese is actually a sound poor language. Unlike English, which can be considered as a sound rich language, Japanese language misses many syllabic sounds like the letter 'l'. There is no specific pronunciation of the letter 'l' from English language in Japanese.

So, the pronunciation for letter 'l' in Japanese is actually eru.

Here is a link to all Japanese sounds possible here.


At what chapter of the manga does the first season of DanMachi conclude?

For the light novel: The first season of DanMachi represents volume 1 to 5 of the light novel. If you want to continue where the anime left off, start with volume 6.

For the manga: The anime ended in volume 8 ch. 34.

In my opinion, reading volume 1 to 5 of the light novel still has value, since not everything in the light novel is covered in the anime. Some parts of the story go deeper in the light novels. As compared with Sword Art Online light novel which is exactly like the anime.


I have no source or anything else to substatiate this, but I assumed it was just nonsense similar to what Nodame would say (from Nodame Cantabile) as an exclamation. It may be that later on we find out what Kuchiki is shouting about, but as of now, there's no indication that "Kabincho" actually means anything.

Also see Logan's comment about his research into the word in English or Japanese.


Does White Zetsu even have any negative emotions?

This question in a way has a mixed answer.
According to the wiki:

White Zetsu was created after Kaguya ate the chakra fruit from the god tree and used her new powers to stop a war by taking the people there and using the Infinite Tsukyomi technique to slowly transform them into White Zetsu.

Most of the White Zetsu that appeared in the war were ones that were created due to Kaguya casting Infinite Tsukuyomi upon the populace. This jutsu enslaves people in their dreams and slowly turns them into the jutsu casters pawns/soldiers (White Zetsu). Naruto would be able to use his sensory abilities to identify whether friend or foe because I don't think White Zetsu can mimic emotions, only looks, chakra structure, etc. There are many other ways to figure out whether friend or foe, as when Sakura tricked fake Neji by saying Tonton, a pig, can use hand signs.
However, not all of the White Zetsu in the war were people created from Infinite Tsukuyomi. Some of them were created by Madara, which were said to be incarnations of his will. Due to this, all the Madara-created Zetsu would feel some sort of hatred to those interfering with project Tsuki no Me (the entire Allied Shinobi Force), thus making Naruto able to sense them. Naruto is also able to track peoples chakra signature using the same ability.
Due to White Zetsu not being able to copy emotions, Naruto's ability would be able to identify them based off how he senses their emotions.


Where did the strawberry pantsu trope originate?

I couldn't find an inital series/time, but I did find something of interest when I was researching.
Strawberries are often associated with cakes, whipped cream and other niceties.
They're usually a symbol for being cute or sweet, so you'll more often see strawberry panties than boxers like Gintoki.
Quote from  a Forum Discussion on the topic of Strawberries:

I did some research and came up with a couple of things, Until 2000 strawberries were considered a delicacy in Japan which at that time they imported about 30,000 tonnes mostly for use in jam. After 2000 inports went up dramatically as Japanese chefs and wives started to expirement with strawberries in various dishes like deserts and salads.
That's the technical reason. I think the reason you see it in so many animes is that they look at the strawberry the way we look at the cherry especially when it comes to sex. Ichigo the girl in the strawberry panties. I bought 2 pair when I saw that. Strawberry Panic, a story of innocent girls in a boarding school filled with sweetness and light.

So for dates, 1980-1985 (the times when Dr. Slump was published) was perhaps a time where it was seldom used and as a symbol of rare delicacy, but from 2000 onwards, it may have become more prevalent in media, changing its image to one of cuteness and perhaps becaming more of a trope.


Did Ash forget that Pikachu can use Volt Tackle?

According to some users in this thread, Ash's Pikachu forgot Volt Tackle to learn Electro Ball, which makes sense, as the series seems to follow the games with Pokemon only knowing 4 moves at a time.

  Because they just had to have him learn a Gen V move. He forgot it so he could learn Electro Ball.

According to the wikia page for Ash's Pikachu, this checks out.

The last instance of Pikachu using Volt Tackle was in BW013 (Minccino - Neat and Tidy!).

  As Pikachu headed forwards he got hit by Pignite's Take Down, followed up by a powerful Heat Crash. Pikachu managed to get up and countered Pignite's Flame Charge with Volt Tackle.

The first instance of Pikachu using Electro Ball is in BW020 (Dancing with the Ducklett Trio!). The synopsis for this episode even states:

  After unintentionally shocking himself with Thunderbolt, because he was stuck in a beach umbrella, Pikachu couldn't use Electric-type attacks. Eventually his anger caused him to learn Electro Ball.

After this point, it appears that Pikachu no longer knows Volt Tackle.


Why are all members of the Kuja tribe born as women?

No explanation is ever given beyond the word "mysteriously" but it isn't as ridiculous as it sounds.

In the real world, environmental factors such as the temperature and diet of the mother during pregnancy can affect the likelihood of a boy or a girl being born. Of course it rarely gets above 55-45 one way or the other, but in the unique environment of Amazon Lily it is possible that the odds of having a baby girl is completely overwhelming, to the point where no boy has ever been born on the island.


How are Chaos;Head, Steins;Gate, and Robotics;Notes connected?

Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate exist in the same ("Science Adventure") universe, but on different world lines.

Chaos;Head happens in Shibuya and the events happen one year before Steins;Gate
Steins;Gate happens in Akihabara
Robotic;Notes happens in Tanegashima Island and the events happen nine years after Steins;Gate

The events of Chaos;Head are consistent with the events of Steins;Gate within the Beta worldline, divergence ratio: 1.130426%. Steins;Gate and Robotics;Note exist on the "Steins;Gate" worldline, divergence ratio: 1.048596%. (Steins;Gate was also originally in the same worldline as Chaos;Head, which changed after Okabe sent the first D-Mail and passed to another worldline.)

There is a mention of "Knight Hart" which is the online persona of Chaos;Head's protagonist Nishijou Takumi, in episode 4 of Steins;Gate. In the Steins;Gate game, it's mentioned that this character was also looking for the IBN 5100 (the non-conical 8-bit version of the game gets more in depth into his motvations).

Kurisu explained the "Time Leap Machine" concept to Okabe using NOZOMI papers from Chaos;Head.

On big TV outdoors, FES's performance can be seen in the Alpha timeline. Giving the right reply to Faris's mail earns the player Ayase's portrait and FES's music, sung by Kanako Itou, which include the Chaos;Head OP, "Find the Blue."

There's a Seira-tan cosplay cameo in Steins;Gate as well:

Robotics;Note connects the two series a bit more by revealing that the "Committee of 300" are the driving force between the major events of all three series.

Nae from Steins;Gate appears as an adult in Robotics;Note. Daru and Kurisu show up on the Twipo network in Robotics;Note as "DaSH". In the VN game, Kurisu uses a tripcode. In the anime, Kurisu posts in @channel under the handle "KURI_KAME" in episode 15 (about 2D and 3D limitations).

   Daru writes the program that eradicates Kimijima Kou from Iru-o.

SERN (and their projects) is also mentioned several times in both Steins;Gate and Robotics;Note


The OST is : Watashi Kara Kimi e
(Season 2 OST)

Here's a link : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr3G4zTyP50


What is Aoi referring to when she says "Comaneci"?

コマネチ is indeed Beat Takeshi's running gag from the 80s.  It is in reference Nadia Comaneci's high-leg cut leotard, hence the V-shape motion.  While the gymnast's pose is straight and beuatiful, Beat Takeshi does his motion with his legs apart, adding to the comical effect. Most people today, especially the younger crowd, might know the gag, but probably do not know the origin of the gag or the gymnast herself.  Also note that the gag is consider a bit vulgar and therefore is not common for women to go.

If you know the nature of Tesasure! Bukatsu mono, you would know that it uses a prerecorded voice track method, where the voices are first recorded, then the anime was created to fit the voices.  Most of the anime is ab lib, in other words the lines of the characters are completely up to the voice actresses, minus a few lines to get the ball rolling.  Karin Ogino, the voice of Aoi, tends to spit out whatever is on her mind without much thought.  She also likes vulgar jokes that are unbecoming of her job as an idol, and he has a tendency to repeat running gags. I doubt much thought was put into this line as well, other then perhaps because it is a bit vulgar.

Unfortunately I do not have that season's BD, so I can't check the commentary so see if it brings any new information to the table (Though the other season's commentaries weren't very "informative" either).

Comaneci (gag) reference.


Why didn't Akame die when she cut herself with Murasame?

It indeed is very confusing.

In episode 4 of the anime, Akame tells this to Tatsumi in the alley:

  Maintaining it is nerve-raking

referring to her sword. She continues and says

  If you accidentally cut your finger, you die instantly

Keeping the above in mind, I think there are three possibilities:

She was not aware of the hidden power of the sword at that moment (in episode 4) and later on found that she can cut herself to get the cursed power for a short period. This behavior of an imperials arm has been seen at other places too, where Esdeath did not initially know that she can stop time, but she learned that after Tatsumi escaped her.
She knew that if she cuts herself with her sword, she would get the cursed powers, but at that moment in episode 4, she wanted to signify that even an invincible looking imperial arms can have weaknesses.
The last possibility is that the hidden ability of the sword cannot be simply invoked. So when she actually does not want to use the hidden ability and she gets cut by the sword, she might die.

Furthermore, in the last episode, while using the hidden ability, Akame thinks

  Even if this consumes me

which indicates that prolonged/over use of the ability might lead the user to get consumed by the curse itself.

In any of three scenarios, I think the anime overall was really nice and it just left some open ended questions to the imagination of the viewers.


Are the garbled up text in Log Horizon Season 2 Episode 9 meaningful or simply garbage?

Yes, the garbled up text is the result of mojibake, where the original text in Japanese, encoded in Shift-JIS encoding, is decoded by Windows-1256 encoding.

If you ever open up a Japanese web page or text file encoded in Shift-JIS encoding (2-byte character set) under some Western encoding in Windows (1-byte character set), you will see high frequency of ƒ paired up with some other character in the resulting view. Since I observe that there are Arabic characters in the image, I used one of my existing text file which is encoded in Shift-JIS and tried opening it with Arabic (Windows) encoding in the browser, and I found out that Arabic (Windows) or Western encoding has the same mapping for ƒ and Œ (which is another common character in the garbled up text).

After comparing to the properly rendered location status window and some guesswork, I managed to decode the garbled up text into proper Japanese text (the brackets 〈 and 〉 are added for clarity and not decoded from garbled up text):

〈サーバー〉
月サーバー
〈ゾーン〉
月サーバー
〈区分〉
個別ゾーン/モンスター出現なし
〈その他〉
戦闘行為可能区域
　全特技使用可能
　進入許可/制限あり
　退出許可/制限あり

Translation:

<Server>
Moon Server
<Zone>
Moon Server
<Classification>
Isolated zone/No monster
<Other>
PVP allowed
Special skills allowed
Entry restriction/Restricted
Exit restriction/Restricted

Appendix

To cross-check the result, you can use the following piece of Python 3 code:

garbled = 'ƒTپ[ƒoپ[\nŒژƒTپ[ƒoپ[\nƒ]پ[ƒ“\nŒژƒTپ[ƒoپ[\n‹و•ھ\nŒآ•تƒ]پ[ƒ“/ƒ‚ƒ“ƒXƒ^پ[ڈoŒ»‚ب‚µ\n‚»‚ج‘¼\nگي“¬چsˆ×‰آ”\\‹وˆو\nپ@‘S“ء‹Zژg—p‰آ”\\\nپ@گi“ü‹–‰آ/گ§Œہ‚\xa0‚è\nپ@‘قڈo‹–‰آ/گ§Œہ‚\xa0‚è'
print(garbled.encode('Windows-1256').decode('Shift-JIS'))

Below is the view-only source1 of the mojibake for comparison with the image:

1 The text below contains U+200E Left-to-Right Mark to prevent Arabic characters from rendering right-to-left and changing their shapes based on their position. Another problem that prevents straight copying is due to the presence of U+00A0 No-Break Space, which is converted to space when copied from browser.

ƒTپ[ƒoپ[
ŒژƒTپ[ƒoپ[
ƒ]پ[ƒ“
ŒژƒTپ[ƒoپ[
‹و•ھ
Œآ•تƒ]پ[ƒ“/ƒ‚ƒ“ƒXƒ^پ[ڈoŒ»‚ب‚µ
‚»‚ج‘¼
گي“¬چsˆ×‰آ”\‹وˆو
پ@‘S“ء‹Zژg—p‰آ”\
پ@گi“ü‹–‰آ/گ§Œہ‚ ‚è
پ@‘قڈo‹–‰آ/گ§Œہ‚ ‚è


It was originally shown in the book Naruto Exhibition Official Guestbook New Style: Scroll of Wind (or Fū no Sho for short), which was given to the guests who attended a Naruto exhibition held in Japan on April 25, 2015.

Fū no Sho:

It was then adapted into an anime episode (ep. 469), which you can watch here.

By the way, this is how he looks like:


What do "sama" and "kun" mean? Are they related to the shinobi rank?

Both terms are Japanese honorifics.

Sama (様) is the formal version of "san", used for persons in higher positions (inferiors to superiors). On the other hand, kun (君) is informal and mostly used for males, such as boys or juniors. It is used by superiors to inferiors, by males of the same age and status to each other. In schools, teachers address male students as "kun" while girls as "san" or "chan".

As for anime Naruto, Yamato called Kakashi as Kakashi-sama simply because of respect for the higher position. Kakashi is a lot experienced than him. Meanwhile, Hinata called Naruto with "kun" as an informal honorific for a boy with the same age, that applies too for kun.


Meaning of the symbols used in Milky Way?

They aren't just symbols for decoration, but actual words. You can see how Wendy said she had made a mistake while writing a certain word, thinking it was an offensive spell at first. Since Milky way isn't your average spell, it looks like you need a very specific magic circle to use it. I couldn't find what language they were written in though.


What happens when a Marine or Pirate goes after a bounty

We haven't yet seen the details of a bounty being collected, but it seems incredibly unlikely that the marines would pay a pirate the bounty for defeating or capturing another pirate, as all pirates are by definition wanted criminals who are to be arrested on recognition, as in the world of One Piece, merely flying a black flag and declaring yourself a pirate is a crime. This seems backed up by when Blackbeard captured Jewellery Bonney and tried to exchange her with the world government, they responded by sending a warship with an angry Akainu on board.

It also seems unlikely that they would give the bounties to marines who are carrying out their duties, and would have different rewards in place, but it is perfectly possible that marines can and do earn bounty rewards.

The main groups that seem eligible to receive bounties seem to be:

Bounty Hunters
Mercenaries
Armies and soldiers who report to a single nation instead of the world government
Assassins
Warlords

Obviously for the average concerned citizen in One Piece, capturing or defeating someone with a large bounty is impossible, as bounties tend to be at least somewhat correlated with strength. A notable exception is a young Nico Robin, who had a large bounty long before she had any significant combat strength, so was always on the run and fearing being turned in.

Anyone not considered a criminal who has the luck/power to capture or kill a bounty holder while not working for the world government seems to be guaranteed the bounty, so almost anyone except for marines, revolutionaries, pirates and other criminals.


Why does Trish's Stand have a personality of her own?

These are known as Sentient Stands:

  Although most Stands do not show any personality or simple hints of it, there are Stands who display a full-fledged consciousness separate from their Users. These Stands are able to think, analyze their environment, and converse with their Users, offering advice or commenting on their actions. Their personalities are diverse, but most sentient Stands follow the command of their Users regardless and act to protect them.

Some other Sentient stands from Part 5 include Sex Pistols and Baby Face.  All of the individual bullets have unique personalities of their own, likewise with Baby Face.


If you see episode 9 between 9:54 - 10:03, Kurahashi Miyo says, "Take this. It is the Tsuchimikado family familiar, Yukikaze. Nastsume's father sent it".

This explain why Yukikaze did not vanish

   but Hokuto vanishes after death of Natsume.

Here is the gif:


What classical pieces of music were adapted for the soundtrack of G-senjou no Maou?

I managed to get a hold of a copy of the tracklist from the OST. The soundtrack has 76 songs on it. This includes the 67 songs which appear in "Sound Mode" in the visual novel as well as several others. I have made no attempt to distinguish which of these are present in the visual novel and which were added. The OST track titles are in romaji, but the original inspiration pieces are listed in English.

A few of the pieces are original, namely Answer, Sayounara, Close Your Eyes, and Yuki no Hane Toki no Kaze. There are a few more pieces based on these, but everything else is based on some preexisting piece. A couple of the tracks would be better characterized as arrangements rather than adaptations. Valkyrie no Kikou, Wa ga Haha no Oshietamaishi Uta, and the various versions of G-Senjou no Aria fall into this category, but I have made no attempt to locate all such cases.

Disc 1

G-Senjou no Aria #1 [J.S. Bach - Aria on the G-String]
Aizou no Nare no Hate [Katakiri Rekka - Answer]
Katakiri Rekka – Answer
Uraraka [E. Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite No. 1/Morning Mood]
Asa no Aisatsu [J. Pachelbel - Canon in D]
Hiru no Asobi [L. Beethoven - Symphony No. 9/Ode to Joy]
Ima, Saikou ka [J. Offenbach - Orpheus in the Underworld]
Sora no Seki [E. Satie - First Gymnopedie]
Byakuya [C. Debussy - Suite Bergamesque/Clair de lune]
Byakuya no Mae [C. Debussy - Suite Bergamesque/Clair de lune]
Hansuberi [A. Khachaturian - Gayane/Sabre Dance]
Giwaku [F. Chopin - The Revolutionary Etude]
Ginen [F. Chopin - The Revolutionary Etude]
Gimon [F. Chopin - The Revolutionary Etude]
Shinjitsu [F. Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto/1st Movement]
Shinjitsu no Ato [F. Mendelssohn - Violin Concerto/1st Movement]
Houyou [G. Handel - Rinaldo/Lascia ch'io pianga]
Tousou [M. Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition/Promenade]
Tousou no Tsudzuki [M. Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition/Promenade]
Satori [M. Mussorgsky - Pictures at an Exhibition/Promenade]
Ai [L. Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 8 Pathetique/2nd Movement]
Sayounara
Saikai no Hi [A. Dvorak - Humoresque No.7]
Yasuragi no Yoru [J. Brahms - Violin Concerto in D/3rd Movement]
Taiketsu [R. Wagner - The Valkyrie]
Otoko no Hanamichi [Katakiri Rekka - Answer]
Aishita Onna [Katakiri Rekka - Answer]
Michi ha Hyouga Nari [Katakiri Rekka - Answer]
G-Senjou no Aria #2 [J.S. Bach - Aria on the G-String]

Disc 2

Wa ga Haha no Oshietamaishi Uta [A. Dvorak - Songs My Mother Taught Me]
Hitomi wo Tojite #1 [Ayane - Close Your Eyes]
Ayane - Close Your Eyes
G-Senjou no Aria #3 [J.S. Bach - Aria on the G-String]
Yuki #1 [J. Newton - Amazing Grace]
Yuki #2 [J. Newton - Amazing Grace]
Yuki #3 [J. Newton - Amazing Grace]
Kyoukou [J. S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D minor]
Kachiku no Mure [J. S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D minor]
Shinigami [J. S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D minor]
Kage no Sasoi [F. Schubert - The Erlking]
Yami no Tsukai [F. Schubert - The Erlking]
Fushoku [C. Saint-Saens - The Carnival of the Animals/Aquarium]
Rakujitsu [F. Schubert - The Erlking]
Nigeba Nashi [L. Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 23 Appassionata/3rd Movement]
The Devil [F. Schubert - The Erlking]
The Devil #2 [F. Schubert - The Erlking]
Wa ga Haha ha Kakukatarishi [J. Pachelbel - Canon in D]
Hitomi wo Tojite #2 [Ayane - Close Your Eyes]
Hitomi wo Tojite #3 [Ayane - Close Your Eyes]
G-Senjou no Aria #4 [J.S. Bach - Aria on the G-String]

Disc 3

G-Senjou no Aria #5 [J.S. Bach - Aria on the G-String]
Kyoushuu [L. Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14 Moonlight Sonata/3rd Movement]
Kousaku [J.S. Bach - Little Fugue in G Minor BWV 578]
Deochi [P. Tchaikovsky - The Nutcracker/Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy]
Hitoyasumi [S. Joplin - The Entertainer]
Tsuikyuu [C. Saint-Saens - The Carnival of the Animals/Those With Long Ears]
Shundou [E. Grieg - Peer Gynt Suite No. 1/In the Hall of the Mountain King]
Shinsou [C. Saint-Saens - The Carnival of the Animals/Hens and Roosters]
Asai Gonzou [P. Tchaikovsky - Marche Slave]
Chijou ni Arawareshi Jigoku [C. Orff - Carmina Burana/O Fortuna]
Jigoku no Tsudzuki [C. Orff - Carmina Burana/O Fortuna]
Yamiyo Kouro [C. Orff - Carmina Burana/O Fortuna]
Shiyuu [L. Beethoven - Fur Elise]
Kecchaku [L. Beethoven - Fur Elise]
Valkyrie no Kikou [R. Wagner - The Valkyrie]
Picaresque [G. Bizet - The Girl From Arles]
G-Senjou no Aria #6 [J.S. Bach - Aria on the G-String]
Barbarian on the Groove feat. Chata - Yuki no Hane Toki no Kaze
Kyoufu [J. S. Bach - Toccata and Fugue in D minor]
Dark [F. Schubert - The Erlking]
Maou 3 [F. Schubert - The Erlking]
Ko-Fugue [J.S. Bach - Little Fugue in G Minor BWV 578]
Gnossienne [E. Satie - Gnossiene No.1]
Gekkou #1 ~3rd Movement [L. Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14 Moonlight Sonata/3rd Movement]
Gekkou #2 ~3rd Movement [L. Beethoven - Piano Sonata No. 14 Moonlight Sonata/3rd Movement]
G-Senjou no Aria #7 [J.S. Bach - Aria on the G-String]


If heroes cannot die because of the fairies' protection, how did Minowa Gin die?

In Gin's era, the Hero System wasn't fully developed yet. The girls didn't have fairies to protect them, so they could and often did get hurt. They also didn't have the sealing ritual or Mankai at first either, so in the early battles they had no way to kill a vertex; the best possible outcome was to drive it off without any of them sustaining any serious injuries, but they weren't always that lucky. Gin died protecting the other two girls after they had both been injured in a battle, but for the full story (which is both heroic and sad) you really should read the light novel - it's a good book, and answers several questions that were left open by the anime. All of the chapters have been fan-translated into English and posted online.


Who are the characters on the girls' planes in Shirobako?

Ema's is one of the characters from their Seven Lucky Battle Gods anime.

I'm not sure about the one for Midori, but it might be the guy behind her in the red armour.


What happens to a tailed beast if it's Jinkiurichi is killed?

If the Jinchuriki is killed then the chakra of the tailed beast disperses and after a while reforms somewhere else.


How does Myouga Unzen's "Math Language" work?

I can't comment, but it's not the words that are being used, because in the English dub, both "I'll have to attack again!" and "Here's one more!" come from "21487214". Therefore it might have something to do with the intent of the words being said as both phrases have an aggressive intent.


In episode 2

  His butler, Strongest

Several characters are portrayed in the pool room and in the tea room in the scene after.

One of these characters a Chinese male named Lau is responsible for oversight of the drug trafficking that occurs in London.

Ciel being the Earl of Phantomhive, received a mission from the queen to eliminate a rat who had been messing with Lau's business.

Lau gave Ciel the key who baited out his kidnapping and flushed out the rat. Which is why the main focus in the point of this episode was that Ciel likes to play games. He could have had Lau or Sebastian handle it but he would rather throw himself right in the middle a precarious situation for entertainment.


Bibidi did not seal Buu right away. When Kid Buu absorbed Grand Supreme Kai, Buu's personality and behaviour pattern changes. Along with the ability to speak, he brings out a childish innocence. Bibidi took advantage of this innocence and brought Buu under his control.

From Wikia article on Bibidi:

  However, as Buu tends to become disobedient from time to time, Bibidi devises a Sealed Ball that can be used to temporarily trap the monster. Bibidi decides to reward Buu with sweets when he behaves himself and reseal him in the Magic Ball when he becomes disobedient. Bibidi also uses the Ball to control Buu while he is traveling to another world.

Since Grand Supreme Kai didn't completely take over Buu's personality, Buu's original evil side sometimes gets the better of him, combined with his childish nature. When that happens, Bibidi seals Majin Buu inside the Magic Ball.

Therefore, most of the time, Buu is easy to control. But when his dark persona along with his childish behaviour shows, he disobeys. Bibidi seals him away only then, and also while travelling.


Whats is the theme from Attack on titan when Erwin talks with the judge?

That's from the track called 'Female Titan Extermination' or 'Megata Kyojin Kuchiku'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Vs2beUh3k8&list=PLpI7ls08WIzjkLd13vWnKSbIhcpPiybOT&index=11


According to the wiki, the process to become a contractor was never revealed, only that there is a link between contractors and the appearance of the Gate.

  Shion Pavlichenko was born as contractor, and Suou became one after she absorbed Hei's powers, and, in the Darker than Black: Shikkoku No Hana manga, a character named Harvest has the ability to make people Contractors, but all other Contractors, such as Tanya, have become what they are via unknown means. In Kuro no Keiyakusha Gaiden it is revealed that Contractors are defects that emerge when humans are unable to become Dolls.

So it looks like there's any number of ways to become a contractor. Some are born with the powers, and it's also possible to obtain the power via someone like Harvest.


Since which chapter has Yamato changed sides?

Not sure of the exact chapter, but Yamato was captured when Yamato, Aoba, and Motoi go outside to investigate during Naruto's training. They come across Kabuto as he is captured by Kurotsuchi. Yamato creates a wooden beam that Aoba can walk on to approach Kabuto and read his mind like he did with Kisame, but Kabuto sheds his body to free himself. He goes after Yamato and, before being captured, Yamato pushes Motoi out of the way.

Kabuto escapes to the Mountains' Graveyard where he and Tobi gather information from Yamato about the Allied Shinobi Forces. Kabuto also studies Hashirama's DNA within Yamato to strengthen the White Zetsu Army. Rather than kill Yamato when he has fulfiled his usefulness, they suspend him opposite Hashirama's clone for future use.

There are no given details of when Yamato changed his side, so I would assume he was forced to serve Kabuto/Madara/Obito/Zetsu while he was captured.


Has there recently been a trending popularity with scissors as weapons over swords?

Not necessarily a trend, perhaps, but it's worth noting that there's more than enough anime with swords (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/KatanasAreJustBetter), even guns, that when a unique, less-frequent choice of weaponry comes around, it may catch the attention of a frequent anime viewer.

Example: Would Bakemonogatari episode 1 would have been more interesting if Senjougahara used a sword instead of a stapler? Probably not, unless you had some philia regarding swords.


Where can I watch all the Kamisama Kiss episodes, including the OVAs, in either english sub or dub?

Kamisama Kiss has been licensed for streaming by Funimation Entertainment.

Hulu streams 25 episodes (season 1 & 2) in English dubbed and English subbed with Japanese audio.
Funimation Channel (US only) streams 25 episodes (season 1 & 2) in English dubbed and English subbed with Japanese audio.

The OVAs do not seem to be licensed, so there is no way to watch it in English sub/dub legally.


If the government wants to hide what happened during the void history why won't they just destroy the Poneglyph stone instead?

According to wikia, Poneglyph is indestructible.

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

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


Is Migatte no Gokui the same ability of moving without thinking, as Whis explained to Goku and Vegeta when training them?

Yes, it is the same thing as explained here.

For Whis it is not a transformation, so there is no change in his appearance. Goku obtained this 'Ultra Instinct' for a short while in the episode.


Need help identifying this manga- large guy helps out schoolgirl

The title you're looking for is probably Ore Monogatari. Your description of the story is quite close to the synopsis of the manga, with both the big guy premise and the popular friend.

From MyAnimeList

  Tsuyoshi Takeo is a freshman in high school. (Both estimates) Weight: 120kg, Height: 2 meters. He spends his days peacefully with his super-popular-with-girls, yet insensitive childhood friend, Sunagawa. One morning, on the train to school, Takeo saves a girl, Yamato, from being molested by a pervert. Could this be the beginning of spring for Takeo?

References

MAL
Wikipedia


Why is K9999 almost identical to Tetsuo Shima?

Wikipedia says

  and K9999 (pronounced K Four-Nine), a clone from Kyo entirely based on Tetsuo Shima from Akira, able to transform his arm into a long tentacle like Tetsuo's. Due to copyright issues, for the King of Fighters 2002 remake he was replaced with a similar character.

but gives no sources.


Chapters 501-502 never give or imply any particular reason for why exactly Tobi/Obito would attack the village at that time. Certainly, the smartest strategic choice would have been to simply extract Kurama from Kushina and immediately run for it as far and fast as they could.

The most straightforward reason is simply: rage. The Uchiha are famous for their fury, once their blood starts boiling, and it may be he simply saw red so went on a rampage with the most devastating weapon he had on hand. Remember that he had just been to Rin's grave and seen Kakashi there, reviving all those old, tormented memories, and from there had to immediately battle Minato. Minato was probably the most powerful and wily opponent he'd ever faced until that point, so battling him must have been frustrating. The combination of these events in such quick succession: boom!


Orochimaru prior to he 4th Shinbo War

If you are referring to Orochimaru before the war he was unable to use ninjutsu. Hiruzen used the reaper death seal to take the part of Orochimarus soul that contained his arms.

Orochimaru during the 4th Shinobi War: This answer contains spoilers.

   Orochimaru regains the use of his arms after he summons the shinigami ?>! and cuts open its stomach releasing the trapped part of his soul.
 "Orochimaru proceeded to don the mask which invoked the Shinigami to
  possess his body. Orochimaru then proceeded to cut open the
  Shinigami's stomach, a wound reflected on his own body, to release the
  trapped contents inside the Shinigami."
 "With his arms restored as well."
 Also before the Shinigami was able to trap Orochimarus soul he switched places with a white Zetsu allowing him to escape.
 "To escape death, Orochimaru transferred his being in the White Zetsu Suigetsu was holding down"


How many weeks are there in a One Piece year?

I'm going to go out on a limb, and suggest that "once a week" is not precise. Most people would find it more convenient than "once every 7.6 days" or worse "every 1.1 weeks".

While it would be interesting to have complicated shenanigans, and I have no definitive proof that there aren't any, I think it's more just quick communication.


What is the name of this anime with nekomimi?

This isn't from an anime. It's original art by this Pixiv user (warning, may be a bit NSFW) for her FC2 blog (also maybe not safe for work).

The characters in the image are:

Hayami Shizuku (white hair, green eyes)
Hutaba Akane (blonde hair, red eyes)
Hutaba Aoi (blonde hair, blue eyes)
Neko (brown hair)


Has a bankai ever been silently activated?

Yes, it has.

After re-reading the manga, this happens twice. Once when Ichigo fights Ulquiorra for the first time in Las Noches

And again in his fight against Grimmjow


What does the code message Jiraiya wrote on Fukasaku's back mean?

Answering this question would spoil a key turning point in the anime for you, it makes more sense and would be way more thrilling if you watched the episodes of that arc all the way through.

But if you really, REALLY want to spoil it.
Hover the spoil tag below.... You have been warned!

   The numbers are a code, a code meant only for Naruto to decipher as he is the person closest to him. It's a cipher based off of his book series that he's been working on that gives some critical insight on how Pain works. In his last dying moments he fought like a true shinobi and ensured his enemies demise. The full message reads "The real one's not among them". And to resolve this conflict Naruto must train under the Toads and master sage mode.

Related link:

http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Decryption
http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Thread:188892


What is the proper pluralization of "anime" and "manga"?

As far as the "English" language is concerned, from the Wiktionary entry about "anime":

Noun: anime (countable and uncountable; plural anime or (proscribed) animes)

(uncountable) An artistic style heavily used in, and associated with, Japanese animation, and that has also been adopted by a comparatively low number of animated works from other countries

  I can draw an anime version of you, if you want.

(countable) An animated work originated in Japan, regardless of the artistic style.

2005, Peter J. Katzenstein, A World of Regions, page 165,

  After three months of successful sales in manga form, it was made into an anime for television.

2005, Joan D. Vinge, in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Eighteenth Annual Collection, page cix,

  Usually the manga comes first, though it may be an offshoot of a novel, and an anime may be inspired by a video game.

2006, Thomas LaMarre, in Japan After Japan (Tomiko Yoda & Harry D. Harootunian, eds.), page 363,

  These anime prepared the way for Otaku no video, a two-part Original Video Animation (OVA).

(rare, countable, chiefly proscribed) An animated work in anime style, regardless of the country of origin.

Likewise, from the Wiktionary entry about "manga", it's handled a bit differently:

Noun: manga (countable and uncountable; plural manga or mangas)

(uncountable) An artistic style heavily used in, and associated with, Japanese comics, and that has also been adopted by a comparatively low number of comics from other countries.
(countable) A comic originating in Japan, regardless of the artistic style.
(rare, countable, chiefly proscribed by fandom slang) A comic in manga style, regardless of the country of origin.

  Lately I've been reading a Brazilian manga.

(Note that 2 of the examples from the countable plural of "anime" also apply to "manga")

So in the case of anime, the non-proscribed (or exclusionary) plural is unchanged, but the rarer proscribed plural can be used with an "s". The case with manga seems to be either way as far as Wiktionary is concerned.

The Collins Dictionary, the New World Dictionary,
Oxford Dictionary all say that manga is also the plural form. Horever, the Macmillan Dictionary says that mangas is the plural form (need to click on "Word Forms").

If you're using it as a Japanese borrowed word (either "manga" or "anime"), it isn't incorrect to use the same form as singular and plural, like the Japanese words themselves.


The dreaded TV Tropes has some pretty good notes on Japanese dialects.  The use of ora instead of ore and being used by women in particular is an element of the Tohoku dialect.  It also compares the dialect to US English 'hillbilly' accents, which matches with the subtitling.

It does not list the use of de gasu in place of desu, but the notes are hardly comprehensive.  Or it could be a personal thing for Mio5.


Is it possible for someone to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan before they even awaken the Sharingan?

To be honest, I believe the death of the whole clan (especially the death of someone's parents by one of their own siblings - Itachi) is more traumatic than anything and when Sasuke with all those emotions could never achieve it in such a long time, I am sure it can not be achieved without achieving the basic Sharingan levels.

And most importantly, you can not simply do a maths questions without knowing the basics... So basics, i.e Sharingan must be present before the awakening of Mangekyou :)

That is simply what I believe, what is in the minds of Masashi, we don't know :P


After the events of Golden Wind, did Polnareff's soul stay in Coco Jumbo's body?

We don't know. He was never mentioned again in any media (at least in the 'main' universe, and not in the SBR universe, as I have not read part 7-8.)


Is Tanjiro using the fire god's breath dance and Nezuko using his ability a deus ex machine? Does it have foreshadow?

It could be considered a Deus ex machina. To quote from its definition:

...a plot device whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem in a story is suddenly and abruptly resolved by an unexpected and unlikely occurrence.

The 'unsolvable problem' here would be the fight between Rui and Tanjiro since the latter was on the verge of losing to the former's seemingly overwhelming strength. Tanjiro then discovers a new skill using a different breathing technique and while it may not have 'abruptly resolved' the problem, it was 'unexpected and unlikely' since he was only shown to use Water breathing techniques and it was enough to buy time for reinforcements to arrive, as seen in Episode 20.
But was this an error? I don't think so. This event was meant as the beginning to unraveling of Tanjiro's past. Personally, I think it was a good way since it makes you curious about the background of Tanjiro's family, whether they were really just a family who makes charcoal or was there something more since his father seems to know breathing techniques. Was there foreshadowing before this? None. Rather, this is the foreshadowing to something later on in the storyline. All the unanswered questions from this part will eventually be answered later on as the story progresses. You can read the manga or wait for the anime to adapt everything.


What are the special advantages of a ruler-type servant over any other type of servant in Fate Apocrypha?

One of their primary abilities is the ability to know a Servant's True Name and all their skills. in Holy Grail Wars like the Fuyuki, Trifas and Moon Cell ones were knowing a Servants identity allows a Master a greater advantage in knowing their weaknesses, there are limits to this skill which are shown with both Jeanne and Amakusa

True Name Discernment (B Rank): When summoned as a Ruler, status information such as the true identity, Skill and Parameters is automatically revealed when she directly encounters a Servant. However Servants with hiding capacity depend on her luck level to bypass this.

Source: Jeanne d'Arc (Ruler) > Abilities > Class Skills

True Name Discernment (B Rank): As a Ruler class, he gains this skill. Status information such as the true identity, Skill and Parameters is automatically revealed when he directly encounters Servant. There are certain limits, Servants with hiding capacity such as Saber of Red's Noble Phantasm Secret of Pedigree can mask out her identity, however it depends on his luck level to bypass this.

Source: Amakusa Shirou Tokisada (Ruler) > Abilities > Class Skills
as mentioned with both Mordred's Helmet, "Secret of Pedigree" hides her identity from them and requires a Luck check which Jeanne's being Rank C and Amakusa's being Rank B. it's possible that B+ to EX might be able to negate Mordred's Nobel Phantasm however quick skimming the Grand Order Rulers none of them have True Name Discernment.
Rulers also have the God's Resolution Skill which allows them to have Command Spells. Jeanne's being Rank A allows her 2 Command Spells per Servant and can not repurpose used ones. also she can not affect Heroic Spirits if they have given up their existence as a Servant but remained in the world

When the nameless vampire previously known as Lancer of Black and Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia abandoned his existence as a Servant, this skill was no longer able to restrain him.

Amakusa did have this skill in the past but it is unranked because he has lost it with his Command Spells being his own as being a Master and the ones that were given to him by the other Masters of Red, very likely acting in a similar manner to a supervisor from the church like Risei Kotomine
Finally Rulers also have a high Magic Resistance which is always a very desired skill in the Holy Grail Wars with normally Sabers having the highest rank. Amakusa's is at the equivalent to a string Saber's while Jeanne's is the highest rank, yet Sacraments like from the church are not affected. we can probably take Amakusa's Rank A as being the base as generally Saints are what qualify to be Rulers but Amakusa was an aberration due to Einzbern Cheating while with Jeanne it's probably boosted to EX because of who she is

In addition to the Magic Resistance of the Saber Class, she demonstrates a high anti-magic from her unwavering piety.

In addition to their class Skills, Rulers are supposed to be neutral during a conflict with Amakusa probably not being neutral due to how he was summoned as the Grail generally summons a Ruler, not a Master. they are also supposed to make sure Heroic Spirits follow the laws placed upon them. ie "the dead not leading the living"

A Ruler is also summoned to preserve the laws of Heroic Spirits to ensure they won't be violated, such as the law of "the dead not leading the living", touted as the greatest law of Heroic Spirits, and to maintain human history by preserving the illusion behind the Age of Gods so that people do not know about the truth behind it.

Source: Ruler (Second Paragraph)
while it was release much earlier, a probable reason why no Ruler is summoned to stop Gilgamesh or Angra Mainyu in Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night is probably due to the damage caused to the Greater Grail and the system thanks to the Einzbern summoning Angra Mainyu who contaminated the Greater Grail since the 3rd war.

i will add that the wiki lists Karl der Große as having God's Resolution and True Name Discernment however his wiki page only lists their ranks and not what they effects are and not having played Fate/Extella yet i don't have first hand knowledge what their effects are, however they are at a lower level so we can assume they are not as powerful
Also as stated by Swimsuit Martha who is a Grand Order Ruler, the Grand Order has altered the Ruler Class

“It is expected that I have it, but… seeing that it is not a Holy Grail War, what I know is that even the role of a Ruler has come to be altered in due course, do you not think so?”

this would explain why when you look at the Rulers listed as being in Fate/Grand Order none of them seem to have God's Resolution and True Name Discernment


Waiting in the Summer and Onegai Sensei seem to plagiarise each other. Is this normal in anime/manga?

These two anime are made by the same people. Yousuke Kuroda, story writer of Onegai Sensee, collaborated with the character creator of the Onegai franchise, Taraku Uon, to bring us Ano Natsu de Matteru [1][2].

I would say that what you're experiencing is the many tropescaution! that are in common between these anime. Since these anime share a creator this is significantly magnified. There are many common tropes and themes that are shared between stories as they are the building blocks of making an interesting plot and storyline.

When watching anime I often can pick up when a show is going to be similar to another show, even early on.  That is because another way to think of these tropes is as a sort of template that the creator can use to layout basic plot elements and then fill in the rest of the storyline with their original ideas.  Depending on how well they are able to add their own twist to this template determines how much of a copy it will feel like. Your question asks if this is common in anime or manga, but this isn't just restricted to anime. These ideas apply to broadcasting and entertainment in general, look at all those generic reality TV shows that are popular among baby boomers. If something is popular, they reuse it.  Then, when someone innovates and creates something people truly love, it too will be copied.

While it may seem like déjà vu in such a closely related example like Ano Natsu de Matteru and Onegai Sensee, in my experience shows this similar are very rare.  Perhaps, these two shows are the best possible paradigm for your question.


Where do the ethics of Shonen anime come from?

Anime is very derivative. But with each new iteration things change a little. Some masterpiece comes along to redefine the genre and then everyone else derives from the latest masterpiece.
The shounen genre is like that. So to answer your question, we have to trace the genealogy back to the roots.
Let's start with some shounen anime that's relatively new: Boku no Hero Academia (2016). It's about someone without a superpower in a world where some people have superpowers and his journey to become the best hero or whatever.
It's clearly a derivation of that one anime about a somewhat talentless boy attending a school with other kids who all have superpowers, while dreaming of becoming respected by everyone from 2002 called Naruto. This older anime also has the aspect of the hero wanting to follow in his fathers footsteps of becoming the village head. Not to mention everyone is a ninja and the guy is somewhat of a simpleton.
Which in turn is a derivation of that anime about this kid from some remote village setting out to follow in his fathers footsteps by attending an exam in the middle of nowhere to officially get the same job his father has. Afterwards he also gets powers related to martial arts. I'm of course talking about Hunter x Hunter (1999).
Or I guess the Naruto manga (1997 as a pilot) predates the Hunter x Hunter one (1998). So let's take another step back.
Remember that anime about the boy with a special constitution that is kind of an idiot, but really strong and sets out on an adventure but first makes a stop to learn martial arts and then only gets stronger and stronger? I mean Dragon Ball (1986).
Other than ripping off the ancient Chinese story Journey to the West from the 16th century it also was inspired by some anime. And since Journey to the West didn't feature the desire of self-improvement within the protagonist, only the idiot-protagonist part, we are getting closer.
Our next stop is that one anime about this delinquent guy who scams people, but got caught by the police and is thrown into a juvenile prison, where he learns how to beat everyone up using techniques from a sport that he should become very proficient in. Getting better in this sport isn't necessarily the driving force behind the story, it's more about life in general, but it's an important part nevertheless. The sport I'm talking about is boxing and the anime is called Ashita no Joe (1970).
Now we're still not at our destination, since Ashita no Joe was just a derivation in itself and like with Hunter x Hunter and Naruto, Ashita no Joe wasn't the only contender. Otoko Ippiki Gaki Daishou (1969) was very similar, just without the sports aspect of the story.
If you go further back it's mostly baseball manga and after that manga didn't even exist. Here's where my expertise on the topic begins to thin out.
But it's enough to answer your question. The strive to get better and better originated from sports manga and anime. Baseball turned into boxing with Ashita no Joe and later into martial arts with Dragon Ball. After deriving Dragon Ball the sports aspect was fully removed and substituted with general fighting, maybe throwing in a tournament again, like in Yuu Yuu Hakusho (1992). But the spirit of having the protagonist not give up and become stronger was kept over all these decades.


Is this Ghost in the Shell Volume complete?

If you're referring to the manga by Masamune Shirow, there are 3 volumes the first volume was initially published by Dark Horse in the US. Currently all 2 volumes of the main series and the 1 volume "interquel (Vol. 1.5)" have been republished by Kodansha Comics USA

Volume 1 has:

  Pages: 368 | ISBN: 978-1-935429-01-2

Volume 2 has:

  Pages: 312 | ISBN: 978-1-935429-03-6

Volume 1.5 has:

  Pages: 176 | ISBN: 978-1-935429-96-8

Most of these volumes are also available on Amazon.de (if not you can get them on Amazon .com), if that's more convenient for you.

Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 1.5


Is Eva Mimel from Agarest Generations of War Zero?

Yes and no.

Basically, both Eva and Mimellia (Mimel's true name) have the same backstory and both resemble Varna a great deal.

So far, Agarest 2 has no tie with Agarest 1 and Zero since I believe Agarest 2 is an alternate version.

But you could say Eva is Agarest 2 Mimelia.


Why does Naruto use his mother's family name?

According to the Naruto Wiki:

  Suddenly orphaned, Naruto was left to grow up knowing nothing of his parents, receiving only his mother's last name as Hiruzen believed it was best that nobody knew that he was related to the Fourth Hokage.


From what chapter of the Nisekoi manga should I begin reading to pick up where the anime ends?

There are some differences between the manga and anime. This is some of the chapters that do not appear in the anime:

Chapter 7: Handmade. This chapter tells about Raku and other girls bake a cake together.
Chapter 19: Visiting the Ill. This chapter tells about Raku that got sick and all the girls went to visit him at home.
Chapter 26: Detour. This chapter tells about Tsugumi that got a love letter.
Chapter 40: Liar. This chapter tells about Tsugumi and her lie detector.
Chapter 41: Stray Dog. This chapter tells about Chitoge found a stray dog.

All of those chapter are just filler. You still be able to follow the story without reading it. The anime, however, ends in Chapter 50: Leading Actor.

So, if you want to continue the story from season 1 of the anime, you should read Chapter 51: From Here on Out. But I suggest you also read chapter 50 to get the right feeling.


Well its due to the Sharingan, the sharingan is a direct derivative of the rinnegan which the Sage of Six Paths used to CREATE the 9 beasts, this is For most Uchiha

As for Hashirama, he didnt exactly control the 9 tails, he just put a restriction jutsu on it, restricting its movement, he does have a lot of jutsus, he also does have this beast restriction ability similar to Yamato, but to "Control" is a bit of a stretch


Yes, it's true. The voice actors (Risa Taneda, Minori Chihara, and Yuri Yamaoka) themselves sing "Future Star". I mean, the voice even matches in the song and the voice acting of anime.

If you're still skeptical, refer the source below:

VGMdb - Beyond the Melodies
Wikia -
Kyoukai no Kanata Original Soundtrack "Beyond the Melodies"
Wikia - Yakusoku no Kizuna

Also, I am pretty sure voice actors weren't the one dancing in the live show concert. They were some cosplay artists.


Why does Naruto's clothes not burn after wearing the Kyuubi cloak?

What you're describing are side effects to what's actually happening; exposing oneself to a bijuu's unfiltered chakra doesn't come at a cheap cost to the user.

The jinchuriki forms vary, but in essence, the host is regarded more as an endoskeleton when transforming beyond Version 2 into partial and full tailed beast mode.  A shroud of chakra surrounds the jinchuriki which is in the shape of (or is part of the shape of) the tailed beast within.  From that, it stands to reason that their host is underneath the layers of chakra, quite well-clothed.


What is the meaning behind the changing frame in the Nemuro Memorial Hall elevator?

The progression from butterfly to leaf suggests grasping at the "fundamentals" of something: the butterfly started from a catepillar eating a leaf. However, this idea of progressively digging deeper does not really explain the monologue progression. For instance, with Shiori, the progression is from:

Always hated Juri and wanted to take something away from her. ("Go deeper.")
Juri's kindness looked like she was making fun of Shiori. She thought taking away Juri's purported love interest would change things, but she only felt worse after doing so. Now she knows about the pendant, things are different.
In a good way, Shiori doesn't know what she should do now.
"It's no use. Why do you look at me like that?"

We do not as a general rule get increasingly "deeper" motives as the background image progresses. The main rule that governs how the monologue progresses seems to be:

Before "go deeper", consists of at least an allusion to some fears
After "go deeper", consists on an expansion on the fears and possible explanation of motives.

So while I would not read too much into the stylised elements (which is my general policy with fiction, when the meanings are not obvious), I can say that it at least fits for two reasons:

The butterfly "degrades" into what it is made up of, similar to how we learn what is behind characters' problems.

The progression of the image makes sense because it follows a pattern and isn't blatantly out of place. In a lot of fiction, the exact "meaning" of motifs or stylised elements will never be suggested; the important thing is that they will nonetheless not be out of place.
(To be honest, I think the opposite progression---leaf to butterfly---wouldn't be out of place were all of the segments replaced with that, and if that happened, I would have been able to make something up about how the characters are expanding and developing their motives.)


Why did Sakata Gintoki need to go to the future?

Maybe because of the potential consequences of changing the past, Gintoki may not have met Shinpachi, Kagura and others at all.

Moreover, if you believe in the "parallel world" interpretation of time traveling, it can be said that the past cannot be changed, but only forked into alternative futures.

Thus maybe going to the future is the best choice here.


What does it mean when Kenshin says 'oro'?

From Urban Dictionary:

  A Japanese expression of confusion. Often used by otaku to indicate confusion/disorientation. People who read/watch "Rurouni Kenshin" may pick up the habit of saying "Oro!" because Himura Kenshin says it often in the manga/anime.

From Wikipedia page on Himura Kenshin:

  Nobuhiro Watsuki added Kenshin's trademark "oro" as a placeholder to be an expression of the English speech disfluency "huh". Watsuki notes that he was surprised at how much it caught on, and how much he ended up having Kenshin use the sound during the series

You can watch a few of his Oro moments here  (and see that he usually uses it when he's confused/disoriented).


I believe the Day of Severance is the day Ginko is sent out into the battlefield . Before this, tensions were rising at each side of the Wall - The young bears were brainwashed into thinking fighting in this battle would gain Kumalia's love, And you can see the human's disdain for bears when Kureha is picked on as a child for being a 'bear-lover'.

The Wall of Severance was erected after the battle (hence the Day of Severance) to separate the two worlds.

There seems to be an oversight in the plot in regards to the Door of Friendship and when it was built, which is what I personally found confusing. It appears that the door of friendship was built prior to the day of severance, but only discovered in the midst of the battle. It does seem a little odd how this portal was overlooked for so long if it already existed, and what use it served without the wall in place.

Neither world seems to know much about the portal, it seems to be a only known about by Ginko, Kureha, Reia and Lulu. One theory is it could have been built by Kumalia, another is that it's a plothole.


TL;DR - It's because financially, it pays off for longer, more popular anime series. It allows them to retain broadcasting slot, as well as sponsors and advertisers, by sacrificing a bit of quality.

First, it needs to be pointed out that many anime don't have filler. Filler episodes are only common in long-running popular anime such as One Piece, Naruto, or Bleach. This is because of the particular profit model they have. These long-running shows make a profit through sponsorships and advertisements. In contrast, shorter works, especially late night anime, only make a profit through sales of blu-rays and other merchandise. Hence, for long-running shows, the quality of individual episodes is somewhat less of a concern.

Given that the episodes need to be around 20 minutes long (excluding OP and ED sequences) and air once a week to fit into TV programming schedules, the anime almost always needs to go faster than the manga. Hence, there are essentially 3 options for what to do. Most commonly, they will just add a few irrelevant "filler" episodes occasionally. This does tend to make viewers unhappy if they're too common, but production studios have determined that viewers are less likely to stop watching if fillers air than if the anime just takes a break.

Another option is to take a break whenever the anime gets close to the manga. This is the strategy Gintama takes as well as most late-night anime that are popular enough to be adapted fully (e.g. To Love-Ru). It results in higher quality, but it's harder to keep sponsorships and TV slots when the show airs infrequently, and viewers may drop it during the break. One Piece has done this at times and aired fillers at other times. The third option is to abandon the manga entirely and write an original story. Some works that did this are Fullmetal Alchemist (the original), Hayate no Gotoku (1st season), Hunter x Hunter (original) and Soul Eater. This used to be much more popular, especially in the 1990s, but it makes it more difficult to continue the anime and fans usually aren't happy with the changes, so these days it's become very uncommon. Notice that 3 of these 4 ended up needing to be rebooted or have large retcons to have anime continuations, and the fourth hasn't been despite a large following simply because of the difficulties involved.

So, to put it simply, these long-running shows have filler because that's their best option to keep their TV slots, sponsors, and viewers. It does cost a bit of quality, but that's acceptable for highly popular shows like this where quality is somewhat less of a concern.

As for why they can't just speed up the manga production to accommodate the anime, that wouldn't really be feasible. Manga production is mostly done by a single mangaka with an editor and sometimes one or more assistants, while a single anime episode may have dozens of animators working on it. In the case of popular works, essentially everything that can possibly be is left to the assistants. Apart from splitting up story and artwork, there isn't much that could be done to speed up the process, and few mangaka want to do that (though it has been done in some cases). Furthermore, managaka are already ridiculously overworked; the rate at which manga is produced right now is basically as fast as it can possibly be produced. To get rid of fillers, production would need to be sped up significantly (roughly 50-100% faster for most works), and it's hard to imagine any way to do that.

In addition, it wouldn't really help the manga to be produced faster. Most of these manga are released in weekly magazines which contain a chapter of several works. If production was sped up drastically, this would mean fewer works could be included in a single issue. It's likely that this wouldn't really increase revenue, since these works typically target younger children and adolescents without a large amount of disposable income, but it would drastically increase the production costs per series. Given that the manga and anime are produced by two completely different companies, that relatively few manga ever get adapted to anime, and that the manga is often more profitable than the anime, there's really no reason (and no realistic way) to speed up the manga just for the sake of eliminating anime fillers.


How is it possible for Obito to have his right Sharingan intact?

There's no actual reason given. It was stated that "Madara managed to save his eye".

It was also half-implied that his Mangekyo was awakened for a brief moment and allowed him to slip through the rocks (Madara said something similar to that when Obito awoke for the first time).


Why is Midoriya from My Hero Academia compared with Naruto and called "green Naruto"?

This has to do with the concept of the Big 3. For a little bit of background on what the concept of the big 3 is you can take a look at What phenomenon are at play such that the "Big Four" are limited to four and not a growing list?.

With the ending of Naruto in sight at the time, and the great reception of Boku no Hero Academia (BNHA) at the same time, it became a sort of hand-off. People watching Naruto needed something new, and BNHA offered something similar but with a fresh twist, while it still kept true to the 'shonen' tropes everyone got so used to throughout the big 3 (and Dragon Ball).

This is similar to how the fandom created the picture of Goku handing over his 'success' to the logical new big 3 at the time. The fandom also created the hand-off from Naruto to BNHA, due to the exit of Naruto, and successful entry of BNHA.

As Midoriya thus is replacing Naruto in the mix of the big 3, he is often regarded as the green Naruto.


What OST is played at the beginning of Naruto: Shippuden episode 489 after the OP?

This is Shikamaru's Lazy Cloud theme song. It was never officially released


Why is the series called "Amaama to Inazuma"?

One interpretation of the title can be:

甘々ちゃんといなくなった妻

[稲妻]{いなつま} is basically a play on words for いなくなった妻, more or less "the wife that's no longer there". Implying that someone is widowed.

甘々ちゃん however is a bit more complex.

It can be interpreted as 甘な甘ちゃん. The expression here is a bit multifaceted, so I will try to break it down.

While 甘い does mean sweet, but it has other meaning out side of food. When used to describe a person, it can also mean naive.

Someone who is referred to as an 甘ちゃん can be described as a "soft" or "naive" person. Adding 甘い to describe someone who is an 甘ちゃん reinforces the naive stereotype. The nuiance here is a bit negative,implying that this person is a clueless (naive) idiot.

One can imply that the title refers to Inuzuma-sensei, being a very soft spoken, yet clueless single parent raising a daughter, who not only doesn't know how to cook, but doesn't know to to take care of Tsumugi (in place of his late wife).

You could imply that the alternate meaning to "sweetness and lighting" to be "the naive widow".

However, if you refer to the author's afterword in vol.1 of the manga,

Despite many alternate interpretations of the title, the title is intended to be something warm and fuzzy that appeals to the 5 senses, nothing more than that.


Does the US, UK or Aus Localized DVD/Bluray of My Neighbor Totoro have the bathing scene?

I recently bought the Disney Blu-Ray release of My Neighbor Totoro from 2013, and the bath scene is in it. Here's screenshots:

The Disney release is rated G, which means the MPAA considers it suitable to be watched by anyone. It has both subtitles and a dub starring a young Dakota and Elle Fanning as Satsuki and Mei, and Tim Daly, who is best known in fandom for voicing Superman in the DC Animated Universe, as their father.

When I was about 13, I rented the old Fox Video VHS release with the Streamline dub from Blockbuster Video, and I distinctly remember the bath scene also being in that version. The answer I wrote to the linked question presents evidence that Miyazaki refused to allow edited releases of his work after the travesty that was Warriors of the Wind, which would also have applied to the Streamline release of My Neighbor Totoro as Warriors of the Wind was released in 1985, three years before My Neighbor Totoro came out.

Sounds like someone didn't do their research before they made claims about what had or hadn't been cut from international releases of the movie, and made unfounded assumptions about what was and wasn't acceptable. This reminds me of Kaworu Watashiya's utter cluelessness about just what it was that American publishers found objectionable about Kodomo no Jikan.


Will Haise regain his memories and adopt to his true personality as Kaneki again?

If I skimmed the manga and read the wiki properly, and if the writers and such follow it,

   I believe he will return soon, because he will continue to develop and adopt the title of One-Eyed King. After a bout with Arima and Eto. Then starts his own group called "Goat."


Will the destruction of future Universe 7 affect other timelines in 20 years?

In Dragon Ball, when a person travels in time it creates alternative timelines/ realities. So what Beerus destroyed was an alternative timeline/reality, which has no effect in the current timeline of universe 7 therefore the current timeline wont be destroyed in the future.

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


Do Seiyuu use stage-names for their anime works?

I looked up each of the listed "major" and "popular" male and female seiyuu at Hitoshi Doi's Seiyuu (voice actor) Database (Doi's database has been collecting seiyuu information since 1994 and hit 50,000 entries in 2001).

Although this is not a representative sampling of all seiyuu, out of these 20 individuals recognized as "major" and "popular" by Doi, 4 (or possibly 3) are using a stage name (if 4, that comes out to 20%):

水樹奈々 (Mizuki Nana), who you mentioned, born as 近藤奈々 (Kondo Nana)
[山口勝平 (Yamaguchi Kappei), born as 山口光雄 (Yamaguchi Mitsuo)
優希比呂 (Yuuki Hiro), born as 露崎照久 (Tsuyusaki Teruhisa), debuted in 1988 under the name 結城比呂 (Yuuki Hiro = same pronunciation but different kanji for the surname), changed his surname to 優希 in June, 2007.
堀江由衣 (Horie Yui), born as Horie Yoshiko according to Hitoshi Doi, but he does not know her original kanji nor does the Japanese Wikipedia page mention a name change

Based on this small sample, 1) seiyuu can choose stage names and change stage names after debut, but the majority go by their real name, and 2) those who do adopt a stage name may likely adapt their real name (change only the surname or given name but not both).

To check for more individual cases, the Japanese Wikipedia page of each seiyuu lists the real name under 「本名」 (honmyou = real name) in the profile box on the right side, if the person has a different real name.

花澤香菜 (Hanazawa Kana) is her real name.


Did the Mass Production EVA Series make use of souls, like "normal" EVAs?

The only kind of answer for questions like this is "nobody knows for sure" (probably not even Hideaki Anno). While there is a precedence for souls being in an Eva's core, it's not definitively stated or implied that the mass production Eva's all have souls. We know in the case with Eva-03, that it's likely there was a soul put into the core that was "compatible" with Toji (Episode 17, Ritsuko and Gendo's conversation about the test at Matsushiro), perhaps his mother's? We also know that when the dummy system was activated in Eva-01, that there was a soul (Yui's) in that core, we know it can work with souls but we don't know for sure whether the soul is required.

One theory supposes that based on Kaworu's statement about the AT Field being the "light of the soul", which seems to imply that a soul is required to produce an AT Field. In the case with humans, the AT Field simply keeps the body together (otherwise we turn into orange goo) but in order to generate large/strong AT fields that can block weapons and make you levitate at an Eva's scale, there needs to be a soul in the core. Taking this into account however, we can see that none of the mass production Evas seem to display any ability to generate that kind of AT Field (though they do generate an Anti-AT Field later), so who knows.

If I had to make an unsubstantiated guess, I'd say there were souls there but we'll never know whose they were. One particularly sadistic theory, using the Toji + Toji's mother's soul in Eva-03 lead, says that the souls in the mass production Evas are that of the mothers of the students in class 3-A and that the bodies in side the dummy plugs are those of those students. There's not that much to back up such a theory, though.

EDIT:

Something that I forgot to mention, during the 2nd half of the End of Evangelion, during part of the instrumentality ritual the Mass Production Evas pierce open their own cores:

This happens during the sequence where the rest of humanity are getting turned into LCL and their souls released, which is in the form of a red glowing orb.

Some people believe that the piercing of the core is to release the soul that's inside it. In one couple of frames you can see that it glows red after the core is pierced:

So in a sense, this is their way of letting the human souls that are trapped inside their cores free in order to take part in instrumentality. Additionally, afterwards, the MPE's are all seen completely immobile, either because their role in the ritual is over, or without the resident soul inside the core, there is nothing for the dummy plugs to sync with.


In the last episode of "Your Lie in April", what was enclosed in the envelope?

At the end of the episode, the photo that you mention can be seen sitting on Kousei's desk. Kaori treasured it because it was probably her only photo containing her and Kousei or even her only photo of Kousei.

It is a photo of young Kousei and Kaori plus another unnamed girl(most possible  Kaori's friend), probably after one of Karima's contests. Kaori was, most likely, there for her friend which probably participated in the said contest. There is a chance that this is the contest in which Kaori saw Arima for the first time, the one that motivated her to start pursuing music.


Does Kamisama Kiss pass the Bechdel test?

Unfortunately, while bechdeltest.com exists as a database for movies that pass and do not pass the test, at the moment no equivalent can be found for anime/manga.

The manga passes the test in the second chapter: the main character meets an old woman lying outside who tells her she has sprained her legs, so she helps the woman to the woman's home, where she is invited to stay for the night, as the main character was left homeless in the first chapter.

That's as far as I read, so there may be more passing conversations.

Keep in mind that while the Bechdel test has been used as an indicator of gender bias or feminist litmus test in works of fiction, it doesn't really prove much aside from the presence of female characters. Plenty of works with strong female characters fail the Bechdel test, and because the Bechdel test doesn't take into account the length, complexity, or subject of the conversation, works with one-dimensional female characters can pass easily as long as two women speak to each other about shoes or cooking or how they don't understand math or politics or something.

Fifty Shades of Gray passes the test, but has been blasted for glorifying abusive relationships. The movie 12 Angry Men, widely regarded as one of the best films of all time, fails because it focuses on a 1950s-era jury, on which women did not serve. The entire Lord of the Rings series fails the test because none of the female characters ever get the chance to talk to each other, and Pacific Rim also failed because the female lead was the only notable woman in the movie.

Pacific Rim's failure to pass the Bechdel test inspired a similar test named after that character, the Mako Mori test, which is passed when the film has:

at least one female character;
who gets her own narrative arc;
that does not revolve around supporting a man's story.

Regardless of what you intend to gain from these tests, the best way to judge a work is to experience it for yourself.


How many transformations does Naruto have?

Naruto has like 2 or 5 transformations depending on how you count it:

Uncontrolled Jinchurichi mode
Controlled Jinchurichi mode, where he steals Chakra from Kurama
Naruto and Kurama in Sync, transform together.
Sage mode
Sage, Jinchurichi Mode.

You can count it as two if you consider All Jinchurichi transformation as one and Sage transformations as other.


Could a person do the shinigami deal without losing half his lifespan?

There are a few things wrong with your theory:

Death by Death Note doesn't count in the user's lifespan. Even if you have 80 more years to live, if I write your name down now you die 30 seconds later.
A Death Note will not work on someone with 12 minutes or less left to live. According to How to Use: XXIX.

So no, the user would lose half of his original lifespan. The only way to extend a lifespan is to get a Shinigami to die for you.


Zero's Tatoo is ment to repress his urge to drink blood and hopefully delay his decent into a Level E

Zero bears a tattoo, the Hunter's Seal, on the left side of his neck originally used to suppress his vampire side, and later used to tame him.

Soruce: Zero Kiryu - Appearance
you'll notice that the tattoo is on the same side of the neck Zero was clawing at when he was first brought to the Cross Residence as a child after his family was killed. this is also the same place Shizuka Hio bit him (the reason why he was clawing at his neck)
The Wikia page on the tattoo also goes into depth about it

The hunter tattoo has multiple purposes. The tattoo is of the Hunter symbol, which bears similarity to the Cross Academy logo. It can be used to slow the awakening of a human into a vampire, as Kaien Cross advised Zero Kiryu. Zero was able to delay his awakening for four years with its assistance, although he believed it would prevent it.
The primary purpose of such a tattoo is for the taming ceremony. The tattoo is linked via a matching piece of jewellery with a crest of the same symbol on it.
The tattoo can be on various parts of the body, most likely to be at the point where the human was bitten, as this is where Zero has his.The tattoo hurt him because of the vampire who bit Zero.
When Zero thirsts for or drinks blood, the tattoo branches out in the fashion of veins, or it makes Zero's veins glow.

so the Tattoo and the Bracelet Yuki has have the same symbol because

they are meant to be linked
they are both products of the Vampire Hunters thus they bare their symbol

after the "taming ceremony" (where Zero's blood was dropped on the bracelet and paired with the tattoo) Yuki is supposed to to disable Zero when he tries to go after someone's blood but alot of the time we see Yuki allow Zero to drink her blood


Who was the Blue Bunny in the Grand Magic Games?

Nichiya, shown here.
Grand Magic Games Arc -
Nichiya, now as a member of Blue Pegasus and wearing a rabbit costume, successfully passes the Preliminary Event with his team in 5th place, as seen when his team is announced in the first day of the Grand Magic Games of X791. When the teams meet each other, Lucy Heartfilia is the first to notice him and asks herself if he is actually human. At the start of the first event, Eve announces that he will be the one to compete for Blue Pegasus, and Nichiya, along with the other team members, supports his decision. Eve manages to get 4th place for Pegasus, and the Games proceed to the battle portion, starting with Lucy Heartfilia vs. Flare Corona. Despite the high tension of the audience during the battle, Nichiya is seen toasting a glass with Ichiya. The next battle is between Ren Akatsuki and Araña Webb, a fight that makes Natsu, Erza and Elfman wonder about Pegasus' strength, as they are intrigued by Nichiya in his rabbit costume.

  From: http://fairytail.wikia.com/wiki/Nichiya


Is Guilty Crown on DVD in the USA, UK, or Australia?

It has been released in the U.S., but I don't think there's any information available regarding the other two countries.

For the US, the show was licensed by Funimation. Wikipedia claims that the anime was planned to be released in 2012, but I'm fairly certain this did not happen. The release seems to have actually happened in August 2013. It's currently listed in Funimation's store in two DVD+Bluray combo packs. Other online stores including Amazon also carry it.

In the UK, the series was licensed by Manga Entertainment. It was listed as "planned for release in April [2013]", but their website still doesn't list the series in their list of titles. As such, it's pretty safe to conclude that no release has been made yet. Their Q2 release schedule also doesn't mention Guilty crown, so it may be delayed or cancelled.

For Australia, as you said the licensing organization is Madman Entertainment. I've looked through their website, but a search for "Guilty Crown" only brings up streams of the first 2 episodes. It is not listed on their release schedule nor on their full catalog. Also, the only news I could find regarding this was an announcement that the series would be streamed, but no announcements of plans for a home release. This suggests that they don't have any plans to do so, and likely have not bought the rights for a home release.

So, as of now, there is only a home video release in the U.S.. It's still quite possible that the UK will have releases of the series in the fairly near future. Australia is less likely to get a release anytime soon.


Why does Vash the Stampede act so happy all the time?

Vash acts happy because he chooses to act happy.  More times than not, he is happy.

You're right when it comes to his backstory; it's not been a very easy life for him.  Speaking about the anime chiefly, he's had to endure

   him and Knives being found somewhere in space, and being treated like outcasts while aboard

...but the whole thing that ties everything together for him is Rem Saverem.  She imparts to both Knives and Vash that there should always be a peaceful solution to every conflict which arises.

Knives rejects this philosophy, which - combined with

   the physical abuse he suffered while aboard the ship

leads him down a fairly dark path.  This is played with when Vash sees a spider and butterfly vying for survival; Knives put it almost as succinctly as, "Spiders eat butterflies to live.  Saving one will cause harm to the other."

Vash does break on occasion; the tension between Rem's guidance and the stone-cold reality of life on Gunsmoke causes him to shoulder a lot of grief.  Several examples include:

Towards the end of the series, after

   he very nearly destroys the entire city of Augusta and puts a hole in the moon instead

he decides to recuse himself and live a quieter, more clumsy life for a short while.
The whole point of Legato Blues' existence is to cause Vash to suffer.  Not to kill him, but to suffer.  The methods which Legato uses are particularly brutal to accomplish this.  Case in point: at one point, E.G. Mine, under direction of Legato,

   is forced to throw his life in harm's way to kill a Plant that Vash was so desperately trying to save.

The final stand with Legato is also indicative of this dark past.

   Legato gives Vash an ultimatum to either kill him or witness Milly and Meryl be shot dead.  Ultimately Vash kills Legato, but this leaves him scarred until he can forgive himself and reconcile his choice with Rem.

There are other examples which almost always involve Legato's overarching goal to cause Vash to suffer, which involve friends or people he is close to.

In spite of all of this, Vash still desires to follow Rem's advice, and believe that everything can be resolved peacefully, and that no two people should ever attempt to kill one another.


Dio and Lucciola are both male and definitely share a special relationship, but they're not in any kind of romantic or physical relationship.

To wit, Dio and Lucciola were friends as children growing up.  This continued until they reached maturity.  In fact, Dio holds Lucciola in such high regard that...

   Even after Dio is initially brainwashed by the guild (and Lucciola snaps him out of it by effectively sacrificing himself before Delphine), when he realizes that Lucciola is dead, he keeps the rear seat of his Vespa empty out of respect of the memory of his fallen comrade.  (Note that initially Dio demanded it stay empty because he was still a little distraught behind the loss of his friend.  He somewhat mellows out in Fam, the Silver Wing.)

However, make no mistake:

They're both male,
They're not romantically involved, and
They were definitely close friends.

You don't have to be sexually attracted to someone to have a close relationship with them.


Looking for the name of an 80s anime movie involving a spaceship of girls fighting aliens

Based on this link from AVClub, I think it could be Gall Force: Eternal Story.


Why does Renge cosplay as Kisaragi Quon?

In the designs created by Akihiro Yamada, that were adapted by Hiroki Kanno for the anime, Quon is depicted wearing clothes with a very French motif (e.g. parasol, beret).

On the Vol.2 DVD release (used in France and Japan, but not in the initial U.S. and UK release), Yamada illustrated Quon wearing a frilly lace-trimmed dress and stockings, carrying a parasol for a goth loli look, which was inspired Old French Victorian style dresses.

The stereotypes mesh well with Renge, being a French "otaku."


Why did Mumei "need to go to the toilet"?

Because it would be weird if she separated from Biba at any other point. They were closely followed and in open while going in. So it would raise an alarm if they tried something funny.

  And even if her absence had drawn attention... all of the witnesses would've been either murdered or kidnapped by Biba.

The point was not to draw attention until gates are open. If someone like Biba was just walking around it would definitely raise alarm. Someone like Mumei can easily stealth around and stun anyone who sees her. There is also added benefit of Biba staying with the "governor" distracting him.

And because only women and children were allowed to follow him inside (I assume because they believed women and children won't be a threat to soldiers), Mumei and the other woman were clear choices.


How does the "Chakra induction paper" react when someone has multiple chakra natures

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

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

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

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


Who has the strongest power level according to Child Emperor's Okame-chan device?

The wiki lists all measurements made.

The device was calibrated to measure the C-class hero Red Muffler at a value of 100.  It does not read levels below 0 or above 9999.

The highest successful reading it provided of a hero was for Great Philosopher at 2442.

The highest reading listed for anything at all was for the monster Jumping Spider, at a value of 6999.  Child Emperor places this rating at a disaster level of Demon.

However, he soon realizes the device is essentially useless in practice.  It doesn't measure esper powers, for example. Fubuki just measures at 19, a roughly normal fit human reading, apparently.  King and Genos both fail to produce a reading; King because Child Emperor supposes he's clearly going to be above 9999, and Genos because he's mostly a machine.  Reading Saitama seems to break the device and yields an undefined reading, which Child Emperor interprets as meaning that Saitama is weak.  And the aforementioned jumping spider originally only read at a level of 402, because he scanned the wrong part of the monster essentially.  As such he quickly dismisses it as nothing more than an entertaining bauble, and we haven't seen it since.


Who is the boy at the end of Feng Shen Ji Season 3?

The boy is Wei Shan, Kong Que's son who we have all forgotten about.

He is said to be the next Shen Yen for two reasons:

He is a firm believer of Shen Yen's ideals. Also, he has a crystal clenched in his fist and a pair of eyes burning for revenge in the last pages.
The five white marks above his eyes, likely the source of power for the five different rays of light possessed by Kong Xuan (whom Wei Shan is modeled after), look oddly like Shen Yen's eyes.


What is the meaning behind dark works often taking place at midnight?

This is an example of pathetic fallacy, more specifically an empathic environment. i.e. giving an environment a percieved emotion. It is a common literary technique.

Some other examples include:

Rainy scenes when a character dies / delves into depression.
A calm breeze after turmoil has subsided.
A big storm buffets the castle walls as the evil king rages
The sun appears from the clouds as the characters see a new path to follow after being downtrodden
It snows and the land is harsh when a man is exiled from the city.

In this case, midnight - is commonly associated with spookiness, feelings of unease and the supernatural.

It also conjures images of darkness, which is commonly associated with evil - where light is usually a good force.


When did the Soul Eater anime and manga diverge?

I think it would be the safest bet to start reading once they introduced the Spider Witch. It's when their paths started to separate more and more. That is on chapter 23th, Daily Life.

You will notice quite a lot similarities from the anime, but that's where they start to go different ways.