Origins of the nose-bleed in anime/manga

As Beska notes in useful comments at the related question Does the “bloody nose” trope necessarily imply a sexual situation?,

  I think it steps around the question: whether there is a difference between what is understood in normal Japanese society vs anime.

and

  However, when I mentioned this to a Japanese person (someone who was not a big anime viewer), she was confused, and adamant that a bloody nose would normally just mean that the person was excited in general, and it would not necessarily have anything to do with sexual excitement.
  That's the problem I have. I mean everyone seems to "know" this...I did as well. And yet, when I asked someone Japanese about it (far more likely to know about the cultural norms than me), they had no idea what I was talking about (and were very adamant that it was not the case that it was sexual.)

This seems to be correct: that outside of the subculture of anime and manga, associating nosebleeds with arousal, or portraying it as a visual euphemism of sorts for such, is not common knowledge among the general Japanese population. As such, we can deduct that it does not originate in well-known folklore and thereby became a common belief. It most likely originated in manga or anime. Although the concept has now become recognized enough among otaku that Punchline features it in every episode, I discussed this with a Japanese female college student who is heavily involved in subculture (has manned a booth at Comiket, member of the university's Manga Research Society, practices drawing manga, reads manga and watches 4-koma gag anime, enjoys doujin visual novels, vocaloid fan) and even she had never heard of this trope, since it is not customary to come across it within the genres that she likes. Though by no means conclusive, she said that if you mention that a character gets a nosebleed, the average Japanese person will imagine that the character got punched by someone.

Apparently, NicoNico News interviewed an Ear/Nose/Throat doctor in Yamaguchi prefecture, Dr. Kanaya Kouichiro, on the topic of nosebleeds in anime/manga, but the video is no longer available online. His personal theory as to an origin is sports such as pro wrestling:

  In the past, people like pro wrestlers would intentionally give themselves small cuts on their forehead in order to build tension and atmosphere in a match. I can only imagine that the idea of extreme stimulation and an excess of energy was portrayed in the same way with nosebleeds, and it’s come to be the accepted method of representing that feeling.


Where do the Naruto movies fall in the timeline?

Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

   between episodes 101-106

Sakura's hair is short in the movie. She cut it during the chunin exams.

The limited opportunity team 7 has to go on a mission together between the chunin exams and Sasuke's defection would be between episodes 101-106

Legend of the Stone of Gelel

   The movie takes place after episode 160

Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom

   The movie takes place after episode 196, during the anime's post-Sasuke era

Naruto Shippuden the Movie

   After Shippuden episode 53, when Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Yamato returned to the village.

Inheritors of the Will of Fire

   After Shippuden episode 89, due to the large influence of the Hidan and Kakuzu Arc.

Bonds

   After Shippuden episode 111, since Orochimaru was sick, which happened around when Sasuke was about to kill Orochimaru.

The Lost Tower

   After episode 152-154, after Jiraiya's death and before Pain attacked the village.

Blood Prison

No accurate timing, due to plot inconsistencies:

   Naruto knew Sage Mode and remembered when he met his father, despite the fact that the invasion of Pain had not occurred. A, the Fourth Raikage, still had his left hand, despite having lost it during the Five Kage Summit. Naruto knew Killer B, but Naruto did not meet him until their training at the Island Turtle. Anyway, if I had to put it somewhere, I'd probably put it after episode 196.

Road to Ninja

   After episode 251, because Naruto must have already met his mother, and I don't think it would take place in the middle of a war. However, the fact that Konoha shinobi were fighting against Pain and the Akatsuki at the beginning would place this before the 150s and undermines the plotline of Naruto's understanding of his parents, which means that it just doesn't fit perfectly. Later in the movie, it was showed that the Akatsuki members were white Zetsu's, not the real ones (which is why they were defeated so easily and could go through the ground).

The Last

I'd say this movie happens after episode 493, but I would watch it after ep 500 because some stuff the happens in the end of the movie

   that hints to the episode 500.

Boruto: Naruto The Movie - The Day Naruto Became Hokage

This happens before 'Boruto: Naruto Next Generations' so watch it after Episode 500. It's a special episode, so it's about 10 minutes. The title of the short "film" says it all.

Boruto: Naruto The Movie

This movie happens after the 'Boruto: Naruto Next Generations' have started.

   Probably around the The Chūnin Exams.


Why are Rin's friends still mad over the fact that he is the son of Satan in season 2?

Yes, it is resolved in Season 1 but Season 2 is not a direct continuation of Season 1.

To go into further detail: Season 1 of Blue Exorcist becomes anime original starting from episode 17. There was a lot of backlash from the fans and if they wanted to make a Season 2 it would be impossible to continue from Season 1's end. So, the studio completely ignored all the parts from Season 1 that deviated from the manga in Season 2.


Why was the Soul Eater anime different than the manga?

This is simply because the anime had caught up with the manga and the producers wanted to continue rather than wait for the rest of the story.


Where do the Alter characters come from?

all the Alter characters are, as you say, alternate versions of their originals with some having alternate legends.

however the idea of Alter extends from a canon character which is Saber-Alter from Fate/Stay Night who makes her appearance in the Heave's Feel Route after

   Saber is consumed The Shadow. by returning to the Greater Grail she is corrupted by Angra Mainyu and first appears when Shirou, Rin and Ilya are fleeing Blackened Berserker and operates as an alternate Servant for Sakura

Outside Fate/Stay Night Alter Saber acts as an "alternate form" of Saber which comes out when Saber's ahoge is plucked in Fate/Hollow Ataraxia

despite being an antagonist in Fate/Stay Night Gen Urobuchi saw Alter Saber as a Dark Hero

  Uro: What I imagine is that for the Saber Lily storyline, in Fate/stay night, Saber was completely beaten by Caster, and so she became one of her Servants. Like, she thought "I'd be way better off with Caster than with Shirou." (Laughs)
  Nasu: I never thought of that. Interesting. So in other words, the white dress represents how both her body and soul have been tamed by Caster. So Lily is truly like a "lily" to Caster... you crazy bastard, you did it again...
  Takeuchi: Lily's design was inspired by the dress she wore when Saber was captured by Caster. Then, we just filled it with feminine qualities that Saber lacked and it became what it is now. So basically, I think Urobuchi really hit it close to the mark.
  Uro: Really?! Lily looked like a villain to me from the moment I saw her. Imagine her appearing from behind Caster, really working those heels! Just thinking of it gets me excited!
  Takeuchi: But in terms of villains, don't we already have Alter?
  Uro: No, she isn't a villain, she's a dark hero.
  Nasu: Alter is an idealist who clings to her own values even though she's been blackened. In that respect, she isn't a pure villain.
  Uro: For example, Alter's like how Hakaider was in Mechanical Violator Hakaider (*8). And Lily is the enemy she would face. The wrinkles in the corners of her eyes are proof to that. She'd shine as a villain.
  Nasu: Then after defeating Lily in battle, Alter would jump on a motorbike in the last scene and ride off into the sunset. Then the narration would come in: "She is a modern knight, who lives in a world of darkness!" (*9)
  Takeuchi: Motorbikes aside, (laughs) I do think it'd be interesting to add meat to Lily's character in that manner.

Source: Saber Alter - References 5 -  TYPE-MOON Ace 7 - 10 year Anniversary interview: Nasu Kinoko X Takeuchi Takashi X Urobuchi Gen

before Fate/Grand Order other characters got Alters were sort of jokes created by Takashi Takeuchi and sometimes weren't even separate people such as Sakura Saber who's "Alter" was her Nobel Phantasm Coat of Oaths but after Fate/Grand Order the started becoming real

Alter is actually one of 3 variations of a hero themself

  Alter (オルタ, Oruta?) - Servants greatly altered from their normal selves through various means are often given the title of "Alter" after their name. True Archer, an altered Heracles, rejects being called "Heracles Alter" and instead chooses his "human name" of "Alcides".
  Lily (リリィ, Riryi?) - Servants who take on a more youthful appearance compared to their older selves are often given the title of "Lily" after their name. This title is normally only applied to female Servants, but those like Child-Gil and Alexander are referred to as Lily Servants elsewhere.
  Santa (サンタ, Santa?) - Servants acting as Santa in the Fate/Grand Order Christmas events are given the title of "Santa" after their name.

Source: Servants - Alter

and as such shouldn't be confused with Alter Egos which are a separate Servant Class where Alters can be any class

The current list of Alters (as of 19/01/2018) aside from Alter Saber from Fate/Stay Night are

Fate/Grand Order

Alter EMIYA - a disgraced heartless version of the Counter Guardian EMIYA who's cast off his name
Alter Lancer Arturia - an Alter form of Lancer Arturia who, before changing into the "Goddess of the Holy Lance" chose to insated become the tyrant known as the "King of Storms"
Beserker Cu Chulainn - a version of Cu Chulainn reflecting the wish made upon the Holy Grail by Queen Medb
Mysterious Heroine X Alter - a villain from the Servant Universe who has sworn to defeat Mysterious Heroine X
Avenger Jeanne d'Arc - a fabrication of Jeanne d'Arc created by Gilles de Rais via the Holy Grail after her death
Jeanne d'Arc Alter Santa Lily - Avenger Jeanne d'Arc after drinking  Gilgamesh's Potion of youth (becoming "Joan of Arc Alter Lily"). gained the title of "Santa" when she was aiming to become "Santa Joan of Arc."

Fate/strange fake

True Archer - the human side of Hercules who lost his divinity after  Bazdilot Cordelion used his Command Spells to awaken memories from the 5th Holy Grail War and his corruption in it. he refuses to be called an Alter Servant and takes the name Alcides instead

and as explained above, Sakura Saber's Alter appearance is actually her Nobel Phantasm, Coat of Oaths


How does Nami never get hit by her own lightning

This is largely opinion-based, but the answer is most likely control. Nami is an excellent navigator to begin with, she's used to her own attacks, and she's always careful to let lightning fall exactly where she needs and steer clear of it. After the timeskip, she was even shown to be able to aim where her lightning falls in a few attacks.

In contrast, on a more comical note, she almost did strike herself down with lightning by accident in the Enies Lobby arc due to her weapon being too powerful (And whacked Usopp/Sogeking over the head for it), but she quickly adapted to it.

As for the "metal stick" part, it was never adressed so only speculation can be used, but Usopp most likely designed it so as to not conduct lightning. Making a weapon that can create thunder but keeping it as standard metal would be heavily impractical and dangerous.


Does Anyone Know/Have A List of Caster Shells and Their Effects?

The numbers of the shells used in the show were 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19, along with a shell that was unnumbered.

The Outlaw Star Wikia has a nice page all about Caster shells.

  Caster shells are numbered by the wizards who create them. Their numbers appear to define the varied effects of each shell. Shells that are numbered #4, #9, and #13 are the rarest kinds, as they were only created by wizards of Tenrei, Ark Manaf, Hadul and Urt.1

Most shells just draw on the mana stored within them, but those particular shells were special because they consumed some of the lifeforce of the user.


According to 日本語俗語辞書 ("Japanese Slang Dictionary"):

  バリアとは、子供が汚い物や人に触れたときに囃して遊ぶときの言葉。
  Barrier is a word that children say jeeringly when they touch an object or person that is unclean.

According to the explanation further down on the page: children say this to someone who has touched something unclean to stop the uncleanness from "spreading".

As an example, consider a child who has stepped in dog feces. Having done so, the child will try to chase his friends around (and touch them with his hands like in a game of tag, not with his feet to literally get the dog feces on his friends). If, however, all his friends say "barrier" and trace out some sort of pattern with their hands, the child who stepped in the dog feces will have no choice but to abandon the chase (and remain "it", which I suppose is humiliating to any child).

The dictionary seems to think that this was based on people imitating Ultraman. Seems plausible, I guess.

For an example of someone barrier-ing, the interested reader might like to have a look at episode 5 of Oregairu, around the 6:15 mark.

Note: Since I have never been on a Japanese schoolyard, this answer relies entirely on secondhand sources. An answer from someone who has been a kid in Japan would probably be superior.


What exactly is Trunks' new transformation?

No as of today 11/4/2016 there is no name or real explanation as to what it is or how it works. I suspect it will be revealed towards the end of the current arc.


What happen to Orochimaru and his team after the war ended?

There was no mention of them. Not by manga nor by databook.

We might get a glimpse of them in The Last: Naruto the Movie, but we don't know, and likely never will. (Unless, of course, Kishimoto-sensei decides to reveal those details somehow).


This is Destiny Deoxys, which is the 2004 movie where Deoxys was one of the main Pokemon. The basic plot is that Deoxys was in a meteorite that crashed in the North Pole. Four years later, Deoxys takes control of a city, by shutting down all of the machines and taking everyone hostage. Ash and his friends need to save the city.

At least some of the screenshots appear in this trailer.


Who is Araragi supposed to look like in this scene?

This could possibly be a reference to the very obscure series The Soul Taker. The main character, Kyousuke Date, cried blood in few episodes. Here's a picture of him:

It's not an exact match, but Akiyuki Shinbo, the director of The Soul Taker, also worked on the Monogatari series, which made me think of this. (Source.)


Why is Kaguya depicted with a flower growing out of her head when in her moron/fool form?

There is a Japanese term 脳内お花畑 (nōnai o-hanabatake) which translates literally to "garden in the brain". It's meant to indicate someone who is "off in their own world" or spacing out, so not thinking straight or not thinking at all.


Is Kayaba's Admin Account a part of The Seed Nexus?

No, it won't. The reason Kayaba's admin account works in ALO is that ALO uses the database of SAO. ALO is actually SAO with improvements here and there, changing the textures, adding flight system, etc. That's why Asuna is there. That's why when Kirito logged into ALO, he retrieved his stats and items, though, due to the change in game resources, his items are mostly broken.

So, it is reasonable to say that a game created from the Seed would not have Kayaba's admin account, since it doesn't have the same database. There is a chance that Kayaba would hard code his account into the Seed's program, but I don't think it is likely since hard-coding is a bad practice.

StackOverflow: What is your attitude towards hard coding?


Is there any significance to Risei's line?

This is just some unimportant ritual Risei thought up, possibly because he cared for the symbolism (being a devout priest), or that it might accentuate and reinforce his role as overseer.  You'll see implicit evidence of this in later episodes:

   After Risei is killed, Kotomine takes the command seals.  He has to recite a specific verse of scripture to do this, thus reinforcing how Risei likes to add his faith into the things he does.  He later convinces Kariya to use two of his command seals to kidnap Irisviel, on the promise that Kotomine will give him another fight with Tokiomi, as well as the grail at the end of the war.  He wonders if it was really worth two commands, and Kotomine assures him that there is nothing to worry about.  He simply places his hand over Kariya's command seal marks, and they are restored in a (literal) flash, and nothing more.


Looking for the name of an anime about a guy who leaves his village with 2 friends

Sounds like Akame ga Kill!

Synopsis from ANN:

  Tatsumi is a self-acknowledge country bumpkin who is nonetheless a well trained fighter. He and two companions leave their remote village to head to the Imperial City to find a way to relieve their friends and family from ruinous taxation imposed by the authorities. Yet the Imperial City is filled with unimaginable amounts of corruption and evil from supernatural sources. Tatsumi is immediately swindled after reaching the City and nearly loses everything soon after, but finds himself allied with an unlikely group of assassins.

Your description matches the plot summary from Wikipedia quite well (emphasis mine):

  Tatsumi is a fighter who, accompanied by his two childhood friends, sets off to the Capital in search of a way to make money to assist his poverty-stricken village. After being separated from his friends, Tatsumi not only fails to enlist in the army, but is swindled out of all his money. He is then taken in by a noble family who offer him help, but intend to torture and kill him, just like they did with his friends and dozens of other people. Tatsumi is rescued by a group of assassins known as Night Raid, and is invited to join their ranks.

I haven't seen the series myself, but this seems to match most of your points, particularly Episode 1 of the anime.

   Tatsumi heads for the capital despite warnings about the area's dark nature as he needs to raise money for his village. Shortly after arriving, Tatsumi is robbed by a woman and has to sleep in the streets. However, he is invited to the manor of a young rich girl named Aria, who takes pity on him. As he waits for his best friends, Sayo and Ieyasu, to arrive in the capital, Tatsumi learns of an assassin group named Night Raid, whose members are wanted for numerous murders. One night, the group appears and starts killing Aria's guards and her parents. Tatsumi faces off against Night Raid member Akame, but their duel is interrupted by Leone, the same woman who robbed him; she reveals to Tatsumi that Aria and her parents has tortured several people from the countryside, including Ieyasu and Sayo, the latter already being dead. Tatsumi kills Aria just before Ieyasu dies and Leone, impressed with Tatsumi's ability to kill mercilessly, invites him to join Night Raid.

Source: Wikipedia - Akame ga Kill! Episode List


An emperors daughter who collects her dead fathers body parts?

Yep, upon further research this sounds like Chaika the Coffin Princess. The anime came out a month ago in Japan, so it's relatively new (so I'm not completely sure, but Crunchyroll did for starters also start broadcasting it online at around the same time.)

The eponymous Chaika is the daughter of Arthur Gaz, who apparently was the former ruler of the Gaz Empire, according to the fan-made wiki. I haven't seen the anime or read the light novels, so I'm not sure, but judging from the list of names he has it seems reasonable to conclude that he was a bit of a tyrant.

Moreover, as might be suggested by the title, Chaika carries a coffin around most of the time. In the first episode, she runs into Toru Akura and his sister Akari, which is consistent with your description.

Here's the Anime News Network link.


When did Naruto mention his name to Jiraiya?

Naruto did not need to mention his name to Jiraya.

During the training of walking over water, naruto had removed his clothes, and at that time the seal appeared on his belly.

Now, Jiraya was the keeper to the key to the seal. The 4th Hokage sealed the nine tails inside his son, Minato also named his son Naruto based on the novel that Jiraya had written. So using these threads, Jiraya would not need Naruto to mention his name, its just comes.


What's the sad piano music that plays when Levi gives Ivan's patch to Dieter?

It's a track called Omake-Pfadlib. I've linked a youtube video to the same.


What is the process of making vivre card?

The only explanation we have on Vivre Card so far is from chapter 489, when Lola explained it to Nami. At that time, Lola was pretty vague, but that's the only thing we know so far. We are about to meet Vegapunk in a few days (a few years in real life probably), so we might know more when Smoker and Tashigi reach him.
How are they made?
Lola explained that there are indeed specialized shops that make those cards and that the process to make such cards is just to put the owner's fingernail in a mix and create a special sheet of paper with them, but she did not specify the mix that is needed or the way to transform the mix into the actual sheet of paper.
Are they only made in the New World?
The translation I have used in the below screenshot says that

Bibli Cards only work in the New World,

which we know to be false, since the Strawhats used Rayleigh's Vivre Card on the Grand Line. I have found a different translation that says that

Vivre Cards are only available in the New World.

So to me that sounds like only the New World has specialized shops to create such cards, but if you know the process to making them, you could make them anywhere.


Why does Eren loses his equipment after being Titan?

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


For Levi, that person is Erwin. He has acknowledged Erwin as an existence who he looks up to. It’s part of the Ackerman bloodline, or an instinctive part of them, you could say.
  source: Hajime Isayama, book of answers


Is there any connection between the Genius Party movies?

It seems there is no direct connection between any of the 7 Genius party movies, besides their high standard of quality and inspiration, as said by Rupert Bottenberg:

  The seven short films making up GENIUS PARTY couldn’t be more diverse, linked only by a high standard of quality and inspiration. Atsuko Fukushima’s intro piece is a fantastic abstraction to soak up with the eyes. Masaaki Yuasa, of MIND GAME and CAT SOUP fame, brings his distinctive and deceptively simple graphic style and dream-state logic to the table with “Happy Machine,” his spin on a child’s earliest year. Shinji Kimura’s spookier “Deathtic 4,” meanwhile, seems to tap into the creepier corners of a child’s imagination and open up a toybox full of dark delights. Hideki Futamura’s “Limit Cycle” conjures up a vision of virtual reality, while Yuji Fukuyama’s "Doorbell" and "Baby Blue" by Shinichiro Watanabe use understated realism for very surreal purposes. And Shoji Kawamori, with “Shanghai Dragon,” takes the tropes and conventions of traditional anime out for very fun joyride. —Rupert Bottenberg

Source: Fantasia Festival's 2008 program (see p. 119)


Haikyuu should be released as a fall anime. There is still enough content left for the 3rd season. Both manga and anime have been well received.
Haikyuu Season 3 in fall. Not sure if this can be taken as an official confirmation though.

Though content for 4th season might not be enough so they might decide to take some time off and release OVAs.

Manga Volumes for Haikyuu. 1-17 Covered by first two seasons and only 3 Volumes left. Manga spoilers and Season 3 speculation below

   First half of season 3 can be covered with Final match against Ushijima easily. It can be stretched with character development of both teams.
 Nekomas road to National is recently concluded manga arc an can fill the second part of the season.. Or vice versa since the second last episode usually has the epic finale moment.
 What I suspect is both Nekoma and Karasuno will be playing simultaneously and reach the finals together. It'll  give more depth to season instead of the linear storyline


Why didn't Obito die after using Rinne rebirth?

In Chapter 657, right after Madara is brought back to life using the Rinne Rebirth jutsu, the scene moves to the Kamui dimension, where Zetsu confronts Kakashi, Minato, and a fatigued Obito.

Zetsu explicitly stated that Obito will die from using the jutsu. And then,

So Black Zetsu was the reason Obito was able to postpone his unavoidable death.


Maybe he did not bother checking his rival's name or something...i guess he saw the name but maybe it was of no significance to him...and also in one of the early episodes light says that he is terrible with names and faces..so most probably he saw the name but forgot it or he saw it but it was not revealed to us whether he now knew  his actual name or not or either he just simply didn't bother to check his name...


How can Smoker hold Sea Stone as a Devil Fruit user?

Only the tip of his Jitte is made of sea stone. The rest is made of a substance he can hold.


Can I watch Naruto Shippuden movies anytime?

u/IdRatherBeLurking's comment on Reddit shows the episode number that you should have watched up to before-hand. That's if you don't want any spoilers. Quoted below;

  Part 1

  Clash in the Land of Snow - after episode 101
  Legend of the Stone of Gelel - after episode 160
  Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom - after episode 196

  Shippūden

  Some of these films don't directly follow an episode, so I've deduced
  where they are in chronological order based on release date.

  Naruto Shippūden the Movie - after episode ~23
  Bonds - after episode ~70
  The Will of Fire - after episode ~121
  The Lost Tower - after episode 169
  Blood Prison - after episode ~221
  Road to Ninja: Naruto the Movie - after episode 271
  The Last - Naruto the Movie - between chapters 699 and 700 of the manga

Sahan De Silva's comment is right by saying that it won't confuse you regarding the storyline as they are their own short stories.


Does there exist official material on the story of Laputa before its fall?

I am not aware of an additional material on the Laputian civilization from Studio Ghibli but Laputa as a civilization is lifted straight out of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laputa).  It is unclear how much the Laputa in Castle in the Sky before its civilization fell apart is meant to match how it is depicted in Gulliver's Travels.

Instead let us look at how Miyzaki depicts ancient civilizations.
Miyzakai is fond of using long gone advanced civilizations in his plots.  Nausicaa and Future Boy Conan explores many of the same themes.  In all three stories, the now gone civilization is almost always depicted as extremely technologically advanced with a complete disregard and disconnect from nature.  Miyzaki was a communist in his youth, and his works almost always portray these long lost civilizations as capitalist and greedy.  In this context, there are many hints in the movie itself that clue us into what Laputa was like:

Laputa was an absolute monarchy led by the royal family who controlled the power of the city through their use of their crystals which only responded to their commands.
Robots were used for both labor and as weapons of war, and directly obey commands from members of the royal family.
Laputa is filled with gold and treasure of all sorts, implying the Laputians were materialistic.
The existence of the excellent architecture, gardens, art, and multitude of treasure all show that Laputians thought of themselves as "upper class" compared to the people on the ground.
Laputa was hidden in a hurricane, showing the Laputians had the power to control the weather.
Muska says the powerful weapons Laputa has once made it a major world power.
Laputa's power derives from a special crystal that can only be mined in the ground.
Very old mines appear throughout Pazu's village and it is stated that the same crystals that power Laputa were once mined there.
Craters are visible across the landscape in many of the flying sequences of the film, especially seen around Pazu's villiage.  Perhaps these craters arose from bombardment by Laputa's weapons.

All of this implies Laputa was an aggressive domineering "hydraulic empire" towards people on the ground that sought to control the mining and supply of crystals that was the source of their power.  Real life civilizations throughout history rely on controlling natural resources to be the source of their power and wealth.  In ancient times this happened through the control of the water supply, and nowadays it happens through the control of oil.


Has Saber, Arcuied, Shiki or any other Typemoon characters ever canonically meet one other within their respective story?

I believe they have but not in a way which lines up their individual timelines. this is because i would suggest they have met in Ahnenerbe

  Ahnenerbe is a shop with two entrances located beside a cinema, and it exists in multiple locations, often appearing and disappearing. It also appears as a regular shop within different series, such as in Fate, where it is located near the large bridge in Fuyuki City. There is a rumor that people who under normal circumstances cannot meet each other are able to meet inside. It is the frontier where the worlds of Tsukihime and Kara no Kyoukai meet. Shiki Tohno and Shiki Ryougi, and Arcueid Brunestud and Touko Aozaki, are all related people that cannot be inserted together in a formal time axis without causing inconsistencies in the workings of either world. When characters from different works meet in this shop, any time discrepancies are eliminated so that they can appear at the age that they were introduced.

aside from the location in Fuyuki i recall that is it also located in Misaki Town (location of Tsukihime) as

  The menu includes strawberry pie recommended to Akira Seo by Fake Shiki for its fine taste

i recall in the Tsukihime PLUS-DISC story, "Alliance of Illusionary Eyes" this recommendation was the Fake Shiki taking Akira Seo to a coffee shop and having the pie.

Now as for when they could have entered Ahnenerbe. while there are times in Kara no Kyoukai and Tsukihime where Ryougi Shiki and Arcuied could just be wondering about and have entered off-screen, in regards to Saber's at the very most i don't recall her entering the coffee shop during her date with Shirou in the Fate Route of Fate/Stay Night and she she didn't go on any "dates" with Irisviel during Fate/Zero. haven't not played Fate/Hollow Ataraxia but understanding how it's played it's possible she may have went there off-screen during then since the Servants in Fate/Hollow Ataraxia have a bit more freedom around Fuyuki (ie. Lancer going fishing)


How long can a cursed child live if she does not use her inherent gastrean abilities?

It is never mentioned exactly how long a Cursed Child has to live, however the corrosion rate increases even if a Cursed Child does not explicitly use their Gastrea powers.

The Cursed Children were constantly taking massive doses of corrosion-inhibiting medication to control the Gastrea inside their bodies, but it still only inhibited and did not stop the corrosion completely. Because the girls carried the inhibiting gene, they did not turn into Gastrea immediately like normal people
Kanzaki, Shiden. Black Bullet, Vol. 1: Those Who Would Be Gods (pp. 211-212). Yen Press. Kindle Edition.

From the passage above it is clear that Cursed Children are naturally immune to the Gastrea virus' corrosion, however without the help of the corrosion inhibiting medicine it is clear that they would succumb to corrosion even sooner  which is even truer for Initiators who actively use their powers.

At first glance, it seemed like she had just caught a cold, but Initiators were protected from a variety of illnesses in exchange for the corrosion rate that bound their bodies, so of course that was not the case.
Kanzaki, Shiden. Black Bullet, Vol. 4 (light novel): Vengeance Is Mine (p. 125). Yen Press. Kindle Edition.

The Gastrea virus is always active, even when a Cursed Child is not actively using their powers and as such the corrosion rate will continually increase as the virus it "used" in a passive manner (healing wounds, preventing illness, fighting toxins etc.) Beside the passive "usage" it is also clear that the virus works on it's own, so while it is held back by the inhibiting gene and the corrosion prevention medicine the corrosion rate increase never stops completely.

Rentaro picked up the syringe that had fallen in the crack by the dresser. Inside it was cobalt blue medicine in liquid form. Realizing that she hadn’t taken her medicine, he became very sad. Nothing would happen if she skipped it for a day or two, but if she didn’t take it for a while, the corrosion rate of her body would gradually rise.
Kanzaki, Shiden. Black Bullet, Vol. 1: Those Who Would Be Gods (p. 95). Yen Press. Kindle Edition.

The piece above is after Enju ran away and while she will not be using her powers for fighting it is clear that her corrosion rate will still rise.

She was probably around seven years old, and she peered at Rentaro with a puzzled look on her face. Her eyes glowed red.
Kanzaki, Shiden. Black Bullet, Vol. 1: Those Who Would Be Gods (p. 98). Yen Press. Kindle Edition.

.

Which meant that even Tina must understand that she needed to hide her red eyes.
Kanzaki, Shiden. Black Bullet, Vol. 3 (light novel): The Destruction of the World by Fire (p. 44). Yen Press. Kindle Edition.

From the above it is also clear that hiding red eyes is a skill a Cursed Child must learn, presumably (this is speculation, but probably valid) the cost of hiding red eyes means a slight increase in corrosion rate as the virus probably has to be suppressed in some way to achieve this result.
Now, the only corrosion rate ever mentioned (beside the over 50% for Initiators like Kayo) in the light novels is for Enju. At the start of Black Bullet Enju is 10 years old and she already has a corrosion rate of 42.8%. At this point in time she has known Rentaro for a year

“It’s been almost a year, hasn’t it?” she said. “Since you became a Promoter and met Enju.” “It’s only been a year,” he replied. “We’re still not even halfway to our goal.”
Kanzaki, Shiden. Black Bullet, Vol. 1: Those Who Would Be Gods (p. 33). Yen Press. Kindle Edition.

So, to actually answer your question...
Given that the oldest Cursed Children are only 10 years old, from in universe there is no way to know how old a Cursed Child can get, however if we speculate it is fair to say that no Initiator is likely to reach more than 10-12. At the end of Volume 2 Enju is given around 560 days to live (about 1.5 years) which would put her in that range. Cursed Children that are not Initiators are a bit of a wild card, but given that Enju probably started with a corrosion rate of around 30-38% it is fairly save to say that no Cursed Child would survive to be older than about 20. Even with corrosion inhibit medicine, which the non-Initiator children are unlikely to get, it is doubtful that any would survive into their late 20s


What does Hondo Eisuke mean when he says, "I think I stood up on the wrong leg as a child."

The translation is incorrect but was probably trying to convey a joke on Hondo Eisuke's bad luck in this show since every time I see him, he seems to suffer from some sort of event.

Anyway, what he said here was "Bou to tsutate ita boku ga doji de noruma data desukara." which translates to something like "Me standing here and daydreaming being careless and slow is at fault here." if I do it without caring for English Grammar.

However what I would translate it as would be like "It was my fault for standing here daydreaming and thus being a careless idiot."


Your question can be answered only in big spoiler as it is revealed in the next chapters. So...

SPOILER ALERT

   Makarov disbanded Fairy Tail so that its members would not get caught in a fight with the Alvarez Empire. After he disbanded the guild, he went to the Alvarez Empire where it was revealed that the Emperor is none other than Zeref himself. Zeref wanted the Lumen Histoire, which is Mavis' body (or more precisely, her ability to use imagination) in order to fight Acnologia. Lumen Histoire is hidden in the basement of Fairy Tail guild building. If the guild is not disbanded, then the whole members would get killed in the fight due to the sheer difference in power between them. At least this was what Makarov thought.


What is Nami referring to in this this panel?

The situation in this chapter plays out exactly as it had earlier before the time skip in the Little Garden Arc.

Situation:
A: Nami, Zoro and Vivi are captured and stuck in an impossible situation, Mr.3 has put them in his Candle Statue.
B: Luffy and Nami are captured and stuck in an impossible situation, Mont Dór has captured them in his books.

Suggested Resolution: Self Mutiliation
A: Zoro suggests escape by cutting off his legs
B: Luffy tries to escape by tearing off his limbs

Final Resolution: Burn everything down and escape in a blaze of fire
A: Usopp burns the candle stand down after Carue wraps it around with a rope.
B: Jinbe burns down the books freeing all the prisoners.

No wonder Nami knows this has happened before. :)


What does Major Kusanagi whisper to Batou at the end of episode 25 of GITS SAC?

She said 「な・あ・に」 (na-a-ni, "What").

In Japan, there's a TV program on BS2 channel called BSアニメ夜話 (BS Anime Night Talks), and on 26 February 2009, it's talking about Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

Regarding that scene, the original storyboard revealed that she was supposed to say "na-a-ni". With cold expression, Major Kusanagi didn't convey anything to Batou even in that situation. Toshio Okada (anime producer & co-founder and former president of Gainax) responded with「ドSねーちゃんですね」("She is a very sadistic girl, eh.")

Fun fact: before this information was revealed, many Japanese fans theorized that she was actually saying 「と・け・い」 (to-ke-i, "(Wrist)watch") because

   she tried to tell Batou that she wasn't wearing a watch, which means that she was not the real Major Kusanagi, only a body double of her.

The fan theory was also strengthened by the close-up of her wrist after that scene (spoiler image below)

Source:

jademetal's blog post (Japanese)
Yahoo! Chiebukuro (Japanese)


Can people log into SAO after the initial trapping?

There's no evidence to show that it wasn't impossible for non-trapped players to gain access into the game. What Kayaba Akihiko did was removing the "Log out" option and altering the game so that the death flag would cause the NerveGear to fry the player's brain.
Of course, whether it was possible or not on the basis of what Kayaba did to the game is one thing, the other factor to consider is the authorities.
When Kirito first entered Sword Art Online, he was on his bed. However, at the end of Aincrad arc, he woke up in hospital as seen where he wakes up and stumbles out to look for Asuna.

It was also mentioned that the NerveGear has it's own internal battery in it which accounts for 30% of it's weight, in the Novels it's revealed this battery has atleast 10 minutes of power in it being one of the conditions set to kill a player.

In the novel, Kayaba announces to the players that if one of the following happened: being disconnected from a source of electricity for 10 minutes, cut from the system for more than 2 hours, or dying in-game, the NerveGear would fry the player's brain, killing them in the real world.

Soruce: Episode 1 - Adaptation Notes (Point 2)
Kayaba also says how people outside the game were told to avoid forceful removal of NerveGears yet some chose to ignore this (though it doesn't imply he cared for their lives).

Having informed the outside world of the situation beforehand, [Kayaba] reported that friends and family members of some of the players had already ignored his warning, causing the death of 213 players, showing images of the SAO incident.

Source: Episode 1 - Plot (7th paragraph)
Also every trapped SAO player was moved to hospitals within the first 2 hours of the game starting as a respone to Kayaba's announcement to monitor their condition, and for those who didn't die in-game, to keep them from becoming under-nourished.

He also told them that his crime was being broadcast all over the world, with the location of each player, thus the authorities would be moving them into hospitals to put them in better care during the 2 hours he had allowed the players to be disconnected from the system.

Soruce: Episode 1 - Adaptation Notes (Point 2)
In the Novels, to which the anime does not mention, SAO was only released in Japan so the only players effected were Japanese. in the Wiki it says that after the SAO incident NerveGear had been seized and disposed as according to Japanese Code of Criminal Procedure, Article 121
all of this indicate that the Japanese Authorities were well aware of what was going on and would be in the public's best interest to prevent any more cases of players being trapped inside. in terms of the game the Authorities didn't need to stop people getting more copies of the game as only 10,000 copies were first produced and 10,000 players were trapped1

Only 10,000 copies were printed in the first batch of the game, and online sales sold out within seconds. Hard-core gamers waited in line for days to purchase the first few hard copies from many stores.
«Sword Art Online» officially started server service at 1 PM of November 6, 2022 and obtained infamy when the creator succeeded in trapping 10,000 people in the game, and making it so that death in-game would mean actual death for the player.

Source: Sword Art Online - Background
however on the NerveGear Wikia page it states there were about 200,000 players in possession of a NerveGear, so i assume that the authorities seized about 193,853 NerveGear during Death Game (3,853 from the player who died)

This next part is mainly speculation. However, Cardinal system, which could possibly corrected new players entering the game, since we didn't see outside authorities trying to help players in-game with clearing all 100 floors. though this could be them being cautious as effectively Kayaba was in control of 10,000 lives
It is also mentioned that Kayaba has a level of honor and fairness so i would assume that as he aided players to reach the 95th floor (where he would reveal himself as the final boss) he would also act on any outside interference against anyone in some way if they came up with hacks designed to help beat the game or attempt to back into the game itself.

Akihiko had a level of honor and fairness. He designed Sword Art Online to be a beatable game by anyone who had the skills. He never interfered with the players' progress to keep them from advancing through the game; in fact, as Heathcliff, he was actually fighting on the players' side, helping them clear floors. The one exception to this is the fact that he made himself invincible until his battle with Kirito, although this was necessary to survive the game until the 95th floor was reached, where Heathcliff planned to reveal his true identity and become the final boss on the 100th floor.

Soruce: Kayaba Akihiko - Personality (4th Paragraph)

1: the web version of the story which included the adult #.5 chapters says there were 50,000 players trapped


Well.. In order to awaken the Rinnegan, you need to have Ashura's and Indra's chakra. Having Uchiha and Senju DNA won't necessarily activate the Rinnegan unless those Uchiha and Senju are reincarnated Ashura and Indra.


Does the name Jiraiya mean something that connects these 2 instances?

This originates from the Japanese folklore 児雷也豪傑物語, The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya

  In the legend, Jiraiya is a ninja who uses shapeshifting magic to morph into a gigantic toad. As the heir of a powerful clan in Kyūshū of the same name, Jiraiya fell in love with Tsunade (綱手), a beautiful young maiden who has mastered slug magic. His arch-enemy was his one-time follower Yashagorō (夜叉五郎), later known as Orochimaru (大蛇丸), a master of serpent magic (the kanji 大蛇 literally means "giant snake" or "serpent"). It was first recorded in 1806 - classic tale

Series such as Naruto, and Tales of Phantasia draw inspiration of this story in their elements, and also naming. All though in the Tales series it is more of a hidden reference. In Naruto almost the whole story is played out through the legendary three.

  In Naruto, a popular manga and anime television series, Jiraiya appears in the series as a ninja with the ability to summon giant toads. Along with the series' versions of Tsunade and Orochimaru, he is part of a trio of legendary ninja known as the Densetsu no Sannin ("Legendary Three Ninja"). One of the anime's episodes is titled "The Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant."

Jiraiya is also a known element in the series

Gintama: Where Jiraia is the strongest ninja of the Oniwanbanshu
Karasu Tengu Kabuto
and several more


Why didn't Edward affix his mother's soul to the suit of armor?

Edward couldn't affix his mother's soul, because she was already long dead. It isn't made so obvious, but actually a few years pass between the mother's death, and then the boys training with Izumi, before they try and resurrect her. He was able to attach Al's soul to the armour because it was still present, in the body of the creature they tried to transmute. The mother's soul had long since departed, and couldn't be used in alchemy.

When the mother died of her illness, we can assume Ed never considered putting her soul into another object, and even if he did he wouldn't have known how, and probably would not have had the alchemical skill to do so anyway.


Can Goku and Vegeta attain Super Saiyan Rose?

I dont think they would be able to achieve it because I think it is partly linked to him being the same kind of race as Gowasu (as in mind)


The wikipedia article about One Piece has some interesting statistics. According to it, in 2008 Once Piece became the highest-circulated manga series (whatever that means), achieving a circulation of 5,956,540, according to this page. To compare: Naruto, which had the second place, had a circulation of 4,261,054.

In 2010 it was announced that 260 millions of manga volumes had been sold, and Volume 61 set a record as the highest initial print run of any book in Japan in history, with 3.8 million copies. If you think about it, it's huge. It even beats Harry Potter's sale rates.

It is also mentioned that One Piece is the best-selling series of all time in manga history, exceeding 270 million volumes sold as of February 2012.

Just to compare (although it may not be an exact analogy), here is the list of the most selling book series in history.

You can find some more infomation and numbers in the "reception" part of the article.


Alphonse was shown more of the truth than Edward, however he forgot it at the beginning of Brotherhood. Only towards the end did he remember. Thus, seeing more of it warrants a greater toll.

Also, the truth takes from you that which is most ironic (which is why it is such a cruel thing); for example, Mustang had his sight taken as he had his 'sights' set on being Fuhrer. Alphonse had his entire body taken as he wanted to feel his Mother's hugs and warmth. Having his body taken means that can't happen anymore.


What is the origin of this weird looking facial feature/mask?

The face on the first picture comes from Hyottoko, which according to wikipedia is:

a comical Japanese character, portrayed through the use of a mask. His mouth is puckered and skewed to one side. Some masks have different eye sizes between the left and right eyes. He is often wearing a scarf around his head (usually white with blue dots).

The reason for it to be commonly used extends beyond anime and manga, though, as it is a common stock character in other media — such as theater — too:

Hyottoko seems to have been a legendary character in Japan in the past, and is now a stock character.

The reason why its features are the way they are, albeit exaggerated, is explained by its name too:

The origin of the name comes from "fire" (火, hi) and "man" (男, otoko), because the character is blowing fire with a bamboo pipe, hence the shape of the mouth.

I don't think Suneo's expression is supposed to be an adaptation of the mask or what it tries to convey, though I don't have anything to back that up with.


The missing Shichibukai is Edward Weevil, who is introduced in chapter 802.

  Edward Weevil, or "Whitebeard Jr." is the self-proclaimed son of Edward Newgate and one of the Shichibukai. His mother is Miss Bakkin, the self-proclaimed lover of Newgate.He was first mentioned by Commodore Brannew in a discussion of the current Shichibukai ranks to several high-ranking Marine officers, but was not explicitly named until after Donquixote Doflamingo's defeat.


How do I read manga with multiple panels?

You would typically read it in a S shape from one row to the next, always returning far right panel when you start a new row.

+-------------------+
|    2    |   1     |
+-------------------+
|  6  | 5 | 4 |  3  |
+-------------------+
|    8    |    7    |
+-------------------+

So on the first row, start from the far right and you hit the far left panel of the first row, move to the far right panel of the second row. Then at the far left panel of the second row, move onto the far right of third row and finish the page.

However because of the flow of action in this particular page the order of panels goes more like this:

+-------------------+
|    2    |   1     |
+-------------------+
|  3  | 4 | 4 |  3  |  <-- the 2nd and the 4th Hokage are acting simultaneously
+-------------------+
|    6    |    5    |
+-------------------+


HOMRA (吠舞羅, homura). It's not 炎, the spelling is different.

The Arabic word "حمرة" which means "redness" must be the origin, it is the red clan after all, and the spelling is identical. (try the speaker button on Google Translate for the pronunciation)

In season 2 episode 3, Kismet is from an Arabic origin as well.


Where is the next chapter in this manga?

You're probably going to have a pretty hard time getting a hold of this legally. As far as I know, there's no legal digital distribution of the manga, so you'll need a print copy. While you may be able to find pirated copies online, we won't help you do so here as per our site policy.

Absorb; Ability was never especially popular in Japan. There are 2 volumes, each with 6 chapters, so you'd only need the second volume. The series ended in 2008, and the volumes have long been out of print. There's no licensed English release (confirmed by Baka Updates), and given the length and popularity licensed releases in other languages are also very unlikely. So you'll have to get your hands on the out-of-print originals, which means looking to the pre-owned market. This is unfortunately not easy, especially if you don't live in Japan.

There are a couple online Japanese stores carrying it right now. Amazon.co.jp has it, and there are some available used copies for very cheap. It's also on Suruga-ya. Both of these stores will only ship domestically in Japan though. You can use a proxy or forwarding service you're familiar with to get around that if you're willing to pay somewhat more.

Unfortunately I couldn't find anywhere that would ship internationally without a proxy or forwarding service, so if you aren't going that route your best bet is to check ebay regularly and hope it appears, which is honestly not very likely. Relatively obscure series like this tend to require jumping through some hoops to get your hands on.


What card game are the gang playing in the hotel in "Rivals and Arrivals"?

The name of the card game is Old Maid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_maid_(card_game)


How will Gon continue fighting after his fight with Neferpitou?

Without nen, Gon won't be able to fight against Nen users. As was seen in the Heaven's Arena arc, the only way to defend against Nen is with Nen, and without it even relatively weak attacks will kill or cripple you.

At the moment, the story is on an indefinite hiatus, but if it ever gets going properly again, Gon will not be able to fight against Nen users unless somehow he is able to regain his Nen, whether by himself or by someone helping him.

It's obviously a different story, but I think it's similar to how after Ichigo lost his spiritual pressure in Bleach, he was pretty weak for a while until it was restored to him.

Alluka was able to save Gon, and it's definitely possible that either some Hunter has the capability to restore Gon's Nen, or that somewhere in the Dark Continent there will be a way of restoring it.


Is there any scene in Naruto where anbu commits suicide?

You're probably thinking of the Body Elimination Technique, which makes it debut in filler episode A Shinobi's Determination

  An Anbu member seemingly manages to locate the general area of Orochimaru's hideout and sends a message to Konoha to notify Tsunade, before eliminating all traces of his body


Can I watch Digimon Tri without seeing Digimon Adventure 02?

As of the first Digimon Tri movie, you would be able to understand everything that goes on if you had only seen the very first season of Digimon Adventures, except for a couple momentary flashbacks involving vague glimpses of the Digimon Adventure 02 Digi-destined, but those flashbacks still make no sense for someone who has seen Digimon Adventure 02 anyways due to how vaguely they were shown.

Update from the second movie:

   You will need to know a little about the conflicts that happens in Digimon Adventure 02 as we see Ken Ichijouji appear, in the present day, towards the end of the second movie as the Digimon Emperor, which is quite contradictory if you have seen enough episodes of Digimon Adventures 02. Strangely however, he never speaks. The reason why he doesn't speak, or why he is even the Digimon Emperor again, is still a mystery until the third movie is released


Are items that are gained during evolution part of the Pokemon?

The items were most likely not intended by the developers to be a part of the Pokémon, but rather, a part of the Pokémon's design. For instance, the entry on Braixen from the Pokémon X game is:

  It has a twig stuck in its tail. With friction from its tail fur, it sets the twig on fire and launches into battle.

Source: http://serebii.net/pokedex-xy/654.shtml

So, do all Braixen have twigs? Yes, they do, but this is just because it is a game, and that is how Braixen was designed. And the anime reflects the designs in the games, and sometimes the anime tries to give some reasoning as to why the Pokémon have these items.  But is this twig a part of Braixen? No. As evident by the Pokédex entry, the twig is just something that is stuck in its tail for whatever reason. It is also evident in the anime because they were able to replace it when it was broken in the episode Mending a Broken Spirit!  (Japanese episode title: A Broken Twig: A Broken Heart! Braixen's Strong Feelings!!)

Edit: If we reference Pokédex entries, we see that they tell a narrative that's a little different from what we see in the games and in the anime. For instance, from Braixen's entry, I think the narrative is trying to say the twig in it's tail is just a twig it picked up on a stroll through a forest. If we look at what actually happens in the game and anime though, the twig magically appear as soon as Fennekin evolves. The point I'm trying to make is that there is a lot of hand-waving going on when a Pokémon evolves.

If you'll also recall in the first season of the Pokémon anime, Ash's Caterpie did not evolve in the same manner as all subsequent Pokémon. To become Metapod, it encased itself in a cocoon using string shot, and to become Butterfree, it broke the shell. This means of evolution makes more sense, but it wouldn't be feasible to come up with a unique means of evolution for every Pokémon. I suspect that the white glow method was adopted from the games as a convenience since so many Pokémon were going to evolve during the series and it introduced this inconsistency with items appearing out of nowhere.


Why does Dragon Ball Z have the letter Z in its title?

You can find the answer in a lot of forums:

  As the Dragon Ball anime series approached one of the manga’s major
  turning points, the anime staff approached Akira Toriyama about
  changing the name of the anime series to help change the “image” of
  the series. Thinking he would be ending the series sometime soon,
  Toriyama decided to signify this by simply adding the last letter in
  the alphabet to the series name. Little did he know that Dragon Ball Z
  would go on to be one of the most successful, popular, and recognized
  action anime series of all time.

Also from Dragon Ball Z Wikipedia:

  The title "Dragon Ball Z" was chosen by Akira Toriyama because Z is
  the last letter of the alphabet and he wanted to finish the series
  because he was running out of ideas for Dragon Ball. Conventional
  knowledge in Japan used the "Z" only for the anime to separate Goku's
  childhood and adult life.


What manga chapter is episode 219 of Naruto Shippuden from?

Episode 219 is towards the end of the Fourth shinobi world war: countdown

This arc lasted from volume 52 to 55. Or chapter 484 to 515.

IIRC they covered roughly 2 chapters per episode during this arc. Leading me to believe that episode 219 should match chapter 493-494


No one really knows, as it has never been revealed.

But a common theory is that Hisoka whispered something to him along the lines of "If you don't forfeit, I am going to fight the children", as Bodoro doesn't like to fight or harm children. You can read up more about him and form your own theory here.


What was the moral of Sasuke and Orochimaru's arcs across the Naruto series? Was there any?

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

The main two according to me are:

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

Other small values I feel were discussed are

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


Which Black Jack anime most closely follows the manga?

Black Jack 2004 Series so far is the most accurate.

I've read up to Volume 5 in the Manga, and so far (I've seen ALL OF THESE) the 2004 one has more elements of the original story composed by Osamu Tezuka.

What I like especially about the 2004 (& Black Jack 21) is that each episode even shows (in the introduction) the name of the chapters from the original Manga that the Anime is based off of.

If you want to watch something that's most closely related then I recommend the 2004 TV Series.

Although, like any other Anime Adaptation, there are bound to be some changes.


Well, that's becasue you also need to be competent enough to master both these powers.

Madara was strong enough, and was able to awaken it. Danzo however, was not.

Danzo's DNA originates from experiments and body modifications. He wasn't a "Natural", while Madara had natural mastery over the Uchiha powers, and after being defeated by Hashirama, mastery over the Senju powers.

It was also implied that you need to be very close to the end of your lifespan to awaken the Rinnegan.

Edit - Spoilers!

   Based on the recent chapters, it is implied that it isn't Senju + Uchiha which is needed to awaken the Rinnegan, but Indra's and Ashura's (Sage of Six Paths' sons) chakras. That is why Madara (the incarnation of Indra) was able to awaken them after implanting Hashirama's (the incarnation of Ashura) cells into his wounds.


What's the name of the first piece of music in Shingeki no Kyojin episode 1?

I assume this is referring to when the colossal titan appears in the prologue before the intro.

The song is called cóunter・attàck-mˈænkάɪnd (Counterattack Mankind) and is from Attack on Titan Original Soundtrack.

The actual part featured in the mentioned scene starts over half way through the track at around 3:25, which is possibly why it is hard to find.

It is composed by Hiroyuki Sawano.

The track can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PuP7IkpRLU


What happens when a seiyuu cannot continue working on a production?

This happens occasionally. The most recent example that I can think of is when Kawaragi Shiho, the seiyuu of Nishizono Mio from Little Busters!, got pregnant. In fact, this is very recent, as she just gave birth last Friday (December 7th). Of course Mio isn't the main character, but she's not a minor character either.

In this case, they just replaced her (with Tatsumi Yuiko). That's about the only real option they have most of the time. Unless the problem is only for a very short duration, the entire show is not going to be delayed for one seiyuu. If it happens well in advance and the character is pretty important, they can probably work around it. Gotou Yuuko (seiyuu for Hiro from Hidamari Sketch), who was on hiatus for a while this year for health reasons but is back now in Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb, is a good example of this. However, this is a pretty atypical situation, and the other shows she was in mostly got replacements.

In the end, unless the character is crucially important, it's very likely that they'll get a replacement, since it's pretty much the only realistic option. If something like this happens for a popular character in the off-season, it can also affect the possibility of sequels (e.g. most shows with Aya Hirano leads probably aren't in the sequel market). It usually doesn't hurt the seiyuu's career too much if it occurs for good reasons e.g. health, but some impact is inevitable.


Which official Dragon Ball crossovers are there?

As per the one piece fandom wikia there is only a single dragon ball crossover with toriko and two more episode with the toriko in anime.

There is a collaborative work from both the writers of respective manga called cross epoch featuring dragon ball and one piece.

References:

https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Cross_Epoch

https://onepiece.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Crossovers


Recap episodes may or may not have an actual purpose. From this article, which I recommend reading, recap episodes may have a purpose for long running series.

  If the show has taken an extended detour into filler sub-plots, for example, a recap episode reminds everyone of where the main story is at. It can also catch newcomers up on the story.

Most of the time, however, they are just an indication of a problem within the anime staff. To quote,

  A recap episode, generally, means they finally didn't make it. Some insurmountable challenge has come up, someone has dropped the ball, something just couldn't happen on time.

In short, it's just so that they can have something to broadcast, and it was not originally supposed to be aired, had they been on schedule. From that same article, this has a number of consequences. For one, since TV broadcast time is booked on advanced, there can only be a set number of episodes, which cannot be changed. Recap episodes would take up a slot of the set number of episodes, and the remaining episodes would have to be compressed in order to finish the story within the number of episodes they were given.

On the viewers' side, you have to admit, it somewhat annoys you, especially if it happens after an episode with a really good cliffhanger.


Did Dragon Ball Heroes introduce a new super saiyan transformation?

That's Super Saiyan 4 because it has red fur. The gray is possibly the transformation/fight (whatever they're doing).


5 Centimeters Per Second: What does the ending mean?

I attribute this to what would best be called a "Fleeting moment and feeling". His desire to see the girl again caused him to envision her being there for a moment which is personified by the passing train (another symbol that life moves on). But when it passes, so does his desire and like the train, he decides to move forward with his life.


Was the Blood from Gara's Sand Coffin always black?

Yes, the blood was always black, so inside your red blood cells there is oxygen, so when the blood cells die they release oxygen and the oxygen makes that blood a dark red that looks black.


What's with this up-tilted head posture?

It's known as the 'Shaft head tilt' as the animation studio "Shaft" are well known for including it in their shows:

Above are other shaft shows; Puella Magi Madoka Magica ,Arakawa Under the Bridge
, Nisekoi.

Anime director of Shaft since 2004, Akiyui Shinbo is responsible for this studio trait.

knowyourmeme - Shaft Head Tilt

The tilt is merely artistic, with no special meaning. Along with this, Shaft have other signature style traits such as large expansive empty rooms for dramatic effect and fast displaying text.

(who needs all that space to brush their teeth or have a bath?)

TVTropes Shaft Studio


Is there a specific anime category for shows like One Punch Man and My Hero Academia?

I would have to agree with @AkiTanaka with this one. I think these anime can simply be classed as 'superhero' that is like a counterpart to Western superhero comics, like in DC or Marvel. What sets the 'superhero' genre apart is that there is a recurring theme of the 'good side', consisting of people referred by normal citizens as heroes or superheroes dedicated to fighting the 'bad side', consisting of what people would refer to as villains or monsters.

You might argue that since Gatchaman is categorized as superhero, this invalidates @AkiTanaka's point. If I understand correctly, Gatchaman characters do not have any powers comparable to that of Boku no Hero Academia or One Punch Man characters.

But, if you look at the definitions of what is a superhero, characters do not require actual superhuman powers or phenomena to be deemed superheroes. From Wikipedia,

  ...the longstanding Merriam-Webster dictionary gives the definition as "a fictional hero having extraordinary or superhuman powers; also: an exceptionally skillful or successful person"

Hence the reason why Gatchaman is also classed as 'superhero' and why I think BNHA and OPM can be classed as the same.


How well thought out are the economics in Narutoverse (Konoha and other Ninja Villages)? Has Kishimoto ever explained it?

D-Rank missions were indeed overpaid, Kishimoto probably had no clue what he was doing when he said that 1 ryo equals 10 yen. But first, in each year, only 9 out of 27 graduates will be chosen to become a Genin, while the rest of course will be send back to the academy. This cuts down the quantity to the minimum, only 9 Genin are introduced to the mission per year.

Missions are assigned by either Jounin-sensei (if they still have a mentor) or Hokage himself. Almost all missions are non-repeatable, which means the completed missions will be removed from the mission list. However, it is the client who decides the amount of money to pay the village (you can refer to here), and then the village will pay the person who completed the mission. Not sure whether the village charges the fee or not, but probably yes in common sense.

Despite their high income, they might spend most of their money on ninja tools supplies such as shurikens, kunais, scrolls, bombs, etc. Shinobi use a lot of weapons and traveling goods, and that compensation probably is a supplement, rather than the real income.


Identification about a manga with a VR game that results in "IRL" gender changes

Found it, Trans Trans by Ruen Rouga. For some odd reason it is simply listed under RUEN Rouga however.

  A girl playing a male character in a video game falls in love with a female character in the virtual world while unaware the player is actually a boy. Meanwhile strange distortions begin to happen in the real world...


Shouldn't Naruto be able to regain Kurama's chakra, and Sasuke, his Rinnegan?

Well based on the above facts I could say maybe since most of the time the sharingan users are bound to control a power based on emotions. On his case, true he has the power of Six paths Chakra but when he uses the rinnegan you can witness that he needs to charge it to it's full capacity which is why you could see the Tomoe those dots represents the charged state. So I guess he can bring out the rinnegan in his left eye but will he be able to use it for that I would say it might take time.


The spirit bomb against Majin Buu was simply far more powerful than the one used against Frieza.
The strength of a spirit bomb depends on the amount of energy the user can gather.
During the fight against Frieza the energy comes from Namek and some nearby planets. At that point the population on Namek was quite decimated so there wasn't much energy from there.
Against Majin Buu the energy came from the strongly populated Earth, the Other World, New Namek and the rest of the surviving planets of the sector.

Source : Dragon Ball Wiki articles regarding the Spirit Bombs against Frieza and Majin Buu.


How many trainers in the anime have Legendary Pokemon?

Well firstly, the person you seem to be referring to with the Articuno is Noland. The Articuno he uses against Ash was befriended by him and wasn't technically captured and hence, not his pokemon.Since you specified Anime, I will stick to mentioning trainers only from the Anime who have Legendary Pokemon. At the same time, I think it is fair to disregard Evil Teams who managed to control Legendary pokemon/ Trainers who have befriended Legendary Pokemon and even used them in battle.The following trainers in the Anime have Legendary PokemonBrandon: He is the Frontier Brain of the Battle Pyramid and considered to be the strongest Frontier Brain in the Battle Frontier. He owns a Regirock, Regice and Registeel.Tobias: He is the Winner of the Lilly of the Valley Conference(Sinnoh League). He owns a Darkrai and Latios.Random Trainer in the Lilly of the Valley Conference(Sinnoh League): In Episode 182 in the anime, we see a random trainer registering a Heatran for the Pokemon League. However, we never see this trainer or Heatran in any of the matches in the tournament apart from this episode.Nurse Joy part of the Gym inspection Agency: In a Diamond & Pearl Special, we see Nurse Joy use a Latias against Brock's brother Forrest.Gladion: He is Lillies Brother and Ash's reccuring Rival in the Sun & Moon anime. He has a Type: Null which later evolves into a Sylvally.


Why is Gintama's episode 305 full of contradictions?

Much like @Akaik mentioned in his answer, the main reason for the inconsistencies is entirely down to both Sunrise and Gori-Sensei not entirely knowing the details of these events as they go head first into making everything.

They pretty much admit to this using Gintoki to explain at the end of episode 306, where they include another Ginpachi-Sensei segment.  They even use the point you mention that previously it looked as if Gin joined Shuoyou's school after Katsura and Takasugi, when in the latest episodes it appears to be the reverse.  They make a joke about it not having a script at the time and that something entirely different is happening.

This is probably as close to an offcial answer that we'll get.

There may be other mentions to why the other points you make out have changed in-between episodes but no mention of this (even as a joke) has appeared in the manga as far as I remember.


Are there side effects in using Iron Blood Transformation?

Iron Blood Transformation: A saboteur technique, activated by extreme mental concentration, that optimizes and redefines the user's entire body systems. This allows Toru to perform inhuman physical feats, such as repelling a feira unicorn or jumping several meters into the air. The transformation also substantially improves his combat skills and techniques, allowing him to fight against high level opponents. A drawback to using the Iron Blood Transformation is that the technique requires a huge amount of energy. When Toru transforms for the first time in a very long time, he needed a huge amount of food to restore himself or risk fainting. Another drawback is that it makes him more susceptible to poison, as the technique improves his respiratory system which would increase the flow of any poison inside him. In the anime, his hair turns red and two crimson streaks cross over his face while emitting a red aura during the transformation.

Source: Hitsugi no Chaika wiki


Is distorted calligraphy used in the season 1 opening of Ushio to Tora?

I guess you could describe this as calligraphic. I don't know enough to say whether this is what a calligrapher would consider genuine art vs. just being writing with bold and swishy brush strokes.

This writing doesn't "symbolize" anything, though - it's just the lyrics of the first verse of the OP theme as they're being sung.

混ぜんな mazen na
危険な kiken-na
やつらが会いすりゃ yatsura-ga ai-surya
土壇場 dotanba
土壇場 dotanba
じゃないか janai ka
混ぜるな危険のねんごろ mazeru na kiken-no nengoro (written bottom-to-top)

I don't want to venture a translation here, but see e.g. Lyrical Nonsense for one candidate translation.


The general stigma of Naruto having the 9-tails made people fear him. It's a core point of his character development and central to the story of how he travels the path of deliquent ninja - Hokage and the villages strongest.

In reality it would make sense for him to be adopted but in actuality it would ruin the plot entirely.


I'm not sure it is explicit in the show, but here is my long-winded explanation based on extrapolating from present-day technologies and trends:

Today, "certificates" are used to verify the identity of (trust) computers you communicate with; a website that looks like your bank's, isn't your bank's. By installing/using your OS, you've already consented to trusting whoever they've added to the default list. VeriSign is an example; the company has a process for new websites to establish trust with them, and they have trust with your OS manufacturer, and you have already consented to trust them.

Today, this is all done with >128-bit keys, however, in the time of GITS, it's reasonable to assume they are able to use massively long keys, possibly >128-Mbit. It would take a PC from our time, working non-stop, until the time of GITS to crack one.

You could Google extensively about encryption, but for simplicity's sake:
Someone can create a certificate to "verify" anything they want. Ultimately, you will have to either explicitly trust them, or defer to a third-party to evaluate their claims on your behalf. We don't background check and explicitly trust every single merchant with a credit card reader; instead, we trust a select few companies, Visa, Mastercard, etc. to not associate with disreputable merchants and unconditionally handle any problems that arise, if they do.

In the time of GITS, cyber-brains are evidently secured by, at a minimum, a very-strong private key, approximately unique to each. Additional security features can be added/upgraded such as "attack barriers", "dummy barriers", etc. As governments usually go, it is extremely likely that the government has interfered heavily in cyberization matters, enacting legislation to ensure minimum-this', maximum-thats, etc. Another typical feature of governments both in today's time, and in GITS time, is reliance on a self-preserving model of "buying "security"" with liberty. In other words, we cannot be 100% safe and 100% free at the same time. In order to do their job, we must trust the government. The result of that implied trust are (many) laws allowing them to legally spy on and/or indefinitely detain you. If you are deemed a "threat to national security", your liberty is administratively revoked, your communications are monitored, you are no longer innocent until proven guilty, etc. Consider that, today, your cell phone's microphone, camera, GPS, etc. are all controlled by software and can all be enabled and activated remotely.

Notice that in GITS, although technically a "police force", we are never given any indication that any member of Section 9 has EVER applied for a search warrant. Many times, while in their own country, Section 9 shows no regard (and sometimes contempt) for security/local police or their instructions, preferring to knock them down or disable them to gain (technically-illegal) entry to private properties, usually by kicking in a few doors/walls/faces. Section 9 goes and does, almost unilaterally, wherever and whatever they want.

Regarding the GIK:

I suspect that it is not a single entity. It is more likely to be a set of private keys from a very-high-level certification authority (CA). These keys have long, but not indefinite, lifetimes and today's computers already check for both revoked and expired certificates.
When folks get "back-hacked", minor systems are affected and the intrusion is not necessarily obvious. A few examples are: Batou being "encouraged" to punch himself out by The Major, Batou's eyes being hacked by Aoi, Batou hacking an arm suit operator's eyes to appear dead, etc. These were all basically "subliminal suggestions" to lower-level systems. After convincing Batou's eyes that he was no longer there, Aoi casually walks off. Batou is very sharp, but even he took a few seconds to realize/remember that lists of vaccine recipients do not usually materialize out of thin air and hand themselves to people. In contrast, the recruits initially failed the entrance exam because they never figured out they had been implanted with false memories.
[I think] "Ghost" refers to hacking an individual with the intent to directly harm, disable, and/or control the human (override their ghost/spirit/soul), rather than to just subvert their free will by obfuscating reality (eye hacking) or misdirecting them (implanting false memories).
Using "the GIK" is not so much, more-invasive, as it is final. The implied super-extra-high-level nature of these keys makes overriding their use impossible; the prosthetic body, cyber-brain, any barriers, and all other related systems and functions will deliberately ignore input from the human brain-cells they are intended to support in favor of the trust implied by a GIK.


What happened to all the talking animals in Dragon Ball?

There are still talking animals in Dragon Ball Z, in the episode Plight of the children, the police officer is an animal, and some of the children are too.

Also, near the end of the Cell Saga, you had a cut to the King of the Earth (a dog), commenting on how much adult Goku, looked like the child Goku who killed King Piccolo.

But the number of talking animals did indeed get reduced.

It kinda goes with the direction Dragon Ball was taking.  It was moving away from being a fanciful, light-hearted comedy to a more serious fighting shonen, and the talking animals fit less and less to the story.


Why does Moa's 3D/mini form look different from her 2D/full-size form?

This might be just a speculation.

Moa's myumon form came first. It was part of original Show By Rock mobile game. As you point out, it is based on black-skinned sheep. As the art style is heavily stylized and the sprites are mostly static in game, it doesn't feel wrong.

But then, Show By Rock anime happens and Plasmagica becomes main cast. And for that the characters get standard anime style. But in that style, black skin like that would look jarring and most people would probably dislike it. So the producers decided to just go with plain anime girl with pink hair. But because the 3D is primarilly based on original myumon forms, they had to keep her black skin there.

Actually, all characters loose their animal traits when moving from myumon style to anime style. Cyan, Retoree and Chuchu all have animal-snouted faces as myumons but "human" faces in anime. Same with ShinganCrimsonz.

Also, did you notice producer Maple is NOT an egg in human form? Shocking, right?


Is there a uncensored version of Tokyo Ghoul?

The DVDs will be uncensored.

They are not fully released yet (Volume 3 is coming out on the 28th of November, Volume 4 December 26th ), nor released in English speaking territories.

I expect it may take another few months before it is picked up by English licencors (streaming rights have been purchased, but DVD rights aren't up for grabs just yet).

Ref


This is a old Russian wartime song called "Katyusha."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=epclAbW1APk&t=45


How does one start being a Pokemon Trainer without a Pokemon Professor?

There are all sorts of ways one can get his/her first Pokémon. In the Black and White manga, Black borrows Pokémon from Bianca's father to have mock battles (I don't remember if he actually used them to catch his first Pokémon, but this shows that trainers could borrow someone else's Pokémon to catch their own). In the anime, episode 3, Ash Catches a Pokémon, Ash is able to catch Caterpie without even battling it, so sometimes it isn't even necessary to have your own Pokémon first. Also in the anime, in episode 4 of the XY Season, A Shockingly Cheeky Friendship!, Clemont catches Dedenne for Bonny and says he'll hold on to it until she is old enough to become a Pokémon trainer.

So, clearly one doesn't need to go to a Pokémon professor to start off. One also doesn't need a Pokémon professor to take care of excess Pokémon. In the anime episode Lost Leader Strategey, it is shown that Paul's brother Reggie takes care of his Pokémon.

Information about the referenced episodes can be found at http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/


Where is the second season of "Danna ga Nani o Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken", chronologically compared to the first?

The second season interleaves with the events in the first season.

On the title card roughly in the middle of each episode, it shows the episode number and where it relates to the first season in parentheses below it.

Episode 1 is 7.5
Episode 2 is 9.5
Episode 3 is 8.5
Episode 4 is 11.5
Episode 5 is 12.5

Screenshot from Episode 3:

Screenshot from Episode 4:


Why did all Kurta Clan get beaten up even though they have the Scarlet Eyes?

There is an inherent assumption in the question, "IF Kurapika is so powerful with his scarlet eyes...". Yes it is true that when a member of Kurta clan becomes enraged they gain an increase in physical strength, however they lose their rationality and revert to a primal form. We do not know if the "Scarlet Eyes" causing Kurpika to become a specialist is unique to him or the Kurta clan. Your other question regarding the so called "hero" has simply no base or answer at all because the Manga gives no information.

However, you've to understand that the Phantom Troupe themselves are very powerful Nen Users. They can easily go against numerous "physically powerful" people, they can easily kill them. This is what Nen brings to the table and all members of The Phantom Troupe.

Kurapika was able to bridge the gap by utilizing his "Scarlet Eyes". He was able to turn his eyes Scarlet at will. By utilizing the conditions of Limitations and putting his own life at stake he greatly boosted his Nen abilities. He is a skilled Nen User, has high combat prowess, genius level intellect, and enhanced speed, perception and reflexes.

To end, as far as we know Kurapika is strong BECAUSE of his clan massacre and his innate skill and not because of his clan. The Phantom Troupe is an elite group of Nen Users who can take on any other high level fighters. We don't have enough history about Kurta clan to know if there was another "hero" for the clan.


Who is the yellow-haired character in opening of Midnight Occult Civil Servants?

Haven't watched the anime but taking a look at the art from the manga volume covers, to me it looks like an artistic preference in the color used in the opening scene rather than a new character.

Here's a comparison of the anime and the manga covers:

This is especially noticeable in Volume 3's cover. There's no green-haired character yet the cover art and the opening sequence also features the characters with green hairs and an overall color of green (not sure what term this is called in art). This leads to me to conclude that the opening scene you see was probably trying to copy the volume's majority of one color in the art in the scenes it portrays.

That said, I think that's the red-haired guy, Miyako Arata, if I'm correct.


Did Arataka Reigen retain or unlock some psychic powers?

As far as I know, not really.

At the end of episode 12 of season 1, Reigen says that the only thing he gained from that experience was the ability to see Dimple now, and that aside from that, not much has changed.


What are the real names of the members of Organisation XIII?

I. Xemnas = Ansem Xehanort
II. Xigbar = Braig (Bleig, in the NA version of KH2)
III. Xaldin = Dilan (Dilin; Ibid)
IV. Vexen = Even
V. Lexaeus = Aeleus (Eleus; Ibid)
VI. Zexion = Ienzo
VII. Saïx = Isa
VIII. Axel = Lea
IX. Demyx = ???
X. Luxord = ???
XI. Marluxia = Lauriam
XII. Larxene = Elrena
XIII. Roxas = Sora

   XIV. Xion = "nobody," Sora's (imperfect) replica with Kairi's memories.
 From the Tomoko Tanemaki, one of the scenario writers and writer of the KH novel: Xion's name contains the Japanese words for "tide" (潮, shio), fitting the oceanic naming theme of Kairi, Naminé, and Aster tataricus (紫苑, shion), which according to Japanese floriography, means "I won't forget you" or "remembrance."


The literal translation for that is something along the lines of "young wife", as the original script uses "幼妻" instead of the "gal-wife" expression NISA made up. So she's pretty much boasting that she's going to be Aoto's wife despite being so young-looking.


What's the song in Tokyo Ghoul when Tsukiyama tries to stop Kaneki?


How can Sebastian use "I am a butler and a devil" so casually?

Yeah, it's a pun. When read

  悪魔で執事ですから
  akuma de shitsuji desu kara

It means

  I'm a devil and a butler, you see.

Whereas, when read as the identical-sounding

  飽くまで執事ですから
  aku made shitsuji desu kara

It means

  I'm a butler through and through, you see.

This pun (aku made vs. akuma de) is a relatively common one in Japanese. For an example of a second-order pun of this variety, see the omake at the end of episode 26 of Yowamushi Pedal:

The fellow on the right was transformed from being a sheep to a (human) butler, and so instead of saying aku made shitsuji desu kara "I'm a butler through and through", he says aku made hitsuji desu kara "I'm a sheep through and through" (butler = shitsuji, sheep = hitsuji; cf. What do the sheep dolls represent in Mayo Chiki?).

Additional note: the aku in the two examples are homophones that mean different things. The aku in my first example is 悪, which means "evil". The aku in my second example is 飽く, which is a verb meaning "to grow tired of" (you see its more common synonym 飽きる = akiru more often).

The compound construction aku made (飽くまで) means "until I grow tired of ~" when viewed as two different words, and means "completely" or "thoroughly" when viewed as a fixed idiomatic compound (this latter usage is standard; analyzing it as a verb+まで is not).

The official English translation by Funimation aptly captures the meaning and magnitude of this pun by translating it as "You see, I'm merely one hell of a butler." This reflects both his demonic nature as well as his skills as a servant using a common English expression that has more or less the same meaning.


What is the music that plays when Shirley is testing out the headphones?

According to this reddit thread the song is Masquerade

The vocals, lyrics and composition seem to be all done by Kuroishi Hitomi

It's a great song, it's a shame they seem to have all been taken down off of youtube. If you want a physical copy, Masquerade is the 13th track on this album.


There are a couple of clues that I can think of are a good indicators that indicate the probable demographics of a anime series. The first is the use of furigana, which indicates the target demographics is probably young, and the second is the target demographics of the magazine that the source manga was original published in. The later obviously only applies to series derived from printed manga, but that's still most anime.

Furigana are those small Japanese characters that can appear over kanji characters in order to provide their pronunciation to readers who might not be familiar with the kanji or there use in that context. They can appear even works targeted at adults if the kanji is very unusual or the author's intended pronunciation is non-standard, but mainly the appear in works targeted to children. I'm not entirely sure what age the cut off is, but a show targeted at younger teens is probably going to use furigana while a show targeted at older teens probably won't. Apparently this has changed over time and current works targeted at teens are more likely to use furigana than older works with the same demographics.

In an anime show the place to look for furigana is things like the titles, eye catches, subtitled opening or closing song lyrics and any Japanese subtitles of foreign language dialog. The credits won't normally have furigana, being essentially aimed at adults working in the industry.

For example despite the fact the characters in Wooser's Hand to Mouth Life all look they were designed by Sanrio, the lack of any furigana in the show's title screen suggests an older target demographic:

This is supported by the fact the show originally aired on TV in Japan at 1:35 AM in the morning.

While anime series often try to target a broader audience than the original source material (if any) that their based on they rarely try to target a completely different demographic. In the case of anime series based on printed manga it's usually not too hard to find out what magazine the manga was originally published in. Most manga magazines have a entry on the English Wikipedia which gives the target demographic of that magazine. Sure it requires a bit "previous research" but it usually requires no more work than finding the Wikipedia page for the anime and clicking one or two times.

As far as genre does I don't think it possible to come with any good rules to determine the genre of a show by watching it. Sure it's not hard to categorize a show after viewing 15 minutes of it, but codifying that process would be well beyond what can be answered here and not all the useful. Genres are basically just piles we place shows in order to provide some sort of organization. They're sections in a video store. A show has to go on some shelf, but not every store is going to make the same determinations of where. And at the edges it's not always possible to say whether a given categorization was right or wrong.

Another problem complicating determining genres is that Western genres are often different the Japanese genres, and anime fandom has created its own genres distinct from either. For example "slice-of-life" is an anime genre that doesn't have direct translation into Japanese and differs the older Western meaning.


A late '90s early 2000s anime with a amnesiac girl with special power

Dragoon (1997)

In the great Garubado Empire, a lethal weapon is in the process of being manufactured, but is stolen and subsequently lost in battle. Now the Empire is looking for this weapon: a girl that can call forth the "Dragoon" power. She has amnesia and is found by a wandering swordsman in training by who vows to help her find out who she is and why she has such a strange power.

Synopsis of the first episode from Wikipedia:

In Dragoon, May is the key to unlocking the deadliest weapon, known as the Dragoon. Soon into the film, May is shown in a tube being controlled by two older men. May escapes and finds herself lost in the woods. While sword fighting, a young man named Sedon, hears soldiers and airplanes around where he is practicing his sword techniques. He comes across a search party looking for May, keeping himself hidden behind a row of shrubbery as he follows them. Down the line of hedges, while he isn't looking where he is going Sedon trips. He turns over and realizes what he has stumbled over. He finds May lying naked, unconscious beside him.

Sorry, no naked picture.

After finding May in the woods, Sedon takes her to his small cabin, in which his father built. They stay there a while, and soon after May awakens. Soon after that, the search party comes across the cabin, and they knock on the door.
Sedon and May escape just in time, but they are leaving tracks in the snow. To hide this, they run down a small nearby stream. The Searchers lose the trail, and Sedon takes May back to his village. After they arrive, Sedon learns of May's Amnesia. She can't remember a thing.

Rain Keeves Fearudo, the blonde-haired character.


How was Aizen building up the Espada before getting the Hogyoku?

I believe the scene in question is from chapter 291 and episode 192, so this is what I'm going to work off of.

According to the wiki:

  The original Espada were already in existence sometime before Aizen's defection from Soul Society and acquisition of the Hōgyoku.

So this would mean that Aizen did not have either Hōgyoku before the Espada were being gathered.

Then to answer the second half of your question, in the scene you mentioned Nnoitra is talking about how it has been years since Nelliel has taken her full form as an Espada due to the trama he inflicted on her long before rendering her appearance to that of a small child.

So in this instance he was not saying that it had been years since Nelliel had become an Espada, but that it had been years since she returned to being an Espada.


What's the meaning of A.T field that Asuka said in the End of Evangelion movie?

There's some info about this posted in the "Why are child pilots used" question, but specifically, Asuka's mom Kyoko has always been in the Evangelion.

In episode 22, we see the flashback of Asuka's mom having gone through a contact experiment similar to what Shinji's mom, Yui, went through with Unit-01. Similar to how Shinji's mom is "inside" Unit-01, Asuka's mom is "inside" Unit-02. I've put "inside" in quotes as it's probably not in a literal sense. Maybe it's their "souls" or "impressions" or something that's inside the Evangelions. It's not entirely clear why this mother-child bond is required in the show, although we do know the idea came from Sadamoto, the original mangaka. We also know it's somewhat an important functional requirement, until Gendo (and eventually Seele) managed to get the Dummy Plugs to work (e.g. Unit-03, Mass Produced Evangelion series from End of Evangelion).

As far as the "meaning of the A.T. Field", there's a good bit of speculation on how that all works. The first hint is from Kaworu during the end of episode 24 where he does a rather cryptic infodump on the mechanics of Evangelion, souls, and A.T. Fields:

Kaworu: Eva is made of the same body as me.
    Because I'm also born of Adam.
    When the unit doesn't have a soul, I can unite with it.
    The soul of Unit 02 is shutting itself up now.

Shinji: AT Field!

Kaworu: Yes, you Lilims call it that.
    The holy region that must not be invaded by anyone.
    The light of the soul.
    You Lilims are aware of that.
    Aware that the AT Field is the wall of the soul that everyone
    has.

So A.T. Fields are generated by a "soul" (again, probably not something that is literal), and a "soul" is inside every Evangelion, and in this case, specifically Unit-02, Asuka's Evangelion. I you also recall, Unit-02 was previously unresponsive after the immense psychic attack from Arael which affected both Asuka and the Evangelion (e.g. her mom). This made it possible for Kaworu to take control of Unit-02 during episode 24 and why he says that the soul has "shut itself up". Asuka has come to the realization that:

Her mom has been in the Evangelion this whole time
Her mom issues were all for naught because her mom has been with her this whole time, she wasn't alone afterall
That her mom was using her soul to create Unit-02's A.T. Field which was protecting Asuka

At that point, Asuka goes into kick-ass mode with/because of her new understanding; a renewed bond with her mother/Eva's soul, a new understanding of what the A.T. Field really is and probably an enhanced control of how to use it (as evidenced by her fight with the Mass Produced Evangelions)


What is the name of this song playing in My Hero Academia Season 2 Episode 9?

The track name is Chokushi Dekinai Urara kasa, if you have the OST collection it'll be in Disk 1, Track 21

Here's the song on youtube


What exactly was Roswaal's role within Re:Zero?

Roswaal has ulterior motive. It is not shown in anime adaptation. Yet, anime covers only three first arks of the light novel. His motive is fully explained in ark 4.

   His goal is to meet Echidna, Witch of Greed. This is why he helps both Emilia and Subaru.