text:
Did "Fairy Tail" plagiarize "One Piece"?
As shown in the following pictures, there are so many similar scenes/character designs with One Piece:

Isn't this considered plagiarism?

Nearly everything has been drawn. You practically can’t go unique anymore. With two long(-ish) running animes, there will be a significant amount of overlap.

@Jan So does that mean you won't get sued I don't understand?

That would be a question of Law Stack Exchange; if one exists.

@Jan It exists: http://law.stackexchange.com/

There is a big difference between influence and plagiarism. One Piece is influenced by so many existing stories, yet I doubt he pays copyright. He is just giving tribute to stories and people he loves. Even Fairy Tail's magic powers are similar to One Piece's Devil Fruit powers, but I think as long as he does not create a cartoon about pirates and Devil Fruits, I think he is fine. They are friends after all and if a few characters look alike, it would not influence them in any way, apart from giving Mashima a (bad?) rep for not being as creative.

Here you can see Oda has based his characters on a lot of existing people as well: http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2015/05/03/pro-wrestler-mick-foley-discovers-the-one-piece-character-he-inspired

Mashima is known to get a lot from One Piece bro ignore the top answer

Plagiarism is a legal crime and thereby its definition and how it is handled differs by nation (also, plagiarism and copyright infringement are two different things). For example, in the U.S., an illustration that draws upon previous works by others must be different enough that a specific source for it cannot be pinpointed and that multiple possible sources cannot be presented (to mash-up a couple of works and/or to change the pose slightly can be enough that it does not constitute copyright infringement). Some of the illustrations you include above are not clearly similar enough to count under that sort of definition.
However, Japan is not a country that is as concerned about plagiarism as many other nations. Plagiarism is generally thought of as poor behavior in the academic context and when infamous cases of it come out in the international sphere, an apology and possibly a retraction of the academic paper may be made: a recent example is the stem-cell research dissertation that contained almost identical portions to text posted on a U.S. National Institutes of Health website; the author "said she was 'very hurt' by the media hoopla surrounding the research" and the university "released a statement of apology it said was signed by Dr. Obokata and two of her co-authors. They said they 'humbly accept the various suggestions made about the flaws in our paper' and were discussing a retraction . . ."
Some universities do not even prepare and distribute a plagiarism policy, professors vocally welcome plagiarism (I heard the other day a prof say in a room of fellow instructors and students that it is fine for students to plagiarize speeches as a way of practicing English), and unwelcome plagiarism noticed by professors is often not reported (instead, the work is graded according to its quality or the student fails the course. If the plagiarism is reported, the prof must fill out lots of paperwork and the student fails the course anyway, which means the same student may be back in the same class next semester and the same prof has to deal with him/her again, so failing the student quietly or grading the work on its own merit [usually not high quality] can be preferred. This is especially true because once the paperwork is filed, the school administration can decide whether or not to give the student any consequences or can tell the prof to please go ahead and pass the student).
In standard publishing, plagiarism is usually dealt with by simply making a public apology, or an expression of regret (which carefully avoids technically apologizing), and possibly withdrawing further sales of the publication and/or the plagiarist promptly retires (a culturally well-thought-of means of demonstrating that you were not qualified to have that role; if a Japanese company makes a major blunder, often the boss will announce retirement to take the blame): see the examples in the Japanese Wikipedia page on plagiarism. In only two of the cases listed there did the victim press charges and file a lawsuit.
Japanese are often assuaged by, or really the only thing they wanted out of their complaint is, an apology. In Japanese culture, it is rude to explain in an apology why the thing happened (i.e. if you are late to class, only say you're sorry for being late; do not mention whether your mother just got rushed to the hospital or the train got delayed from a suicide on the tracks or you overslept. They want the apology only, and it is more polite to make it as succinct as possible).
To sue over plagiarism, the victim who was wronged (the publishing company that owns the plagiarized work, or possibly the author of the plagiarized work) must have a desire to sue; then it will come up before a prosecutor and then possibly proceed to court (sometimes the prosecutor determines that the defendant is not guilty, or for some other reason that it would not be best for the case to go to trial, and it dies in the prosecutor's office. Fictional examples of this can be seen in the Japanese live-action TV drama HERO). In Japanese culture, suing is not as common and viewed as respectable behavior as it is in some other countries. About a year ago at my Japanese university, a student was physically abusing another student and it was found out by an American international student, who reported it to the advisor. The advisor was angry that this was reported by the international student because it could look bad for the department, and the police came to campus to investigate but were not able to do anything because the victim refused to admit the abuse, since if he did so, his chance of getting hired by a Japanese company after graduation would sharply decrease: a person who reports misdemeanors is considered a trouble-maker that a company would not want to hire; the batterer went off scot-free. This is not the unfortunate case of every crime in Japan, but it is prevalent for victims to want to protect their standing in society by not getting involved in a police report or lawsuit.
Some character designs, and battle poses, are common enough in many manga/anime titles that no one could sue over them (such as hair styles like the long, black straight hair that waves at the bottom seen in Tomoyo in Cardcaptor Sakura and Tsubasa Chronicle, or the high ponytail with a wide ribon or sash seen in Kaoru in Rurouni Kenshin, or the shooting-straight-up spikes of hair like Gon in HUNTER x HUNTER).
It is also not considered plagiarism to pay tribute to a character/costume design that you like in a parody sort of way. Having your characters cosplay is the easiest way, like Hyouka's Ibara Mayaka's copy of Frolbericheri Frol's fashion in the classic shoujo sci-fi 11 Nin Iru! (They Were Eleven), but adapting a design in a way that incorporates originality while giving a big hint to the audience who you're giving a shout-out to is also unlikely to garner ill feelings from the artist who created the original character. As an example, Sailor Moon parodies appeared in Crayon Shin-chan and vice versa, even though the manga titles were not owned by the same publishing company nor the anime owned by the same animation studio (though both aired on the same TV channel), and here's a list of other series in which Sailor Moon was given a cameo appearance.

Ultimately, 1) plagiarism is not considered a major scandal requiring action to be taken and 2) a publishing company or the artist must have a desire to sue for plagiarism, which is not all that common in Japan. When Kamiya Yuu's illustrations were accused of plagiarism on the Twitter account rotiflride (which has since been suspended), no action was taken. When an element in the anime adaption of his No Game No Life series was discovered to be plagiarized according to another Twitter account, the production committee admitted this and issued an apology, and decided to replace the image for the DVD and Blue-Ray release. The specific artist who committed the plagiarism wrote a response which looks vaguely like an apology but which does not technically apologize.

Plagiarism is HUGE in Japan just look at the author of Chihayafuru whose manga literally got axed in the middle of a popularity boom. Also that Hyouka image is literally a reference mate

Both artists have claimed Akira Toriyama (creator of Dragonball) is their biggest influence, and coming from the same art school I think it's likely enough they share a lot of other influences as well as possibly knowing each other personally as well.
Hiro Mashima's earlier work Rave Master was quite similar artistically to Eiichiro Oda's work & Fairy Tale as well. So, it's not as if Mashima's has purposefully made Fairy Tale similar in an art style similar to One Piece - It's just his own style.

And as mentioned before, there is only so much uniqueness that one can have in a show as long as both of the shows are. The combination of those two facts are probably sufficient to pass the comparisons you've shown as coincidence.
Regardless, I would imagine that it's not doing Oda any harm so he's chosen to leave it be if it was the case that there was some level of plagarism going on.

Well it would make sense that Rave Master and Fairy Tail are artistically similar, since they are by the same author.

@PeterRaeves yes, I included it to show that it's not an art style he's just picked up in Fairy Tale to emulate Oda. (I probably should have expanded on that in the answer though)


text:
Which NGE movie package contains both "Death and Rebirth" and "The End Of Evangelion"?
I want to know which Neon Genesis Evangelion movie package contains both Death and Rebirth and The End Of Evangelion. I already have the 26-episode run.
When searching, I found that Neon Genesis Evangelion - Evangelion Feature Films - DTS was including The End of Evangelion, that version seems to contain Death and Rebirth and The End Of Evangelion.
I want to know if that was the right version to buy/watch.

The DTS Evangelion Feature Film collection seems to be correct in having Death & Rebirth and The End of Evangelion. According to the Evangelion Wiki anyway.
It's also been remastered with DTS audio which I think means it supports surround sound and other such systems better.

source: Stack Exchange

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

sort: votes


text:
What is the purpose of having this face in the subtitles/lyrics?
During the first verse in the second opening to Hayate no Gotoku (Shichitenhakki Shijou Shugi! by KOTOKO), this face (O_O;) appears in each version of the subtitles;  the translated, romanised and original Japanese versions.
Additionally, the face is also included on various lyrics sites such as here and here.
Why is this? I've never seen emoticons or unicode faces in any other subtitles, and I don't see how it adds to the song at all. I know this is a series that doesn't take itself too seriously, but is there any explanation as to why this is here?

Even if it's not for the question, the song is worth a listen, it's a pretty good OP

It's in the source lyrics, if you take a look at the blue text behind goddess

@nhahtdh Yeah, that's why I mentioned both the translated and Japanese subtitles in the question. It's the same on the YouTube link as well. I'll edit the question for a bit more clarity.

To be clear, the emoticon is in the printed lyrics as well. Heck if I know why KOTOKO wrote emoticons into the lyrics, though.

@senshin Maybe they thought it would look KOTO-KOOL

Possibly to show the reaction of the actor in the song, which seem to be surprised/heavily pressured by fact of "the demon who wears goddess mask"... maybe... or probably there's no purpose of the kaomoji!.. or it can be anything...
Considering that KOTOKO is a famous denpa song artist (read also What is the actual meaning of "denpa"?), anything goes. (Note: the Japanese title even has a star in it: 七転八起☆至上主義!)
So, what is a denpa song?

Denpa song (電波ソング) is a type of Japanese music that is intentionally strange and catchy. Common features of denpa songs include intentionally off-key vocals, nonsensical lyrics and an over-the-top tune.

Back to kaomoji...
Kaomoji is certainly rare in song lyrics, but there are some more (not necessarily denpa song). From Yahoo! Chiebukuro:

Koi no Tsubomi: (T_T), (>_<), (*_*), (;_;), (T^T), (T0T)/, (*_*)
Love Love Chu Chu!: (><), (T_T), (#^_^#), (@_@)
Happy Succession: (^^;), (T_T)
girls: (>_<;), (≧O≦)
message: (-.-;)', !(><)!'

(All links are link to song lyric)

Last but not least, Ryuichi Kawamura has a song titled 〔>_<〕.

Personally, I don't consider Shichitenhakki Shijou Shugi! as denpa song, but perhaps it's because I'm already used to IOSYS.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/


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

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

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

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

My questions:

How did Ajoki freeze the ocean?

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

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

Are these just plot holes or am I missing something?

If small part of a fruit user is expose to sea water it doesn't affect them. Only if almost all part of their body is exposed to it. There is an episode about Brooke and Luffy about this. I'll add it to the answer if i see it again.

TL;DR

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

From Wikia article on Kuzan:

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

From the Wikia article on Logia

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

For Luffy's case, check this post.

Well in episode 302, there is a fight between Lucci and Luffy, they are underground under the sealevel, Lucci slams the wall, seawater starts to flow in and they, both fruit users, stand in the water like almost nothing is happening. True that the water level is reaching only their knees or something at that height.

Hi. Can you elaborate further on your answer? You recounted an event which demonstrates that Devil Fruit users can use abilities while wet but you didn't answer the OP as to why this is even possible in the first place.

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

all_licenses: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/


text:
Why do characters in some art styles have a broken line for mouths?
Kaname Madoka from Puella Magi Madoka Magica and Nakano Azusa from K-On! have a broken line for mouths.

Why do characters in some art styles have a broken line for mouths? The lines are broken unless it defines lips but I don't know otherwise.

I've got a way to answer this - I just need to reread my old research paper. It's going to be extremely pretentious but I find it interesting. Answer inbound.

+1 Good question. I've always thought this style looked incredibly stupid and distracting. I'm curious what the actual reason behind it is.

it looks better because the anatomy in anime in not like real life and they make it more simple by making the nose a line and the mouth not connected.they are some anime or manga that have more realestic style like death note and jojos bizzare adventure .

Why it looks better? Are there any studies/references behind it? You also mentioned that there is a more realistic style on Death Note and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, does it mean that they don't look better?

I think the explanation given in moegamisama's answer is a step in the right direction; however, an argument purely from high-level principles about moe/cuteness lacks sufficient explanatory power to explain why this particular style ("broken line" mouths) is often seen. I think a more mechanistic explanation for why mouths are drawn this way is also necessary.
Taking for granted that the minimization of some facial features (a small nose, compensated by large eyes, say) is a common feature in "moe" character design today, and observing that the mouth is an oft-minimized feature, the mechanistic explanation, then, is as follows.
Take a close look at the way Madoka's mouth is drawn in the picture you posted. You will notice that the thickness of the line that represents her mouth is not constant. Rather, it is thickest near the edges and becomes thinner as we approach the center of her face. The line "breaking" at the center of her face strikes me as an artistic convenience: rather than drawing a super-thin line there, the artist simply omits the line altogether, and the viewer's mind merely fills it in (this is the so-called "principle of closure" of gestalt psychology). You see the same thing (albeit less delicately) in the picture of Azusa.

But to understand why there's a broken line,doesnt it describe where the lips are located?

@Daniel I don't think it has anything to do with the lips. Look at http://www.theimperialolive.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/lips.jpg: real people's lips are actually thinner at the edge and thicker at the middle, the opposite of the moe characters' mouths.

In short, this choice is likely because it makes the character look "cute."
However, why exactly does this make the character look cuter? To understand, we'll have to take a look at the aesthetic theory behind moé.
Some central components of cuteness are, according to Sianne Ngai (professor of English at Stanford who has done a lot of research into aesthetic categories) "smallness...incompleteness...and vulnerability." Ngai cites Hello Kitty as an example of this, noting that Hello Kitty's complete lack of a mouth creates a kind of "power differential" which is appealing to consumers.
Source (Note: you can't read the full text here without paying for it).
These qualities are similarly expressed by an incomplete mouth. This, in addition with very soft lines and colors (compare these character designs to anime like JoJo's Bizarre Adventure) creates a childish and defenseless aesthetic.
This aesthetic can be used for a number of purposes. For instance, the characters in Madoka Magica (noted in the question) were likely designed to emphasize innocence and powerlessness in order to create contrast with the dark atmosphere of the series as a whole and evoke pity or sadness from the viewer.

But what about what I said if defines lips?

I think my answer may have been a little broader in scope than you were hoping for (sorry about that). To some extent this stuff doesn't have a concrete reason. We can guess all day about stylistic reasons and aesthetic choices, but in the end, sometimes this just comes down to an artist drawing something and thinking it looks good.

From a reddit user:

Ends of the mouth create a cavity in real life, often causing the said part to be more shadowy, while shut lips create a more even surface, resulting in even light distribution. You can even observe this in realistic drawings.
Now translate this into lineart, and you get emphasized ends and leaving the middle empty strengthens this as the brain completes it anyway. It looks pretty attractive too, IMO.

In reply to Aki Tanaka's comment, it doesn't look better, but it looks cuter. Also, the big eyes make it look cute because of all the highlights in the eyes.
Death Note style works for the anime because of the genre and theme of the show. It is a dark and gritty show. You don't want see happy anime girls killing a bunch of people with a notebook.
It also helps the animation. If the animator is drawing the face of Light Yagami
 from Death Note or Jotaro Kujo from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, then it would take longer frame by frame. However, if the animator is drawing the face of Maka from Soul Eater, it would not take that long.
I think the mouths are like for the same reason to draw it faster. The references probably from young girls because their lips are not that big.

"You don't want see happy anime girls killing a bunch of people with a notebook." I think you haven't watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica which the first character on the question comes from...


text:
Why is there no progress anymore on H.O.T.D?
I really like the storyline, and I kinda miss it since the series hasn't released a new chapter in a long time.
Why is there no progress anymore on H.O.T.D?


text:
Who cursed poor Zeref?
I was thinking of Mard Geer, since he's said to be more powerful than Zeref.
But was it ever mentioned in canon who cursed Zeref to be immortal?

What exactly do you want to know?

Who cursed zeref to be immortal?

Related: How did Zeref “Black Wizard” get cursed?

In chapter 436, Zeref mentioned that he must have been cursed by Ankhseram, the God of life and death, for researching resurrection magic (R-System, Eclipse Gate, and later Summoning Magic). One of the side-effects of this curse was that he became immortal.

As mentioned by Denslat, this is indeed metaphorical. At this point it is not proven whether a deity exists in the Fairy Tail world. As far as we know, the curse was cast upon those magicians that had messed around with incomplete versions of Grand Magic (or Black Magic, depending on the translation). Zeref for using resurrection magic.

 Mavis for using (Fairy) Law. FT 449, FT Zero 11

So whether a real deity was upset or not, the people in the Fairy Tail world, call this curse the curse of Ankhseram, the God of life and death, regardless of its existence.

I think this is metaphorical, gods have yet to make a physical appearance in Fairy Tail thus far, the most we have is "God Slayers".

@Denslat Updated

Good job Peter, and honestly congrats for not being a defensive internet idiot.

I always thought that Zeref was cursed because of the fact that he performed a very hard magical spell that he wasn't supposed to do or that it wasn't complete yet like with Mavis.
So in fact, perhaps he cursed himself because a strong magic that goes against nature or a spell that is incomplete requires a price or something.
Just my opinion though.

Welcome to the Anime and Manga Stackexchange. Thanks for your answer! It would be even better if you could tell us what you were basing your opinion on. Hope you will enjoy it here and it is always nice to see fellow country(wo)men around :)


text:
Why people in Germany don't lock their doors?
In anime Monster, it's common to see people enter other's houses just by opening a door (without a key). Example: episodes #7, #12.
Why is that?

I haven't seen the anime, but if someone's home, why lock? (I'm German btw)

What kind of 'locking' are we talking about here? As another German, when I get home, of course I don't leave the door open, I do close it, but I don't lock it - neither do I know anyone who does while they are in. Since the doors don't have handles on the outside, you would still need a key to get in?

There is no definitive answer to your question, however here are two points which may answer your question, between the two.
1) The people in question deem the area they live in safe enough to leave their doors unlocked, therefore walking in without a key would be simple.
For example it was a common game with us children where I lived to open a persons door and run away. (I was young, we did stupid stuff). As well as the fact that I and my family leave our doors unlocked when we are home.
2) They forgot to lock it. This isn't as common though also happens. If a person is not a complete safety-enthusiast with a checklist of things to do to ensure their safety, they are bound to forget to lock one time or another.


text:
Where was Fate staying during the first season?
The DVDs I own of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha seemed to use very bad fan subs as when Alph first appeared, Arisa kept referring to her as a 'he' (despite clearly seeing her boobs), then Fate was named Feid, and Alph was Elofy.
In episode 7, Is This a Third Magician? (titled in the subs as The Third Magical Girl), there is a subtitle indicating where Fate was living. However, I don't trust it as shortly after when Nanoha gets off the bus to walk home and meets Yuuno with the repaired Raising Heart, there is a subtitle of where she is and not only is it totally different to what was shown with Fate's location, but it doesn't even says Uminari City which is where the the Takamachi's, Bannings' and Tsukimura's live and where Midori-ya and Seishou Elementary School located (as such it's very unlikely Nanoha was dropped off in another city after school to go home or to visit Arisa or Suzuka).
So I am wondering where was that apartment tower Fate was living in?

Apparently Wikia seems to have this info: "Fate teleports to her home from the top of an office building with complicated coordinates and magic. Her home is in a gloomy hideout in the Garden of Time with her mother and Arf, sharing a room with the latter". I don't know what the subtitle says, but I think it's far away from the correct location?

On Earth, Fate and Arf live in an apartment which is probably located somewhere in Uminari City. Apart from that, their home is the Garden of Time, the base of Precia Testarossa in the dimensional space.


text:
Why did Yoshihiro Togashi recycle designs from Yu Yu Hakusho for his characters in Hunter x Hunter?

Although Gon doesn't look similar by facial design, he is similar to the green schemes that Yusuke has, and his hair color is similar.

Killua is similar to Hiei's demeanor.

Both Kurapika and Kurama have androgynous appearances

Personalities are similar.

A likely contributor is because he was quite attached to those designs and wanted to carry on their legacy.

Related: http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/8181/7579

See also on this SE: Why do anime and manga use the same faces?. I'm curious as to whether this question counts as a duplicate of the one Torisuda linked to? It seems that the correct answer to this would be the same as that...

@seijitsu I almost wrote "Possible dupe" in my comment since the question I linked should be the more general umbrella above "Why does Yoshihiro Togashi reuse the same designs?" But the OP here also tosses in some remarks about the characters having similar personalities, which seems to be the only purported link between the characters in the bottom image. That was only obliquely touched on in the question I linked.

Personally, I don't think the characters in this question even look that similar, not compared to Ken Akamatsu's Naru and Asuna, or the Ai Yazawa and Naoko Takeuchi characters that seijitsu mentioned in regard to the "same faces" question.

Yusuke and Gon have very different personalities and I think the green scheme is only present in the anime - the manga is black and white. Hiei and Killua's demeanour isn't the same. Killua, when relaxed, is quite playful whilst Hiei is silent. They've both got tragic pasts though. Many of Togashi's characters have androgynous appearances, especially in Hunter x Hunter: Kalluto Zoldyck and Pitou for example. I would say although the character designs are similar in some respects, they're all unique and different too.

Yuusuke does arguably wear a green seifuku in the manga, but otherwise I agree with eha1234 that the characters' personalities are not very similar and with Torisuda that the characters do not look very similar.

@seijitsu His theme colour is arguably orange, if you look at the volume colours of 10, 14 and 16. He is wearing a seifuku in one. Sorry I could provide a picture.

Killua is not the character from HxH that is similar to Hiei, but Feitan instead.

As you can see from these comments by me, @seijitsu, and @eha1234, there's a considerable amount of skepticism over how "recycled" these designs really are.

Me: Personally, I don't think the characters in this question even
  look that similar, not compared to Ken Akamatsu's Naru and Asuna, or
  the Ai Yazawa and Naoko Takeuchi characters that seijitsu mentioned in
  regard to the "same faces" question.
eha1234: Yusuke and Gon have very different personalities and I think
  the green scheme is only present in the anime - the manga is black and
  white. Hiei and Killua's demeanour isn't the same. Killua, when
  relaxed, is quite playful whilst Hiei is silent. They've both got
  tragic pasts though. Many of Togashi's characters have androgynous
  appearances, especially in Hunter x Hunter: Kalluto Zoldyck and Pitou
  for example. I would say although the character designs are similar in
  some respects, they're all unique and different too.
seijitsu: Yuusuke does arguably wear a green seifuku in the manga, but
  otherwise I agree with eha1234 that the characters' personalities are
  not very similar and with Torisuda that the characters do not look
  very similar.

If Yusuke and Gon both had hair which was a particular shade of periwinkle only expressible in the CMYK color space, I might agree that the similarity was significant, but black hair doesn't quite make it. You can see characters which are much more similar in appearance in seijitsu's answer to "Why do anime and manga use the same faces?". And if having multiple characters with androgynous appearances constitutes recycling, then all shoujo artists have been recycling the same male character design at least since the 1990s. If anything, Togashi is doing better than many mangaka at not recycling character designs, as eha1234 points out.
There are answers to the question "Why would a mangaka recycle the characters' visual appearances?" over at "Is it common for mangaka to maintain the same character design between different titles?", so I'll focus on the personality issue. At this point we're really talking about writing, which cuts across all media. If you follow the works of individual writers of any medium—literature, manga, Western graphic novels, visual novels—you'll notice that it's quite common for writers to have characters with similar personalities across several works. For example:

Stephen King often has a tough, brassy guy who swears a lot that everyone looked up to; he also likes to have a kid or intellectually disabled man with psychic powers.
Gen Urobuchi likes to have an idealistic character whose ideals are a little too rigid, and slowly destroy everything the character believed in before sending them to a miserable death (Sayaka in Madoka and Kariya Matou in Fate/Zero). I asked a question about whether the similarities between another pair of Urobuchi characters was intentional.
Ken Akamatsu had three manga starring an energetic, caring, somewhat tsundere girl with thick eyebrows (Cindy in AI ga Tomaranai, Naru in Love Hina, Asuna in Negima). Two of these manga (AI and Love Hina) also had a young blonde troublemaker, and two of them (Love Hina and Negima) had a shy and quiet girl with short hair and a secret, passionate crush on the main character.

There are lots of reasons why writers do this. Sometimes it's because of a theme that cuts across all of their work. Sometimes the character represents some portion of the author's personality that keeps seeping into their work. Sometimes the author wants to put similar characters into very different situations and see how this changes things. I haven't read or watched Hunter x Hunter, but from what I understand it's more lighthearted than Yu Yu Hakusho; perhaps Togashi wanted to explore how similar characters would behave in a more lighthearted story. From what eha1234 says in the comment quoted above, there are also some quite profound differences in personality between the Yu Yu Hakusho characters and the Hunter x Hunter characters; it's possible the purported similarities are a complete coincidence. We can't know exactly unless Togashi stated in an interview somewhere why he did it, or whether he even intended to do it.
Of course, in a visual medium like manga, if the writer reuses a certain personality, it often makes sense to give that character a similar appearance as well, because appearance and personality are closely related in anime and manga.

You might want to quote their comments here, since comments are ephemeral. Otherwise, I think it's a good answer to a terrible question.

@nhahtdh Good idea, I've quoted the comments. Honestly, I was surprised this question remained open and did not go to negative votes. But I figured as long as it was open and not headed for deletion, I would throw up an answer and avoid having one more unanswered zombie question.


text:
In the Avatar arc, why is Sting fat?
In Fairy Tail chapter 425, during the Avatar arc, Sting has become a "little" chunky.

Might it be a new move or something?

It is clearly explained in the same chapter (425), that he had taken part in Sabertooth's annual Saber eating competition.
Without cover etc., it was explained on page 13, upper half, said by Minvera to Lucy.

In the same chapter, two pages further, Libra had helped Sting with her magic to get thin again, so even if he had some use for the fat, it is now gone.


text:
Why does "Shokugeki no Soma" get so many full colored chapters?
I've never seen a manga with so many full-color chapters. I believe for Fuuka, Kimi no Iru Machi, Suzuka (all of them by the same author), and also many other manga only have a few pages of color manga when there is a color edition.
Yet, from chapter 116 to 134 (as of writing), all of the chapters have another version that is in full-color. From my perspective, this is very unusual. I understand that it is a very popular manga, but manga I listed above and other manga are just or even more popular, but none to my knowledge have had this many strings of full-colored publications.
Is there a reason to this or did the author/artist just have a lot of extra time to devote to coloring in the manga?

I think that they come from this digital magazine, which is done by Shueisha Inc.. So that means, it is done by neither the artist nor the author. I also think that it might just be because of the anime gaining popularity that they are trying to bolster the manga also. That's my two cents at least.


text:
Mechanics of the Inuyasha love triangle?
A large portion of the InuYasha manga and anime series deals with the emotional issues surrounding the primary love triangle of

 Inuyasha, Kagome, and Kikyo, particularly from Kagome's point of view. However, it is revealed that Kagome is, in fact, a reincarnation of Kikyo, so they actually share the same soul, albeit from different time periods!

If that's the case, then this appears to remove all of the tension and underlying conflict, in effect Inuyasha is in love with

 the same person (in two forms, one of which is even a vengeful spirit of the dead who wants to move on the afterlife)!

How exactly was this love triangle supposed to work, narratively? While I can't speak for the mangaka's inner thoughts, perhaps there are cultural nuances or tropes that I'm not aware of at work here?

Ton.yeung is right. What do you mean by mechanics in application to the story itself? Can you point out any words more applicable to describe your concern?

I don't read the series, but it sounds like the love triangle is possible if Kagome and Kikyo are not aware that they share the same soul.

I know some contributors to this forum don't speak English as a first language, so to assist you, check out this online dictionary which lists some of the variety of definitions of the word "mechanics" http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/mechanics The definition I use here is #4, but there is of course some crossover with #3. If still in doubt, read the whole question through and you will understand the context in which the word applies

Come on, @ton.yeung, I know you know English well enough to know what OP means. Let's not be deliberately obtuse here.

Hmm to avoid confusion, i suggest @Meir Illumination can you provide example of this you call mechanics in love triangle? say other "love triangle" in other series we can all agree? So everyone can understand? this is if you don't mind to teach us? :)

One of the big things divides Kagome and Kikyo, particularly after Kikyo's death, is Kagome's selflessness. She goes out of her way to help those that are in distress, even when she might benefit from letting them die instead- particularly in the scene where Kagome jumps into the pond to purify Kikyo's spirit. She was never thanked for it, and she didn't gain from it, but she did it anyways.
The thing they share is their courage- even when faced with adversity, you don't see Kikyo and Kagome backing down- and if Kikyo does, it's more of an "I don't wanna do it" thing than it is "I'm too afraid."
Kikyo is dignified and introspective, whereas Kagome is gregarious and spirited. Inspecting Inuyasha's demeanor, he is the kind of person that likes to portray himself as careless and tough, but has a gentle heart (like when Kagome says "I hate you" after saving Kikyo's life when Naraku's evil energy had begun to taint her, and Inuyasha admits that it hurt him, whereas Kagome barely remembered saying it) which he reveals through his willingness to step up to the plate and defend others.
The love Inuyasha and Kikyo was brief and hot-blooded, sweet and transient like daylight in an Arctic winter. On the other hand, the bond he built with Kagome was something they built via adversity, blood and tears shed together, providing and caring for one another, and TIME.
Ultimately, while Kikyo before her death was a lively person, post-mortem she is only quite literally a shell of herself, as she only has a tiny fragment of her and Kagome's shared soul stored inside of a clay body (from when the witch brought her back from the dead and Kagome's body absorbed most of the soul back into herself).
It's notable, however, that Inuyasha was with Kikyo out of choice, and went back to her out of choice, as when he followed her tree to tree, spoke with her, and agreed voluntarily to meet her at the Tree of Ages to give up his demon half. He has no choice where it comes to Kagome- she was thrust into his life and even uses the Beads of Subjugation around his neck for vengeful and immature purposes and to restrain his wild nature- they were something that Kikyo ultimately decided she didn't need for him.
Inuyasha and Kikyo were two lonely souls, Kikyo out of the solemn duty to the Shikon Jewel, and Inuyasha because neither the community of demons nor humans would accept him as one of their own. They found kinship, community, and companionship in each other.
Kagome accepted Inuyasha unconditionally. She shows open affection and worry for him, like when she ran toward him in the episode where Inuyasha plummeted over the cliff and she was unsure if he'd been able to survive the fall. The experiences they have shared are numerous, diverse, and impactful- the battles they've been in, the lands they've traveled, and the arguments they've had and resolved. You guys have seen it.
The whole love triangle thing makes me mad sometimes, too.

The mechanics work like this:
Inuyasha is in love with Kikyo. She is the first human since his mother that treats him well. Despite Kikyo killing him and sealing him to the great tree, he still loves her.
Kagome falls in love with Inuyasha at first sight, but he doesn't like her at all. When he firsts revives from death, he thinks it is Kikyo, but once he figures out she is someone different, he doesn't care for her.
Due to framing plot reasons, Kagome and Inuyasha have to work together to save the world. Inuyasha slowly starts to warm up to Kagome over time, as she overcomes the dead Kikyo's shadow. Then Kikyo gets resurrected (as a walking dead corpse). This causes Inuyasha's cooling love for Kikyo to flame strongly again, and causing him to be torn between his first love (Kikyo) and has new growing love (Kagome). However, his loyalties are first to Kikyo, so Kagome always loses out when he must choose between them.
Inuyasha's first loyalty is what prevents Kagome from being able to "seal the deal" with him, and is a hurdle she can never overcome as long as the animated dead Kikyo is around. No matter how close Kagome and Inuyasha become over time (in the main series), he will desert Kagome to run off and save Kikyo if he thinks Kikyo is in danger.

Reincarnation is tricky business and there are so many opinions what changes when a soul returns in another body. The gender or character can be different from the previous version, so no wonder Inuyasha treats the two girls as different entities. Also there are shared history and memories between Inuyasha and Kikyo which are very precious to him. There is also guilt that he couldn't protect her and a promise he made and intends to keep, while Kagome at first is a complete stranger.
Saying that, I am not sure Kagome being and looking similar wasn't a contributing factor for Inuyasha falling for her. She even had the same talents: both women have miko powers. Maybe on same level he did preceive their relationship as some kind of second chance with Kikyo.
He shows no romantic interest in other females, but he does with Kagome pretty early on, even saying she smells nice and when Kagome says

"I thought you didn’t like my scent"

Inuyasha replies with
'I lied'. Which is curious, especially as at their first encounter he confuses her with Kikyo based on her scent. He says:

"Who else would give off a scent like you?"

Inu is a dog hanyou, so olfactory perception is extremely important for him,  and if his nose senses that Kikyo and Kagome aren't that different then maybe he did preceive Kagome as Kikyo. But then the 'real' Kikyo returned,  which messed Inuyasha up quite a bit.
My impression was that in some instances he'd preferred to stay with Kagome and not, say, die with Kikyo, but he felt that abandoning her wouldn't be fair.

I'm not sure how much of what follows was actually intended to be part of the triangle/show's narrative and how much is just my own takeaway, but:
Given that a person's soul is essentially the actual person: Kagome as Kikiyo's reincarnation is basically the same person as Kikiyo.
Now, why does a soul reincarnate? To evolve.
In many ways, Kagome is the Kikiyo-who-should-have-been: she is a natural evolution and extension of Kikiyo's development towards being a better person.
Therefore, Inu Yasha is in love with the same person: Kagome and Kikiyo are the same. Kagome is Kikiyo evolved while Kikiyo post-ressurection is an artificial construct of witchcraft that shouldn't actually exist.
Think of it like: your current self and your toddler self somehow existing at the same time. The two of you are certainly the same person...and yet, so different. It would be such a quandary wouldn't it?

If you have already read the manga from start to finish, then the answer should be clear: Inuyasha’s true love is Kagome. Some of the people on here complaining are still bitter that Kikyo died and that Inuyasha ended up with Kagome instead of their emotionless princess. Look at the facts: Kagome is the only one who makes Inuyasha feel at ease, cheerful, and comfortable; Kagome is the one who taught him to shed tears and show kindness to others; Kagome is the one who helped him make friends and ended his life of loneliness; Kagome is the one who accepted him 100%; Kagome is the one who changed him; etc. The list goes on and on. More importantly, most of these facts were pointed out by Inuyasha himself, who at the end stated that he was born only for her and she for him. Kikyo is strictly a drama device. The entire purpose of her character is to cause drama between Inuyasha and Kagome. She never actually propels or initiates Naraku’s death.
Regarding the triangle, Inuyasha had feelings for her, and after her rebirth, those feelings mostly transitioned to guilt. He felt responsible for her initial death and pity for the fact that she has no one but herself while he has a new crew to be with. During the later part of the series, this and the goal to learn more about Naraku are two reasons he runs to her. The other reason is Kagome lets him. He almost always goes only after Kagome tells him to. If he senses she’s not comfortable with it, he stays by her side, simply because he values Kagome more. That’s also why he always stays by her side. At first it was for jewel hunting, but later it’s for the peace, serenity and love she gives him, a level of happiness he never felt with Kikyo. If we had to break it down further, Inuyasha and Kikyo’s relationship could be viewed as lust while his and Kagome’s represent love.
And now the triangle is settled because Kikyo’s dead for good and was never meant to be with Inuyasha no matter how much people try to convince themselves of it. What he doesn’t realize is that he no longer needs to feel guilty. He’s suffered far more than her, since his whole life he’s been shunned by two species. The only person who loved him died when he was a child, and everywhere he goes people judge him by his looks, while she’s revered as a beautiful priestess and hero nearly all the time.
And no, Kagome and Kikyo are not the same person. Mangaka Rumiko Takahashi made this statement several time throughout the series yet people still don’t get it. These two share a soul. That’s it. It wouldn’t even be fair to consider their love for Inuyasha as equal since Kagome has made it quite clear that she loves Inuyasha way more. She consistently puts his needs above hers. That’s what an unconditional love is. She also handles many situations differently than Kikyo, and that’s because the two have polar opposite personalities and backgrounds. Kagome even develops different powers than Kikyo later, and treats Kikyo differently than Kikyo treats her. She could have any soul placed in her and she will still retain these different traits, so no: Kikyo and Kagome are NOT the same person.

Welcome to Anime.SE! Would you be able to break this up into paragraphs so it's easier to read?

@F1Krazy Thank you and thanks for the tip! I took your advice

While in the beginning and through the series, Inuyasha does tend to break Kagome’s heart more than once, she always comes back. And again, it's true that he loved Kikyo.
From my point of view though, it was companionship that he mistook for loving Kikyo. With Kagome, he didn’t like her at first, but as time went on, she became his friend, then in InuYasha: The Final Act, she becomes his wife (and possibly mate).
If we rewind to the Band of Seven when Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were poisoned, Inuyasha cried thinking he lost Kagome, and if we rewind again to the previous episode, then we can clearly see that he’s worried she ain’t gonna make it causing him to use the wind scar to extinguish the fire getting them out of danger.

Honestly, yes, it is true that Kikyo and Kagome share a soul, but they have different personalities. Kikyo was someone Inuyasha once trusted and grew attached to her because of her personality (not just because she held the sacred jewel).
Kagome, on the other hand, is from a whole-another world. Inuyasha grew attached to Kagome for her personality and many other aspects. Inuyasha forgot about Kikyo until she was resurected from clay and bones.
Yes, it's a very confusing triangle of love.

Inuyasha was in love with Kikyo and when you truly love someone, a bad experience from that person can't make the feelings just go away --- BUT that doesn't mean that it won't be tainted.
When he met Kagome, he hated her because he thought she was Kikyo who sealed him to the tree. It's actually possible to hate someone you love. Love ignites hatred.
Over time, Inuyasha was slowly forgetting Kikyo and became close with Kagome. Friendship is the foundation of their relationship. And friendship is a strong one.
Unfortunately, didn't take long, Kikyo was resurrected by Urasue. Yes, Inuyasha got confused. But still, Kagome was in good standing because Inuyasha was already fond of her the time they first discovered that Kikyo was still around using dead souls.
And Kikyo was a changed woman. Her behavior had nothing to do with the little amount of soul she got from Kagome. Remember she reclaimed it in full but she's still very angry. It's normal because she thought she was betrayed by the only man he loved. And change happens all the time to every woman who felt betrayed.
After resurrection, she wasn't the same Kikyo that Inuyasha once loved.
Imagine that in real life.
You only know the person's face and name but everything including her actions and the way she talks was unrecognizable.
Inuyasha remembers the past. The way it felt. Nothing more, nothing less.
Remembering is different from what you actually feel. You may jump back to memory lane at times but it will only last a few moments.
He will never leave Kagome.
BUT, Inuyasha is a good person. He must've felt guilty every time he remembers Kikyo suffered living, died and still suffering alone --- while he isn't, anymore.
He tried to cut tie with Kagome, because he thought he owe Kikyo his own life but can't fully decide to do it. He was hesitant. Then he met Kagome and admitted he shouldn't be having fun because Kikyo is suffering.
Coz he's not suffering. Means he was over his love for her.
Everyone knows the feeling of loneliness when you and the one you love are apart? But he wasn't lonely.
Inuyasha is not suffering.
He is having fun with his new friends, especially knowing that Kagome's around and safe.
One thing I'm sure is he'll be really lonely if it's Kagome who's gone.
He loved Kikyo. It's a thing from his past and a part of him that can never be erased. He wants his first love to be remembered a great woman. He wants to protect her, including her memories.
And watching Inuyasha over and over again made me realized that the 3 of them are all good people --Kikyo, Inuyasha & Kagome.
Kikyo didn't talk much about her feelings but you'll see through her actions that she later made up her mind and decided to not do anything about her feelings with Inuyasha, but instead serve other people.
Also, Kikyo doesn't want Kagome gone. She doesn't want Kagome to replace her as Inuyasha's past as she can't be his future either. She thinks rationally. She and Kagome are the same on that manner. And she love Inuyasha too much she doesn't want him to be lonely.
On the other hand, Kagome gets jealous and all because she's only human but still saved Kikyo a few times. She respect her as the first woman in Inuyasha's life.
1. Kagome didn't let Miroku carry Kikyo to Mt. Hakurei barrier's boundary.
2. She let Inuyasha leave to look for Kikyo's remains.
She's the perfect version of Kikyo.
She's exactly what Kikyo subconsciously wished to be.
Both nice girl.

I agree with the existing answers, except Kagome isn't just Kikyo's reincarnation. If you go deeper, you'll find that she is a multi-reincarnation, though it appears Inuyasha goes after Kagome because she has some similarities to Kikyo.
Part of that is true, he also likes her because she is herself. Kagome has convinced herself of this, thus she has proved that she does not live in Kikyo's shadow, she actually surpasses Kikyo in some way.
It's true that Kikyo is the first human besides his mother to treat him kindly, but she also only loved his human-side since that was the first side she met him in, so she suggested that he become a human and that they live together.
However, in the second movie, Kagome clearly states "to be who you are" and that "she loves him as a half demon", and she even chose to stay with him when he was having trouble with his full demon side.
Kagome loves Inuyasha the ways he is, but Inuyasha at times still sees her as Kikyo.


text:
When did Erina learn that Yukihira's father was Joichiro?
It is a known fact that Yukihira Soma is the son of one of the world's most famous chefs, Yukihira Joichiro.
When did Nakiri learn that Yukihira Soma's father was Joichiro? In which chapter?

She still doesnt know that, as far as I know.

From last page of chapter 150, "Board Game", Erina overheard Souma revealed that Jouichiro is his father.

After that, on chapter 151, "The Outbreak of War", Erina saw a picture of Souma and his father.

In the series it hasn't been stated that she knows who his father is. In an earlyish arc (40's i think) his dorm mates were surprised to find out they were related, whether this knowledge spread isn't known.

In the most recent chapter,
Soma's relationship to Jōichirō is inadvertently revealed to her when she walks in on a conversation between her father and Sōma. At first she was in disbelief, but realized it was true after seeing the two next to each other in a recent photo. She became greatly shocked after realizing that she had been hostile towards the son of the chef she always admired.
It's been updated even on the wiki page. Go read under the Erina Nakiri section. Beware of spoilers though :P
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Food_Wars:_Shokugeki_no_Soma_characters


text:
What was the meaning of Leo's chant on episode 10?
In episode 10, around 15:10 mark, just when Leo is about to collapse from hunger before they finally agree to settle for the burger place where he usually goes, he chants something that appears in the subtitles as:

Onbutsu sowaka mareba eloim essaza...

What's that supposed to mean?
Is it a reference to something I'm not getting?

On first inspection, it kind of looks like a reference to Buddhist chants. "Eloim" also resembles the Hebrew word "Elohim" which is used in Jewish religious chants. This is just wild speculation, though; I haven't seen the show, so I don't know if that would even make sense in context.

^To add a context, Leo seems to meet "God of Chow" (probably "God of Food" or something) before inside his mind and he thinks that the god is angry, so he offers a pray... now back to the question, to be honest, I couldn't hear Leo's chant clear enough with others' conversation and background song, so I doubt the fansub means anything except general chants by some religions. (What I heard: "Ra~zaza.... Ra~~ra~~ararara [scene change] [...] wareware [...] wareware [...]")


text:
Is Nen related to Haki?
I'm watching the Hunter x Hunter series and I'm also a fan of the One Piece anime. I notice that the power that exist in these two anime is somewhat similar.
I notice these similarities:

Ko in Hunter x Hunter is somewhat similar to the Armament Haki in One Piece which enables the part of a body to become much stronger.
Gyo and En is also similar to the Observation Haki in which enables the user to saw life energy, like Usopp saw, and detect/sense people around you within a certain range.
Ren and also En is likely similar to the Conquerors Haki which can knock down an intended opponent. In Hunter x Hunter, Ren and En did break some will of the characters in the series, i.e Killua.

If Nen is related to Haki, then is there a real world explanation for these techniques?

Ko is not a component of nen. It's an advanced application so I'd say they are similar to Haki but not related.

It would depend on your definition of related.
So although the two are similar, there are differences:
Armament Haki is close to Gyo, focusing aura on a certain part of the body. In HxH, characters can see/detect/sense people around them without gyo and en (an example of this would be Gon vs Gido, where Gon 'sensed' the spinning tops around him through concentration), however both techniques are used to detect concealed aura, through zetsu or In.

Conqueror's Haki is a technique used for the purpose of knocking down people by dominating their will. In contrast, malicious intent behind strong aura will scare an enemy, intentional or not, like with bloodlust (Gon was scared of Hisoka's bloodlust in the Hunter exam arc, even though Hisoka was not aware of his presence).
Ren exemplifies aura and with it the effect, and En means the person feels the aura around them, also with a similar effect.
An explanation to their similarities could be that it is simply taking the most logical steps forward.
Life energy like things exist in many different series: aura in Hunter x Hunter, Chi in Dragon Ball, or Tenryoku in Beet the Vandel Buster. This is probably because it is an easy way of showing the strength of characters in a visual way.
If there is life energy, then it would useful in a battle to be able to sense it. If it can be sensed, then there would be a technique to hide it. For dramatic technique, it could be used to manipulate an opponent far away. This results in similar techniques being developed in different series. Therefore, the power in One Piece and the power in Hunter x Hunter are not directly related.
However, some of it could be related to real life:
Human's are incredibly sensitive to other people's gaze. Even if you are not aware of it, you can tell when someone is looking at you, which results in the feeling of 'being watched'. This can lead to belief that one can 'sense' other people's presence. There are lots of tiny factors that can lead to awareness about someone's presence, such as sound from movement, or catching them in the corner of your eye.

There's some relation like armored haki is like when the body is covered with nen like a layer above the body, and for conqueror haki is like when Pitou do that like a field of nen so anyone close to her will sense it and be afraid.
For the other haki type of prediction, I don't know about it, but the similarity between the two is both are related to your spirit and your will. The more will, the more powerful.


text:
What does it mean by "Hikigaya Hachiman’s desired genuine thing"?
In Oregairu volume 9 chapter 6, there's a phrase,

Yukinoshita Yukino’s held beliefs. Yuigahama Yui’s sought relationship. Hikigaya Hachiman’s desired genuine thing.

Really, I do not understand the meaning of this phrase.
What is it that they are looking for and can not explain?

What is it that they are looking for and can not explain? What do you mean by "can not explain"?

@nhahtdh Hachiman himself is unable to properly articulate what the "genuine thing" he wants is.

To put it briefly, he just wants them to have an open and honest relationship, hence genuine.
The longer version :
Hachiman is basically fed up with the facades that happens in Service Club to maintain their "friendship" that became more fragile in the time since Tobe's confession request, Iroha's election, and Christmas event.
After Tobe's request, the relationship between all of Service Club's members becoming more distant, but they are still trying to be together because they all want to cling to this "friendship". The reason for maintaining this status quo is because they've never had relationships this close with other people before. Having a taste of what it could've felt like, makes them hesitant to let it go, just like Hayama's group.
During Iroha's election, Yukino thought that she would be suitable for student council president such that Iroha would lose with dignity. Everyone knows that if she did, the club will end. So Hachiman forced Iroha to win and hoping with that their "friendship" would still be intact. Though this makes things even more tense.
After that Iroha come again with Christmas request, seeing as how bad things already were, Hachiman didn't want this request to involve the rest of the service club and decided to take matters into his own hands. Even though he did this to save their fraying relationship, both Yui and especially Yukino find it even sadder because they know on why he did it.
When Hachiman realized his methods were wrong, he's tries to request for help from both of them. A bit fed up, Yukino rejected him. After some back and forth between them, Hachiman can't take it anymore and basically admits that he just wants a relationship where they are being honest towards each other and actually become "genuine" friends instead of "playing" friends. Although he worded it in the most vague way possible.
Next description will go a bit further than this genuine monologue, but will provide more context
After they finished Iroha's Christmas request, they sat down together, Yui and Yukino said that Hachiman's request is still not fully completed yet (the part when he said about genuine relationship), but Hachiman didn't get it during this particular time. Yui and Yukino were talking about how they will confess their feeling to Hachiman instead of maintaining status quo. That's because they want to make their friendship genuine now.


text:
Does the light novel tell of the passing of time during Itami's missions?
In the GATE anime (ep. 3-4), Itami goes to Coda village, then returns to Arnus Hill with the children and the left-behind refugees.
From the time he left to when he returns, the JSDF camp went from a tent park to a fortified pentagonal structure with buildings.
Now XXI century building tech can make a 57-floor-tall building in 19 days, but we are talking about reinforced military-grade structures with materials being shipped through a portal, so YMMV.
The anime never tells how many days Itami was away during his Coda Village reconaissance sortie.
Does the light novel tell of the passing of time during Itami's mission?

I believe that it is never told. However, it is possible to make a fair estimate, while keeping in mind that it was never like that in the manga.
In the anime and manga alike, Itami travels to the Elven forest from Coda village, so roughly 7-13 days, if they were able to make peaceful contact and even were able to learn basic rules of the language. The 7-13 here refers ro the time spent at Coda.
Travelling to the Elven forest would take roughly 1-2 days. The time they spent searching for survivors in Tuka's village adds 1.
When they return to Coda, presumably in a similar timeframe as when they travelled to Coda, the entire village began to evacuate, so roughly 1 day passed at the start.
It is mentioned that rain and several other problems were exhausting the villagers, so presuming that, we can add 2-3 days there. The fire dragon also arrived, so that would add half a day.
So while it is never revealed, I believe that roughly 13 - 21 days were spent in the Coda area. However, I seriously disregard against using the anime' timeline because there are multiple mistakes made while speeding up the sequence of events. But if you like, this is my estimate.


text:
One Piece song on episode 548 at around 5:12
What's the song that plays in episode 548 at around 5:12? I've been searching for it everywhere, but I just can't seem to find it.

Providing a clip to the scene would be helpful. Different sources might have a different frame of reference for the time code. Without a source to establish this, it's hard to tell what you're referring to.

The song seems to be from the One Piece Original Soundtrack by Kouhei Tanaka (田中 公平) called "Sakusen kaishi ~ osowa reru mura ~" (作戦開始 ～襲われる村～)
Here is a youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ANaEsE5bdI


text:
Where do I go to purchase Chinese manhua?
I would like to purchase a manhua titled, "Yinhe Biduan" but I am having a very hard time finding here in the States.
Can anyone direct me to an internet store?

Apparently, you can purchase anything from the international Amazons. However, It might be a bit troubling to navigate through. Try to copy & paste the, Chinese characters onto the search. Hope, this helped - Chrissy

Judging by the name, I think it's

銀河彼端

in Chinese so feel free to copy and paste on Amazon or Ebay, I'm pretty sure you'll get your manga.
Do inform me if this doesn't qualify as an answer, I'll delete right away.

All though this translation can be helpful to the author, it wouldn't hurt to actually paste it into amazon/ebay your self and include a link.

I tried Taobao (Chinese Ebay) and think here is what you want.


text:
How is a tengu born in "Kamisama Hajimemashita"?
In the Kamisama Hajimemashita manga, how does a tengu reproduce if females are forbidden on the tengu mountain? The mountain only consists of male tengus!

What makes you think they need females to reproduce? As opposed to something like reproducing asexually by dividing themselves, producing a younger clone in the process. That would explain why there are only male tengus.

Tengu reproduction is not explained in the manga, but Julietta Suzuki hadn't invented them. They are supernatural beings from the Japanese (shinto and buddhist) mythology, having both human and avian features.
The tengu described by the mangaka are very much like the ones in folklore. They live on a mountain in which human rules not apply and they maintain their purity, so probably the folklore can be applied here.
There are various explanations in folklore on how tengu are created, the most common are:

Tengu hatch from giant eggs. There are apparently bird tengu (crows) nesting in the mountains where tengu live.
A tengu soul/spirit possessing an unborn child. The spirit is created when a person dies who is not wicked enough to go to Hell, but not fit for Heaven either.

Kurama Shinjirou, one of the supporting characters is referred to as the Soujoubou's son who is the king of the mountain. There is nothing said about his mother, so probably Soujoubou shapeshifted into a crow to find a mate and Kurama was indeed hatched from an egg. He has nice wings too :)


text:
Why does Yuri hate Kanata?
Yuri hates Kanata for some reason because she calls him a traitor in the first episode.
Why is that and why does she hate him so much?

He had platoon and invited, trained her. Then left platoon and she got mad (typical tsundere).

This is explained in episode 2 by Misora Whitale.
Yuri hates Kanata because in the match when their fireteam was supposed to get promoted, Kanata did not take part in that match. Yuri was so much was with that, and thus she hates Kanata.


text:
What is the relation between Strike The Blood and Strike The Blood EX?
I have read that in Strike The Blood EX, Kojou seems to have two children, so EX has to be set in the future.
Is it the future of the "world" the story takes place or is it the "future" shown at the end of the anime where Reina came from (you can see Kojou's daughters Reina and Moegi)? Or is EX maybe only the name of the last arc in the anime (where Reina appears)?

It's not really an arc, per se. Just a short story set in the future of the series. I guess the author cooperates with the studio to fill in content for the last episode.

Ok, but which future do you mean. Is there a time leap in the original storyline or is it the world where Reina came from?

Reina supposedly comes from the future of the current world, or at least that's what the anime made me think of.

Well, during the last episode of the anime (episode 24), a girl suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She looked exactly like Yuukina (but her busts were larger) and she had eyes like Kojou and was a vampire. It is later revealed that she is Reina Akatsuki, daughter of them, and she had come in past (time travelled) to kill a dangerous human-made dragon...
When she got back in her time, it is revealed that Kojou has another daughter named Moegi, but from Asagi..
This is whole is called Strike the Blood EX, I guess


text:
Why did Johan want to commit suicide?
Well, I just finished monster today and I really enjoyed it. I thought I grasped the meaning to Johan suicide but after searching on the internet people were writing different interpretations so I would like you to hear my interpretation and correct me if I am wrong.
The second to last episode (episode 73) Johan and Nina recollected a memory in which Franz said that the twins were not monsters and are special. By recollecting this memory Johan attempted a suicide which will be led by Tenma's hand.
My interpretation into why Johan wanted to commit suicide is because of the recollected memory of Franz saying that they are special hence Johan at the moment of recollecting that memory he cried because that's when he realized what he was doing was wrong hence the suicide attempt and the reason why Nina forgave him. Am I correct?

As per this meta post, it's recommended to put your interpretation as the answer so that it can be voted accordingly, and for others to be able to answer your core question.

What I think happened in Monster is, Johan was the nameless monster. Somehow he might have concluded that the story always ends with the nameless monster being the last person alive, so Johan planned the perfect suicide destroying every trace of him. Now that Tenma learned his real name, I guess he thought he was not the nameless monster anymore, so he committed suicide.
As for being psychopath, maybe it happened when he started to question himself if he was the wanted child as the mother gave Nina to Bonaparte. At that particular moment, he was reading that nameless monster story. Then I guess at 511 Kinderheim when he forgot everything, he became a loose nut and his memory of wanting to be the nameless monster (last person alive) came back when he read the book at the library, and then he planned the perfect suicide.
So I guess that's when the real story starts, and I also think that Nina always had a clue of Johan wanting to be the nameless monster.


text:
How can I subscribe to Weekly Shonen Jump outside Japan?
Do anyone know how to get a Weekly Shonen Jump subscription in Europe?

Have you tried looking at their website? http://shonenjump.viz.com/international-wsj-app

@кяαzєя that link seems dead. The new link that works for me is https://www.viz.com/shonenjump

Check out Viz Media! This is a Japanese-American company that sells dozens of manga magazines in many countries and they are the company publishing the Weekly Shonen Jump.
They also have a European subsidiary for, I believe, UK and Ireland. However, I believe you can't have a paper version in another country than Japan. You'll have to read it on your computer or phone.


text:
Who do you have to contact to obtain a license to stream manga?
I am curious to know who the copyright holder to a manga is: is it the mangaka, or the publisher (such as Kodansha, Shonen Jump, etc)?
Who do you have to contact to obtain a license for streaming it?

Usually the publisher owns the rights for distributions. When you say license, do you mean to stream (as in read online), sell (as in publish and distribute [digital or paperback]), or to use their content (i.e. Character likeness)? The distinction here is important, otherwise your question is too broad.

@Krazer thank you for your comment. I've updated the question, I've meant a license for streaming it.

As I mentioned in my answer over at How is an anime based on western-literature made?

Usually if somebody wishes to obtain said rights, they would hire a lawyer, as obtaining the rights, setting the terms and options, and the costs that come with it are surrounded by a lot of legal rump slump

But this depends quite a bit on what your 'end goal' is.
I would advise the above in almost any scenario, as the lawyer can keep you 'save' can help you set up the license, prevent loopholes, etc.
However, if you prefer not to use a lawyer, or find it too much of a hassle/ expensive (in which case you might just stop here, a license does not come cheap) you can use the following steps to obtain it:
Determine the copyright licensing company
LoganM's answer on finding reliable information regarding licenses for anime/manga is a good starting point to determine this.
Call the copyright owner to order the copyrights
Take note that it might take a few calls, as the 'mentioned' authority may not be the authority to give you a license in the country you wish to stream from/live in.
Complete payment, and store your license somewhere safe
Retain paperwork from your copyright licensing in your files to enable you to prove that you purchased a license for the public showing.
For some more 'detailed' insight in these actual steps, you can take a look at the Anime News Network post which covers the above points quite in-depth.


text:
Origins and information about the song "Kokoronashi"
I recently discovered a cover for the song "Kokoronashi" on SoundCloud, so I tried to find the original version of the song, or at least information about who the original artist is, on YouTube.
However, this song seems to have been covered by so many different people so many times that I cannot find out who sang the original as some singers who covered it cite conflicting original versions/artists of this song.
(The search queries that I performed on YouTube were "kokoronashi", "kokoronashi original)

I noticed that the picture above was almost always associated with this song on YouTube and it had an anime art style, so I imagine that it might be some anime song, but upon performing a reverse image search, all the results simply brought me to the YouTube covers that contain the picture instead of pointing me to an anime where I can find the original song.
Does anybody know who sang the original version of this song and/or what anime it comes from, if any?
I realize that this is a very vague description of a song since I only provide the name, but I guarantee that if you search "kokoronashi" on YouTube, you will find many covers of the song that I am referring to without trouble on the very first search results page.
If it helps, here is a link to a fairly popular English cover of the song. I did not link to a Japanese cover because they tend to be more likely to be taken down by YouTube due to copyright violations than English covers, but the English melodies are very much the same as the Japanese covers that I have seen.

This is a original Vocaloid song featuring GUMI, with music and lyrics by Chouchou-P, 心做し (same name).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SkNrZnoK5w


text:
What is depicted on the gate shown in episode 63 of Brotherhood?
I'm looking to get a tattoo of the gate depicted in episode 63, but I don't know what it is that I'm looking for. I know that there are two gates, and one of them is "The Tree of Life".
I'm looking for the other one, depicted in this screenshot from episode 63 at 16:46:

What is depicted on the second gate?

Related: http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/21923/what-is-this-huge-symbol-on-the-door-in-the-truth-realm-and-in-neon-genesis-evan

Note that there are two other gates as well: https://i.sstatic.net/CrqCG.png

There are three different gates in all.
The first one (Ed's) is the so called "tree of life" described in this question.
The gate you are looking for is the second gate (Al's), which is the European Alchemical scheme depicted in George Ripley's Marrow of Alchemy, based off the Kabbalah's Tree of Life and Kundalini's chakra system, which is probably derived from Samuel Norton's Catholicon Physicorum.

The third gate ("Truth's"/Mustang's) does not appear to be derived from known alchemy symbology from real life, but it share's similarities (two intersecting triangles) to the tattoo on Riza's back, which is related to Flame Alchemy.

Mustangs door is from his flame alchemy which is also the seal of solomon

While this is a good answer to a question, it does not actually answer this question.

As people before me have already stated; Al's gate is from The Marrow of Alchemy. If I remember correctly, the symbol represents purification, and it is believed that the only way to obtain total purification is to get rid oneself of their physical body (something Al is pretty familiar with).
Roy's gate is a lot more complicated than that. Yes, parts of his gate are shown on Riza's tattoo; however the parts on his gate do not represent flame alchemy as many people believe, but instead the sun and the serpents represent something called the marriage of the Red King and White Queen. Basically Roy and Riza's relationship is an analogy for the Red King and White Queen.
It's a little complicated, but here's a YouTube video where I go a bit more into depth about Roy's gate.


text:
What manga/webtoon was the author referring to in his notes on chapter 113 of The Gamer?
In the author's notes in chapter 113 of The Gamer, he is talking about a webtoon that is apparently very similar, and I assume a lot of people have asked them if they got anything to do with it, which they deny.
.
The original panel and its unofficial English translation. Click to see in full size.
Can anyone tell me what webtoon they mean?

It is probably a webtoon, that started pretty recently and hence isn't being translated.

Possibly Dusk Howler, it's a gamer webtoon and there is only 24 chapters. It's about a young man who had a great scores in school but have 0 social IQ so he joins a game where his conscious is uploaded so like the gamer the Mc get to level up , learn skills and it's a gaming world . and it's a new Webtoon. Connecting the dots together it makes sense.

Could you expand on why you think dust howler is the answer to the OP's question?

it's about a young man who had a great scores in school but have 0 social IQ  so he joins a game where his conscious is uploaded  so like the gamer the Mc get to level up , learn skills  and it's a gaming world . and it's a new Webtoon  .connecting the dots together it makes sense .

They could be taking about DICE not 100% sure though.
DICE = What if you can restart your life with a different setting just like a game? DONG TAE always get bullied by his classmates, but TAE BIN, sits right next to him, is handsome and popular at school; and now, TAE BIN suggests DONG TAE to play a little game.
Thanks,
Pyrotek

Could you add proofs of your statements? :)

Considering Dice has been around for quite a while, I can't imagine the author and artist suddenly worrying about it now. It's very likely a webtoon that doesn't have an active translation project anyways.


text:
Why did Animax stop broadcasting "Naruto: Shippuden" in India?
I don't understand why Animax stopped showing Naruto: Shippuden in India. I want to know what happened when Naruto was killed by Sasuke and how exactly he got a son.
Why did Animax stop broadcasting Naruto: Shippuden in India?

Do keep in mind that the Manga finished at chapter 700, the main anime has yet to catch up despite there being a movie set after it

Yes i know tnat but i was asking about the daily programes not the about manga.

I don't think there is any official word, it happens to all other anime too, again and again

Naruto was killed by Sasuke? Which episode are you referring to? Naruto has a son with Hinata. But the anime hasn't reached that part.

its because it was difficult to dub it in HINDI. They have to match the dialogues according to the flaps Which is not easy. Plus after the sasuke retrival arc it was just fillers not the main story line.


text:
Which episode is this from where Fear is being bound?
There's a screenshot from Cube x Cursed x Curious where Fear is being bound.

Which episode is this from?

@Alagaros If a reverse image search helps with the identification of the episode, please provide the result as well. As most reverse image searches do not seem to provide the episode this screen shot is happening in as requested by the op

Personally, I can't actually find the answer to this question via reverse image search. However, I recall this being in episode 9. If someone has access to the series and wants to confirm that, it would be easy to answer.

@Dimitrimx My bad, sorry! I don't think it would be a bad idea to write a meta post about these kind of questions.

This question is currently being discussed on meta: http://meta.anime.stackexchange.com/questions/2705/should-we-allow-from-which-episode-is-this-image-questions

Question has been answered


text:
Why did Kazuki Takahashi stop creating manga after Yu-Gi-Oh?
Being a long time fan of Kazuki Takahashi's Yu-Gi-Oh! series, I tried to look into any manga that he may have produced after the completion of Yu-Gi-Oh!: Millennium World, but it seems like he just stopped writing manga after that.
Is there a reason why he stopped?

As of the date of this post, the only other work written by Kazuki Takahashi is Drump. According to Wikipedia, he only played a supervisory role in newer volumes of Yu-Gi-Oh!. I cannot find any English statements detailing his inactivity. His official website has been "under pause" for several years.

But... why did he stop?

It is just a wild guess, so I'll not post as an answer, but taking into account how the Yu-Gi-Oh! cardgame became popular, Takahashi doesn't need to work in anything different (not sure how much the TCG profits are divided between him, Konami etc., but anyway I suppose he got a good amount). I can't do that now, but it would be a good idea to see if there is some info about how much time Takahashi spends in the TCG development and/or company management, so maybe he is too occupied now with the RL card game to work on other manga.

Mangaka tend to be somewhat reserved about their personal life. Takahashi has said of himself that he is great at postponing, leaving work until the last moment.
As already mentioned, he created a one-shot called Drump in 2013. He continues to oversee the development of the sequels of Yu-Gi-Oh! since he finished the original series in 2004. He has also actively participated in the development of the card game. To date, derivative manga and the card game are still being published, so he must consume part of his time in that.
In February 2015, a new adaptation of Yu-Gi-Oh! was run in Japan. This was due to the production of Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions, the most recent film of the franchise that celebrates the twentieth anniversary of the brand, and of which Takahashi is the author.
In short, I have no information for sure, but it seems that he is quite busy with his other activities to create something else.


text:
Instrumental music playing in season 1 episode 5 when Kaneki & co. fighting Tsukiyama?
There's instrumental music playing in episode 5 of season 1 of Tokyo Ghoul at around 19:50 when Kaneki, Touka, and Nishiki are fighting Tsukiyama.
What is the title, and the name of the album if it exists?

The sound track you are looking for is
 東京喰種-トーキョーグール- Or Licht und Schatten by Yutaka Yamada Whom created most if not all of the music in tokyo ghoul.
The track is 4:15 long, and the instrumental part that can be heard around 19:50 into the 5th episode can be found at 3:48, The instrumental part that is
This track was included as 25th track on the 1st OST cd. The 2 ost CD's can be bought as a bundle from cdjapan for around 28$


text:
Why is Okosan the only one without a Human representation?
In Hatoful Boyfriend, Okosan is the only person bird to not receive a human drawing.
Why is that?

whereas every other character:

According to Moa on Saturday Hatoful Boyfriend panel Q&A with Moa and Damurushi @ AOD 2016,

The reason Okosan doesn't have a human portrait is because the real-life Okosan is family to Moa, and attaching her own "human" image to him would feel strange.
(Source)


text:
What was the song Kousei played after "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in episode 3?
In episode 3, Kousei and a little kid play the happy piano, playing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". Kousei then changes the tune.
Was what he played a real piece of music? And if so, what was it called?

It's still the same piece -_-

This is called improvisation, and as @Gao wrote it's still the same piece.

Not so much an improvisation @Chinatsu-creepy-chan as an actual passage from Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

@Gao yup, improvisation from the music xD. I'm a pianist and I've already done this kind of improvisation. Given the harmonic field and music's progression, you choose some part of the music and change it's melody. ^_^

@Chinatsu-creepy-chan you should add this as an answer.

Mozart's Twelve Variations on 'Ah, vous dirai-je maman' (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star).
Listen to it on Youtube.


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

Yes and no, some of the Fairy spells are distinctive to the guild, and the skills that can be used by outsiders are not easily learned/taught. This makes the likelihood of Fairy spells being used outside of Fairy Tail very unlikely.
As for leaving members who know one or more of the 3 great spells, there is a rule which states:

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

Fairy Sphere, cannot be used by outsiders
Fairy Sphere uses the Fairy Tail member mark (pair of wings mark) and the emotion of those who wield it to obtain magical power. Therefore, this spell can not be used by outsiders.
Fairy Glitter, cannot be used by outsiders
As it is a distinct spell of Fairy Tail, and the fact that it is sealed in the grave of Mavis and needs the approval of Mavis herself to use, it makes it highly unlikely that anybody outside of the guild members can/will ever be allowed to use this.
Fairy Law, most likely can be used by outsiders
It is also a distinct spell of Fairy Tail, but most likely, it can be used by outsiders.
We know for a fact that there has been at least one instance where an outsider knew how to use Fairy Law, since Laxus also knew how to use this skill. Another case is Precht, the second guild master of Fairy Tail, now known as Hades, who left the guild but could still use Fairy Law.
The likelihood of learning this skill outside of Fairy Tail is close to 0, making it not likely to ever happen.

So ex-member can't use those spell? But Laxus still a Fairy Tail member when he use it for the first time

@ShinobuOshino Indeed, at his usage he was still a member. then he got kicked, but he still knows the spell.

@ShinobuOshino ex members can use the fairy law spell as we saw in the case of Hades. He was the former 2nd guild master of Fairy Tail (was called precht then). He used the Fairy Law (he renamed it to Grimoire Law) during the Tenrou Island arc

@OshinoShinobu & DimitriMx; In Fairy Tail Zero we have seen Mavis use Fairy Law (whether she had learned it from Zeref himself is unclear), but at that time she wasn't a FT member either as FT didn't exist yet. So not sure how this falls into all of this.

Any magic can be used by anyone, Fairy Sphere included. Mavis only required the guild members' emotions because she was a spirit and had no magical energy. All Three Grand Fairy Magics are simply uber-powerful light-based magic.
Not one part of the manga or anime does it say any form of magic is exclusive. The Three Grand Fairy Spells are simply based around light magic. Mavis learnt Law from Zeref in Fairy Tail Zero, used it too early and was cursed. She then altered and adjusted it (it was previously black magic) and created Fairy Law.
Zeref taught Mavis Law, so there's also a possibility that he is able to use any of the three spells. Mavis's main magic is light-based, including her illusion magic. Mavis said that she used the bonds and emotions of the guild and converted it into magic to cast fairy spells.
After that, it is clearly a light spell. Hence the reason when the spell was released, a butt tonne of light erupted from the water. With Fairy Glitter collects and concentrates the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars.
Fairy Law converts the user's magic into light that envelops everything. Hades had his own version that uses darkness as a countermeasure for Fairy Law since it's light.


text:
Chronological order of Kiss x Sis anime and OVA
The series producers decided to move the more "spicy" manga chapters into the OVAs, and because of this, they are chronologically spread between the anime episodes.
What should be a chronologically correct viewing order of the OVAs + anime episodes?

After rereading and rewatching it, I conclude that the animators just took a random chapter of the manga and put it on anime anywhere they like, there is no chronological sequence of the anime, you can watch it from the anime randomly and will not lose the plot, unless for the last three episodes.
However, there is some important event that can be sorted chronologically based on manga chapter:

Manga chapter one and anime episode one when they're still kids and show how Ako and Riko save Keita from a dog.
Manga chapter five and the beginning of anime episode four (4 years ago) when Ako and Riko start to falling in love with Keita
End of anime episode nine when Ako and Riko made Keita a good luck charm
Anime episode 10 when Keita take an exam and after the exam
OVA episode four when Keita, Ako, and Riko go on a trip after the exam
Anime episode 11 when he receives an acceptance letter from the school from Mikuni (unlike in anime, this is Keita's first meeting with her on manga)
Anime episode 12 when Keita get to the same school with Ako and Riko

And from here, it only happens in manga and hasn't been told in anime, BEWARE SPOILER

 Manga chapter 42 when all the characters go on a trip and manga chapter 67 when Keita starts dating Kiryuu Sensei

Some of the OVA episodes happen before anime, and some chapters in the manga didn't happen at all in anime or OVA.
So, with that being said, this anime doesn't really care about the plot and focus only on the ecchi-almost-hentai theme. You can watch it however you like and just enjoy the show.

Well there's a lot of debate about that. I found that there's 'somewhat' of an order as it follows below, and by the way, that order is how the OVA's and anime's episodes were released as well:

Ova 00
Ova 01
Ova 02
Ep 01
Ep 02
Ep 03
Ep 04
Ep 05
Ep 06
Ep 07
Ep 08
Ep 09
Ova 03
Ep 10
Ova 04
Ep 11
Ep 12
Ova 05
Ova 06
Ova 07
Ova 08
Ova 09
Ova 10
Ova 11

Note that the OVA's list starts with '00'. It isn't a typo, it's how it was released, and is counted as that in the official list of released content of the series overall. This list is for BD released / translated content.


text:
Was Erza's nickname 'Titania' inspired by Shakespeare?
I read on Fanpop that the name Titania comes from a Shakespearean play called A Midsummer Night's Dream.
In this play, it happens to be that Titania is queen of fairies. Did the creators of Fairy Tail happen to get inspiration from Shakespeare's plays and was that how Erza got the nickname 'Titania'? Also did they use this play as an inspiration for the name of the anime Fairy Tail?
Note: I came across this when I was trying to find out why Erza had the nickname Titania? I did a Google search but didn't find out any solid answers besides...

She's the strongest mage in the guild, and that's how she earned the nickname Titania.

To sum it up, I am not asking how she got the nickname in the show, but how the producers came up with the nickname. What was their inspiration for the nickname Titania.
Please refrain from saying:

She got her nickname from being the strongest in the guild
The producers came up with that nickname because she is strong

It seems safe to say that 'Titania' is a name taken from A Midsummer Night's Dream, but beyond that I can't answer your question, having only watched around 4 episodes of Fairy Tail.

I only just started watching Fairy Tail around last week. Still fairly new to Fairy Tail.

I read everything in Fairy Tail, but it seems there's no other explanation except she got her nickname from being the strongest in the guild

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Titania is the Queen of the fairies.
Since Erza is widely known as the strongest female mage of Fairy Tail, she has been given the nickname Titania.


text:
Do we know of any of Roronoa Zoro's family?
I was watching some AMVs on YouTube and one of them mentioned the tragic familial backstory each character has:

For Luffy, it was Ace, Sabo, Dragon, Garp, and Shanks
For Usopp, it was Yasopp, Banchina, and Kaya
For Nami, it was Bell-mère and Nojiko

Zoro is the only member of the Pre-Grandline crew that we know nothing (to my knowledge) of his family except for Koshiro and Kuina (they were the only thing close that I could think of).
Was there ever anything mentioned about Zoro's family?

You forgot Sanji? both don't have any family backstory as far as I remember, their family is Baratie Restaurant and Dojo. Bell-mère and Nojiko also not related by blood with Nami

Oda-san only shows the relevant family to the story. Luffy's mother, Nami's father, Brook's family, Sanji's family have all gone unmentioned too. Therefore I doubt Zoro's family will every be introduced. They probably died when he was young anyway.

No, maybe not yet.

Nothing has ever been shown of Zoro's family, and he has never mentioned them. We know from his flashback that he trained in Kuina's father's dojo from a reasonably young age, and that even before that he traveled around as a reasonably good swordsman.
There's a chance he might have family on Wano Kuni, but I think it's unlikely. We don't know if he knows his family, or if he grew up as an orphan, but he has been without a family for a long time now.

Zoro is the son of Roronoa Arashi, who married a woman from East Blue.
Zoro’s father, Arashi, is the son of Shimotsuki Furiko and Roronoa Pinzoro, who were both natives of Wano Country, the land of the samurai.
Zoro’s grandmother, Furiko, is the elder sister of Shimotsuki Ushimaru, the former Daimyo of Ringo in Wano, who died fighting Kaido’s invasion.
Zoro’s grandfather, Pinzoro, is a descendant of Shimotsuki Kouzaburo, a legendary swordsmith who forged Enma, one of the swords of the former Shogun of Wano, Kozuki Oden.
Zoro’s ancestor, Kouzaburo, left Wano 55 years ago with a group of 25 people and settled in East Blue, where he founded Shimotsuki Village, the place where Zoro grew up and learned swordsmanship.
Zoro’s distant ancestor, Shimotsuki Ryuma, was a legendary samurai who was known as the “God of the Blade” and who once slayed a dragon in Wano. Zoro met Ryuma’s corpse in Thriller Bark, where he inherited his sword, Shusui, which he later returned to his grave in Wano.

Like other Straw Hats, nothing about his biological family has been told yet.
Most of them had been raised by foster families (Dadan, Koshiro, Bellmere, Zeff, Kureha, Tom and so on) and I think Oda clearly tries to make point that family is not about blood, but about feelings.

On that note, what do we know about Oda-sama's parents?