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What would happen if a Shinigami with exceedingly long life-span dies for a human?
It was said that when a Shinigami saves a human with his Death Note, that Shinigami dies, and his remaining life-span is transferred to the human he saved.
But imagine the following situation, a Shinigami has accumulated 500 years of lifespan by killing a lot of humans. That Shinigami then kills someone for a human, to save his life, and dies.
Does that mean the human would gain 500 years to his lifespan?

The human would indeed gain 500 years to his lifespan.

Shinigami who die are reduced to dust, and their remaining lifespan is given to the human they saved. wiki

It is very unlikely to see that human live those 500 years though. Shinigami are lazy and don't want to be bothered with the human world too much, so the human would become an eagerly desired target for the other Shinigami. If they would kill that specific human they would be able to gamble for 500 more years without having to be bothered with writing some new names.
So basically he would gain a lot of extra lifespan, but it wouldn't make him immune to the power of the Death Note. An example of this was seen with Misa Amane. Despite having gained the lifespan of two Shinigami, she still only lived a couple of years after their deaths, because the Death Note had recalculated her lifespan over several occasions during the story.

As mentioned by Madara Uchiha, humans with a lifespan of 124 years or higher can indeed not be killed directly.

You cannot kill humans at the age of 124 or over with the Death Note.
  XXIX

They could be killed indirectly by killing people that would result in his lifespan being recalculated, but as I mentioned Shinigami are lazy, so they wouldn't bother to do so intentionally, making him indeed semi-immortal :)

Actually, if the human is 124 years or more the Death Note won't work, essentially making the person semi immortal if he manages to avoid the gaze of the Shinigami until he gets to that age :D

@MadaraUchiha I never understood why that rule existed. I guess it is for situations like these xp

Better to close any potential loop holes with unnecessary rules :p

No. It clearly says "You cannot kill humans at the age of 124 or over..." This means that you MUST be at the age 124 or over. Just because you have a life span of 124+ years does not mean that you ARE that age. lets say a shinigami dies to save ur life and u gain 500 lives like we stated before. Lets say you are 35. Now you have the potential to live to 535 (which probably wont happen). You can still get killed by the death note since you are STILL 35 and ur not over 124 YET. the death note can kill u, the death note simply states You cannot kill humans at the age.

Essentially yes, they will become semi-immortal. They will have a long, long natural lives but they'll still be vulnerable to death.

Not really, unless by "death" you mean "death by Death Note", they are not vulnerable to "death". We've seen lifespans ending with unnatural deaths too (like shooting in an ally). So if your lifespan gets extended, you won't meet that fate so soon.

Yes I meant unnatural deaths

That's according to the rules of the Death Note - but below the surface the rules interfere with one another and cannot be consistent, so questions about the "Physics" of the world won't have very satisfying answers.

What I wonder is if they get subjected to geriatric conditions. A person 130 years old will more resemble a dessicated mummy than a human, and may not be able to perform basic life functions...

@SF. Unless the 130 year old person's body would work in a way similar to those who possess the ring of power in Lord of the Rings universe.

FYI.  If a person is over 124 years old or under 6 years old they are immune from the death note!

I always wondered that.
My main thought is whether they continue to age normally or if their aging slows to match their remaining life span.  I cant imagine a human who gains 500 years from the death of a shinigami could live for so long if aging naturally.
With some deductions, I have come to the conclusion that one who gains 500 years of life from a Shinigami would have to experience aging at a slower rate because their entire being has been extended in life by that 500 years. That means disease, accident oh, the shutting down of organs, could not lead to the cause of death until they used up those 500 years. So everything about that person would either be slowed or halted in time until they can naturally die after using the extra time. Aside from external factors such as usage of the death note before they hit the age of 124.


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Where in the timeline of SAO did the battle vs. Laughing Coffin occur?
In episode of 6 of Sword Art Online (season 2), Kirito reveals that during the events of SAO, he and the front-liners confronted the Laughing Coffin guild at their headquarters.
The result was that 20+ members of Laughing Coffin were killed along with 10+ of their own. We also learned that Kirito killed a total of 3 people during the events of SAO. (2 during this battle)

But when exactly did this battle happen? This scene is completely absent from the first season. Did this battle happen before or after Kirito joined Knights of the Blood?
Chronologically, between what episodes from season 1 did this battle happen?

According to the Sword Art Online Wiki, the battle (called the "Crusade") happened in August of 2024:

The Crusade
By August 2024, they had already killed hundreds of players, thus they were now the number one threat against the Clearers. The Clearers tried to negotiate with them via messengers, but the guild killed every one that they sent. After realizing that they would never stop killing and finding out the location of the guild's headquarters from a member of the guild, the clearers formed a high-level crusade party to wipe the guild out. Fifty high-leveled players (including Kirito and Asuna) went to attack them, however, just before they reached the designated location, the Laughing Coffin members were warned about the incoming party, so they decided to ambush the crusaders instead. Although some of the crusaders were unable to kill the red players, as the guild would not yield, some of the crusaders finally took the initiative of finishing off the Laughing Coffin members. At the end of the battle, twenty-one Laughing Coffin members and eleven crusaders had died, with most of the remaining Laughing Coffin members, including XaXa and Johnny Black, being arrested by the clearers and sent to the Black Iron Palace prison. Somehow, PoH was not found in the list of deceased or captured members, making him the only one to escape the crusade.

This was 1 month before Kuradeel was invited into the Laughing Coffin guild:

October, 2024
Although the guild was vanquished during the crusade, PoH, who avoided the crusade, watched Kirito and Kuradeel's duel on the 74th Floor. After hearing that Kuradeel wished to kill Kirito, after the duel and before Kirito went to a mandatory training session with Kuradeel and Godfree, PoH approached Kuradeel. PoH then invited Kuradeel to his guild and taught him how to make paralysis poison.

Here's a full Timeline. It says the battle happened after the "Warmth of the Heart" light novel volume and that by August, they were on the 70th floor. So I think that would put the battle somewhere between episodes 7 and 8?

As you've mentioned: this scene is NOWHERE in season 1. I just checked (out of curiosity), and skimmed through episodes 6-15 (Kirito defeats the head master in episode 14) and there was no mission involving any guild going after Laughing Coffin in those episodes.

During the episode where there was a 'death' in a safe zone (can't remember the name) I believe Kuradeel was the 'point' or leader of the three people who where hired to kill the group... with Red-Eyes being there too. At least that's what it looked like
The safe zone killing episode Laughing Coffin players were PoH, Red-Eyed Xaxa, and Johnny Black, three of the top members. Kuradeel is recruited shortly before he kills Godfree and tries to kill Kirito, well after the crusade, sometime after Kirito beats him in the duel. He's just a grunt really.

Just to note, the episode being reference is the one after "Murder in the Safe Zone" since the plot spanned 2 episodes, the Laughing Coffin group didn't appear until the second episode

This event happened in the manga but was never put into the actual season for anime,  but after that was made they created season 2 which heavily focused on the laughing coffin and the survivors of that battle and him having to recall that fight scene so they had to place it in and they didn't go back and change up the previous SO A to make it fit

This doesn't answer the question at hand.

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Why is Homura still alive after shooting herself?
A third of the way through the Rebellion film. Homura appears to shoot herself in the head after being unable to persuade Mami about what's going on. After the event, it seems that we see the exiting bullet, and we also see blood around the left side of Homura's face.
If this is the case, why is Homura still alive afterwards? Or did she not actually manage to shoot herself, or did she (or Mami) perhaps manage to heal herself afterwards?

maybe it's just a scratch? She didn't shot her head not to kill herself but to distract Mami, and Mami grab her leg so Homura shot missed (deliberately) and leave a scratch.

@ShinobuOshino: hmmm maybe. Feel free to write up an answer if you want; somehow I didn't catch the fact that she was only doing it to distract Mami. (Come to think of it Sayaka's actions also make more sense that way.)

related perhaps http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/12811/what-exactly-is-mamis-power

I can only think that the bullet didn't actually hit her head, but only scratch her. She point the gun on her head not to kill her self, but to distract Mami. Mami, who is Homura's friend, didn't want Homura to die, tried to save her. She pull the ribbon when Homura shot her gun and this makes her miss the shot. I believe she did it on purpose, because after this, Homura able to cut Mami's ribbon and able to stop time again. Which is of course, that's what she want to do from the beginning.

Before the battle begin, we can see that Homura tried to shoot Mami's ribbon, but failed to do so, but after she tries to shoot herself in the head. Mami get distracted and Homura finally able to free herself

Of course, given some of the other effects becoming a magical girl has in this universe, it might not have been fatal anyways...

@Clockwork-Muse looking how Mami want to save Homura, it looks like if the bullet actually hit her head, Homura will die, or at least badly injured.

Magical girls in MadoMagi universe are like zombies. It doesn't matter if her brain gets destroyed as long as her Soul Gem is intact. Homura knows this fact, but Mami does not and that's why she panics.
As Mami at this point is already a ghost, although she should have known that things like this would not hurt magical girl, she was brainwashed like the rest of people inside the barrier and forgot. As for why Mami was killed by Bebe in earlier scene, it was not because her brain was destroyed, but because she wore her Soul Gem on her hat and it was eaten along with her head.
So yes, Homura was safe all along.

I think the wording of this has made people think this was a joke post at first glance, but it's correct if you read it properly

What are you talking about. Homura was not shooting herself in the soul gem = zero danger. Kyubey does say that magical girl's body can bear inhuman damage with ease. That is why soul gem system was implimented in the first place.

yes, I was referring to the downvote

sorry lol, it does not whow who voted and i got confused :D

"Mami at this point is already a ghost"--no. She never died in Rebellion's timeline. Sayaka and Bebe/Nagisa are more or less ghosts, but Mami's very much alive.

It suddenly occurred to me that I probably just wasn't paying enough attention to the film and that it had been too long since I'd seen the anime. There are two slightly similar possibilities.

From the anime, we know that as long as the Soul Gem is intact, the magical girl won't die. It's thus possible that Homura only shot herself in the head (without touching her Soul Gem) when she did so, which would have led to her not dying. (Such an interpretation makes sense given that as Shinobu pointed out, Homura was doing this to distract Mami.)
The second possibility is as follows: a bit later than halfway through the film, Homura decides to test whether or not the 100 metre restriction for her Soul Gem still works, after she becomes suspicious of herself. She leaves her Soul Gem at a location and boards a bus that later bursts into flames, but emerges unscathed despite to fact that this was some distance from where the bus was. Given this detail and the fact that she has become a witch at some point, it's possible that this has also affected the destructability of her body.

I'm not sure if I interpreted the events of the second bit correctly, so please comment if I have gotten something wrong.

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What manga chapters does the Akagi anime adapt?
I just finished the Akagi anime. It seems safe to conclude that Akagi probably survives the match with Wachizu, but since there are two more rounds that aren't covered by the last episode of the anime, I'm wondering how they go.
As thus: which chapter of the manga does the Akagi anime end on? Is it safe to assume that up to that chapter, everything covered in the manga will have been more or less covered in the anime (given that in some anime adaptations, like FMA, this isn't true)?

For questions like these Manga Updates is king.

Anime Adaption:
Starts at Volume 1, Chapter 1
Ends at Volume 13, Chapter 109
Skips Volume 6 Chapter 51 to Volume 7 Chapter 56

The series currently has 28 Volumes and is still ongoing.

Remarkably enough, I looked at the most recent chapter I could find, and as per the answer below, the game with Washizu is still going on...


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How do I watch canon Kenshin content?
I have watched the anime in full. I understand that canon stops at ep 62. What are the other animated contents that cover the canon story to the fullest?
Referring Wikipedia, there were two OVAs. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal seems canon without controversy. Rurouni Kenshin: Reflection was declared non-canon by the author, but I guess it was sourced from canon.
So my best guess is, I must watch Trust & Betrayal and then Reflection to get the canon story. Is my guess correct or did I miss something?

What parts of the manga have been not-animated? Are there upcoming projects that cover the canon story?

Are there upcoming projects that cover the canon story? Usually, you can check such news on ANN or other anime news site. We don't answer such questions, since we are always behind the news.

You're gonna want to watch Trust & Betrayal, then Reflection.  While the ending is not what the author wanted, its still semi-canon and good.  It also covers some of the final arc (Jinchuu Arc) at the end of ova 1 and beginning of ova 2.  Also the fight animations and soundtrack are great. Also worth watching if for nothing else than the reinvented fights (which are more realistic) is Rurouni Kenshin: New Kyoto Arc.
Then I would go back and read the manga after where Trust & Betrayal left off, it covers a lot of details that really add to the story and overall depth to characters (like sanosuke's past)

So New Kyoto movies cover canon ground just like the OVAs. Should I watch that after the OVAs?

New Kyoto is not canon.  Well sorta its a retelling with some elements different. Many think its a poor retelling since they had to rush the kyoto arc into 2 movies.  I only suggested it because the fights are great, and shows you a more realistic version of kenshin's fights.

Example is Usui never fights Saitou and the final battle is on the ship than in the cave.


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Where can I purchase anime soundtracks for download?
As much as I would like to buy the CDs for some of my favourite soundtracks, I don't have a CD drive on my laptop and also I would be ripping the music off the cd anyway.
Are there any legal sites where I can download soundtracks for shows I like, rather than purchasing the physical media?
In particular, I'm looking for the 'Your lie in April' OST, but I would like to know in general where I could go for this sort of thing

Assuming you want CD quality, you can check some of the Japan-specific sites listed here, however I haven't tried any of them yet.

Amazon Japan has the Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso soundtrack available for download: "Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso ORIGINAL SONG & SOUNDTRACK". It's an MP3 download (so not lossless, unfortunately). The whole OST is 3000 JPY (~25 USD), or you can buy individual songs (but this quickly becomes more expensive than just buying the album).
The OST does not appear to be available (losslessly) on any of the sites linked in mivilar's comment, but the Ongakuchou (consisting of the classical pieces from the show) is, at mora: "Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso - Boku to Kimi no Ongakuchou". I've never used mora, but it appears they have a FLAC version of the album available for 3200 JPY, as well as a 320kbps AAC version available for 2100 JPY.
Amazon Japan has a setting somewhere for translating the UI (but not product descriptions and so forth) into English, but I'm not seeing anything similar on mora, so you may want to find a buddy who knows Japanese and/or bumble your way through Google Translate.


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What is this Ghost Infiltration Key?
Multiple times in the GITS Arise characters mention the mysterious Ghost Infiltration Key. From what I understand it is somehow used to stop (paralyze?) an agent of government, or perhaps anyone with a cyberized brain.
How does that thing work? A lot of cyber warfare is based on breaking encryptions and bypassing various types of barriers. And then there are these keys. They have to be unbreakable to be deemed worth keeping in one's hands. Otherwise the risk of such an item falling into enemy's hands is too great − they could neutralize the government agents.
It's got "Ghost" in its name for a reason, probably to make it clear that the target is not the cyberbrain device, but the Ghost of its user. Ghosts are as unique as it gets in GITS universe, so there can be only one key. Or not?
So my questions are:

How is the Ghost Infiltration Key created?
How is it stored?
How is it activated?
How does it work?
Can there be multiple?

I'm not sure it is explicit in the show, but here is my long-winded explanation based on extrapolating from present-day technologies and trends:
Today, "certificates" are used to verify the identity of (trust) computers you communicate with; a website that looks like your bank's, isn't your bank's. By installing/using your OS, you've already consented to trusting whoever they've added to the default list. VeriSign is an example; the company has a process for new websites to establish trust with them, and they have trust with your OS manufacturer, and you have already consented to trust them.
Today, this is all done with >128-bit keys, however, in the time of GITS, it's reasonable to assume they are able to use massively long keys, possibly >128-Mbit. It would take a PC from our time, working non-stop, until the time of GITS to crack one.
You could Google extensively about encryption, but for simplicity's sake:
Someone can create a certificate to "verify" anything they want. Ultimately, you will have to either explicitly trust them, or defer to a third-party to evaluate their claims on your behalf. We don't background check and explicitly trust every single merchant with a credit card reader; instead, we trust a select few companies, Visa, Mastercard, etc. to not associate with disreputable merchants and unconditionally handle any problems that arise, if they do.
In the time of GITS, cyber-brains are evidently secured by, at a minimum, a very-strong private key, approximately unique to each. Additional security features can be added/upgraded such as "attack barriers", "dummy barriers", etc. As governments usually go, it is extremely likely that the government has interfered heavily in cyberization matters, enacting legislation to ensure minimum-this', maximum-thats, etc. Another typical feature of governments both in today's time, and in GITS time, is reliance on a self-preserving model of "buying "security"" with liberty. In other words, we cannot be 100% safe and 100% free at the same time. In order to do their job, we must trust the government. The result of that implied trust are (many) laws allowing them to legally spy on and/or indefinitely detain you. If you are deemed a "threat to national security", your liberty is administratively revoked, your communications are monitored, you are no longer innocent until proven guilty, etc. Consider that, today, your cell phone's microphone, camera, GPS, etc. are all controlled by software and can all be enabled and activated remotely.
Notice that in GITS, although technically a "police force", we are never given any indication that any member of Section 9 has EVER applied for a search warrant. Many times, while in their own country, Section 9 shows no regard (and sometimes contempt) for security/local police or their instructions, preferring to knock them down or disable them to gain (technically-illegal) entry to private properties, usually by kicking in a few doors/walls/faces. Section 9 goes and does, almost unilaterally, wherever and whatever they want.
Regarding the GIK:

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


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Is it possible for a genin to become a jonin?
In Naruto, by the end of Shippuden (ignoring the epilogue), neither Naruto nor Sasuke had ever passed the chunin exams. Given that the chunin exams seem to be held sporadically (two years between the ones in Naruto Part 1 and the ones being shown in the anime currently), it seems possible that other genin would end up in this situation. Is it possible for those genin to go directly to being jonin, or do they have to wait for possibly dozens of years (depending on how sporadically the chunin exams are held) to become a chunin first?

In the Road to Ninja movie, Naruto tried to get a recommendation from Iruka for promotion to Jōnin, but was refused.  Iruka said that Naruto had to become a Chūnin before he could become a Jōnin.

Iruka: so, what did you want to talk about?
Naruto: Um, Iruka-sensei, uh, listen, you think you can submit a Jonin application for me?
Iruka: What?
Naruto: It's just that all of my other classmates are going to have their parents fill out applications for them, and, well, I, uh...
Iruka: Nope, sorry. I won't.
Naruto: But why not?
Iruka: Because that step is supposed to come after you become a chunin. Sure you saved us from Pain, and everyone calls you the "Hero of the Hidden Leaf", but I can't give you special treatment.  I mean, even your Dad worked his way up through the ranks - from Genin, to Chunin, to Jonin, to become Hokage. Then he went on to became a Hero.
Naruto: hmm, to become just a face carved into a rock.

Update: In the Naruto Shippuden anime, Episode 413 - Hopes Entrusted to the Future shows that it is possible for a Genin to be promoted to Jōnin under special circumstances.
Lee, Tenten, and Negi did not complete the original requirements of the second Chūnin Exam.  They returned with 2 "Heaven" scrolls instead of "Heaven" and "Earth" scrolls:

Lee: [places two heaven scrolls on the table] Please accept these.
Proctor: Two "Heaven" scrolls are not acceptable!
Lee: Oh, but that's--! [slaps table]
Proctor: No, no, no!
Lee: I can't reveal any details, but there were extraordinary circumstances that prevented us from collecting scrolls!  Please ask Lord Kazekage!
Proctor: It doesn't matter what circumstances there were. No means no!

Gaara later rescinded that requirement when he cancelled the Third exam after he and Fū were attacked in an attempt to steal their tailed beasts:

Temari: Cancel the Third exam?
Gaara: I'm sorry. I can't go into details, but this is a domestic matter within the Sand.
Shikamaru: Then how do we determine who passed the Chunin Exams?
Gaara: We've prepared detailed reports about each team's performance in the Second Exam.  I'd like the respective villages to use them to decide whether their participants should be promoted to chunin.
[later, when addressing the exam participants...]
Gaara: Therefore, I deem the Third Exam unnecessary... Furthermore, I am rescinding part of the requirements for the Second Exam... For each of you standing here right now, a detailed report of your performance will be sent to your respective villages.  Your Kage will make the final decision on your promotion.

Based on that report, Lady Tsunade "double-promotes" Negi to Jōnin:

Tsunade: I've gone over your Second Exam reports. And... Hinata, Shino, Kiba, Choji, Ino, and Sakura... You six passed with flying colors and are promoted to chunin!
[cheers]
...
Tsunade: [looking at Tenten, Negi, and Lee] Finally, although they did not collect two scrolls, they performed admirably... and are more than qualified for promotion.  Lee and Tenten, you are now chunin.
Lee: Lady Tsunade!  Team Guy is one for all, all for one!  How can Neji not be included...?!
Tsunade: Just let me finish!  Neji Hyuga is given a special double promotion to jonin!  The Kazekage himself noted, "In particular, Neji's performance was most impressive and due consideration has been given in this report."  He's already proven himself to be more than capable as a chunin.

First of all, it's not exactly known how a Chunin becomes Jonin.
From Jonin article on Naruto wiki:

The villagers may send their recommendations for a jōnin appointment. The Kage reads said recommendations and may consider appointing an individual a jōnin if his or her qualities are recognised as adequate by enough people and himself.

and

However, there was mention of a Jōnin Exam in the anime's Kurama Clan Arc.

But we don't know what the requirements for this exam are.
It also seems that the article/series doesn't mention anything about the general requirements for becoming a Jonin.
From the Jonin article, it is safe to assume that becoming a Jonin is matter of experience, reputation and most importantly, skill.
So, is it possible for a Genin to become Jonin? Yes. Provided:

They are highly talented.
They are respected and well-known in his/her village.
They have high level of experience.
They have unique skill set.

But whether to become a Jonin also depends on personal beliefs of the person. As we can see from the Genin article:

Kosuke Maruboshi, who is called the Eternal Genin (万年下忍, Mannen Genin) has the skills of a jōnin-level shinobi, but is officially a genin — a rank he had consciously decided to remain at, due to personal reasons. He shares the epithet with Might Duy, who in his twenty years as a genin mastered the Eight Gates.

After the fourth great ninja war, Kakashi gives Naruto a giant stack of books to study and say that when he finishes those book then he can become a Jonin.

Yes, it is quite possible, but very unlikely. In the anime, during the arc of the second Naruto Shippuden Chunin Exams, it was revealed that Neji was directly granted the Jonin rank from Genin. However, this came under extraordinary circumstances, in which he led Tenten, Lee, Matsuri of Sunagakure, and two Genin of Takigakure to fight Hōichi of Sunagakure, who had captured Gaara and Fū, the Jinchūriki of the Seven-Tails.

Neji had actually passed the Chunin Exams, but also got a good recommendation from the Kazekage Gaara for his performance, so he was also raised to a Jonin. It was possible only after the exam.

@ArunA.S: Negi, Tenten, and Lee did not actually "pass" the Second exam (they did not collect the correct scrolls), but were given special consideration after Gaara cancelled the Third exam and sent a performance report about the Second exam to the villages.

Yes.
Rank in the shinobi world is traditionally appointed by superiors based on skill, maturity and leadership ability.  Prior to Tobirama's creation of the ninja academy, novices were given to a an experienced shinobi to train and s/he decided when they were ready to start taking missions (i.e. equivalent to genin) and all further rank was earned in the field.
Field promotion to chūnin, tokubetsu jōnin and even jōnin was still common during the third shinobi war.
In peacetime, field promotions became harder to attain, as there were fewer opportunities for shinobi to prove themselves in combat. The villages therefore created their own evaluations/exams for genin who had ben in the field for a while to assess whether they were ready for promotion.
Some time after the third great shinobi war, the joint  chūnin exams were instituted to promote inter-village cooperation as well as to provide a spectacle to entertain the lords, attract customers  and showcase the skills of the young ninja.
By the opening of the Naruto manga, most genin only attain chūnin rank through the semi-annual joint chūnin exams. Field promotion to chūnin is rare, though theoretically possible.
In contrast, promotion to tokubetsu jōnin and jōnin was still by appointment rather than examination (although the Kurama filler arc mentions a jōnin exam, this is not reflected in the manga canon) and can theoretically be given to any shinobi, even genin.
From what we see in the manga, promotion from genin straight to jōnin rarely happens in reality, though.
It isn't completely impossible, however, as there is mention of independent ninja and small clans joining a village and their ninja being assigned various ranks based on their skills and/or reputations.
In theory, the whole 4th shinobi war should have lead to many field promotions, but this didn't seem to happen, looking at the vrious flashbacks and stuff in Boruto, so yeah ...

yes, this was the case with shikamaru, who was promoted immediately to jonin after his fight against temari, even though he forfeited the fight because he ran out of chakra.

Hi, it'd be better if you could also provide the chapter/episode number as a reference, thanks!

Nope. He was only promoted to chunin at that time.  Reread the  chappie (115 or 116 not sure)


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How old is Sugar?
It is said that the Hobi Hobi no Mi grants eternal youth to the user, besides allowing them to turn people into toys and wiping their existence out of anyone else's mind.
So that being said, it is implied that Sugar is much older than she really is, and that the Hobi Hobi no Mi only makes her look young. But I have tried looking at the chapters she is in but there is no mention of how old she is.
Is there something out there that tells us how old Sugar is?

In this wiki page her age is mentioned. Due to Hobi Hobi no Mi she has two age which are 10(biologically) and 22(legally). So she looks like 10 year old but she is actually 22 years old.

Sugar ate the Hobi Hobi no Mi at age 10, ceasing to age since then.
It is said that the user stops aging once the fruit has been eaten, as she remains a 10-years old despite being chronologically 22. This also happens with her victims, as Kyros, who was a toy during 10 years, when reverting to normal did not show any biological signs of aging

The part about Kyros is interesting. Would that mean, Sugar actually lengthened the toys' lives?

@PeterRaeves I can't confirm that, but in a sense yes, if your body does not show any biological sign of aging you are more prone to live longer, i think it does not make you immortal, you may die in toy form.


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What's with the explosion in episode 18?
In SAC episode 18, we see Kusanagi stop Yu from physically attacking the Chinese foreign minister, but after her short exchange with Batou (who is standing nearby), Yu turns to smile and creates an explosion via some sort of detonation device in the bouquet he's carrying. From a bird's eye shot, we then see a somewhat large explosion.
Yet after that, we learn that the Chinese minister returned safely to China, and it looks like Kusanagi, Yu, and Batou are still alive.
What's with this explosion then, and why is no one (or at least the major, non-background characters) hurt? Somehow, the fact that Kusanagi is a cyborg doesn't quite seem to explain things, since this still doesn't deal with the other characters.

In the very next scene, major Kusanagi explains:

The risks, of course, are considerable, but we couldn't find a better solution than to further edit Yu's memories with a successful assassination attempt.

So what we see after the moment major attached a cyberbrain-disabling device to the back of his neck, is only a fake memory.

Hmmm, that struck me as a probable explanation, but it was hard for me to tell whether or not there was actually a "split" between the disabling of Yu's attack and the explosion (or well, if/when the major attached the device).


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What is Arisa's status at the end of Guilty Crown?
Arisa is shot several times by the GHQ soldiers at the end of the series, when her shield fails due to all voids disappearing, but the wiki pages have confusing information about her whereabouts at the end.
Wikipedia has "She follows Gai to the final battle, holding back the UN forces with her shield, and is alive seen being outside of the falling GHQ."
Is she alive? When the scene of her alive outside the building happens?

Arisa can be seen outside of the collapsing GHQ building at around 20:23 of episode 22.

Screenshot courtesy of Hakase
It is not known how she got out of the collapsing GHQ building with the bullet wound she got from the UN Military Forces at 18:15, though. My guess is that she got rescued by the UN Forces, probably as an act of humanity.

According to the Guilty Crown Wikia, she is still alive, and I believe the scene of her being outside of the building is near the end of the last episode.

Could you post a screenshot? I checked both wikis before posting the question, so wikia alone is not enough.


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Luffy's Straw Hat
During the Impel Down Arc it is seen that luffy already had a straw hat when Ace and Luffy both have flashbacks of the past when they were kids. Didn't Luffy only get the straw hat when he was older from Shanks?

In the timeline of One Piece you can find under "12 years ago" the explanation.
Luffy met Shanks before his grandfather Garp took him away.

Red-Haired Shanks, then twenty seven years old, arrives at Luffy's hometown and decides to stay there. Luffy accidentally eats the Gomu Gomu no Mi, giving him rubber powers and an inability to swim. Higuma is eaten by a Sea King in an incident involving Luffy and Shanks. Shanks leaves Luffy's hometown after staying there for almost a year.[32]
  Shortly after Shanks' departure, Luffy is taken by his grandfather Monkey D. Garp to train with Curly Dadan and meets his adopted brother Portgas D. Ace. Luffy soon forms a brotherhood with Ace and Sabo in desire to becoming pirates.

Also, when Shanks left, Luffy had just eaten the rubber fruit, but when he was playing around with Sabo and Ace, he was already using his rubber powers. So Shanks leaving must be well before Luffy meeting Ace.

ahh i see thanks! Its just luffy looked much younger in the flashbacks during impel down so i naturally thought that there was an issue with the chronological order of events. All cleared up now though.


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Where was Sword Art Online published online?
I heard SAO was published online before being published in paper (not sure if only the first volume or more). Now, the question is where was it published, which site?
I understand that the webnovel version of SAO is likely no longer available there. I'm more interested in the site. I tried googling it but I've got no answer, so I'm asking it here.

You will not be able to (legally) find the web novel version anymore as the author has pulled it out after agreeing to publish it with ASCII Media Works. As for the website it was published in, it would be on SAO's author Reki Kawahara's website.
Keep in mind that he used the pseudonym "Fumio Kunori" when he was writing this particular web novel series.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sword_Art_Online#Light_novels

I missed the annotation with the link to the author's site (it was next to the part mentioning the webnovel), when I checked the article before. Thanks for your help. Originally I was wondering if the novel was posted on an web novel aggregate site or somewhere else.


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Why do the racoons in pompoko have such large genitalia?
I was surprised when I saw, watching PomPoko with my family, that the characters had really, REALLY large ahem ... well see for yourself:

I mean, that can't be natural can it? I'm pretty sure last time I saw a racoon it didn't have that part so huge.
Is it perhaps some other body part? You can see their tails in the below picture as they use the flesh for parachutes, so I'm sure it's not that. It does seem to be coming from their nether regions though.
What is up with these racoons?

The racoons in this film aren't the usual ones the West would know of. They are in fact Tanuki and are better know as Racoon Dogs in English.

Still, you can see from the picture above that they aren't as heavily endowed as the ones in the Ghibli film. This is because the film takes the concept from Japanese folklore.
In Japanese folklore, the Tanuki are shape-shifters, much like the kitsune fox. They're generally tricksters, but they have positive connotations in Japan despite their fearsome nature in older times. The humongous scrotum only came about in the Edo period in Ukiyo-e drawings - the precursor to several other drawn art forms, and eventually, to manga.

Some drawings of tanuki flyfishing and pulling a ballsack-boat to shore.
I recommend reading Tofugu's article on tanuki if you want to learn more about these creatures.

I knew about the folklore tanuki, but not about the existence of real raccoon dogs. I had always thought the tanuki were mythological creatures based on raccoons.


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Why didn't Goku and Chi Chi use the Dragon Balls to rescue the Ox King and his castle?
At the end of Dragon Ball, when Goku and Chi Chi were questing to find the Bansho Fan to put out the fire trapping the Ox King, it seems as if they could have used the Dragon Balls to do it quickly. More than one year had passed since their previous usage and, as far as I could tell, the balls were not scattered after wishing Krillin and the others back to life (they remained on the ground at the Kame House after the wish).
So, it seems like they could have quickly made a wish to stop the flames and restore the castle. Why did they not do so? I did not read the manga, I only watched the anime. Was there a specific reason that either I missed, or that was perhaps stated in the manga, or was it simply a plot device to fill the last few episodes of the series?

This is exactly what Shenron was talking about, you shouldn't overuse the dragonballs like that! Doesn't it make sense to do it this way? If they could save them without resorting to the wish, it saves them the wish. If they fail, they could just resurrect them anyway.

@PeterRaeves Thanks. That's a good point and seems likely, although a flashback to that point or a suggestion by somebody and refusal for that reason would have made it concrete (also they didn't have any qualms about the possibility of wishing Kami back). Dragon Ball had lots of holes in general but many times the holes were filled by some quick reasoning in the dialog; so I expected something similar here since the motive to put the fire out was the key premise to the last few episodes. Unless some other evidence comes around I guess I'll just believe it's for that reason.

Hm; I rewatched the first few episodes of DBZ. At the Kame House, when talking about Son Gohan's hat, Goku mentions that it took him a while to find the 4-star ball and that he's made a hobby out of collecting Dragon Balls. This implies that they were scattered (which must have been after the last wish to bring Krillin back, assuming nothing happened in the five year jump between series), so maybe that's why, even though it was never shown or mentioned in Dragon Ball (making it the only wish scene up to that point that didn't explicitly show the balls scattering).

They were indeed scattered as you can see here in chapter 165, but that wouldn't completely answer your question as Bulma had the dragon radar from the beginning, so it wouldn't take them 3 years to get all the dragon balls.

Here I was reading the manga for an answer... Looks like the wedding dress saga was filler... >_< That's why I couldn't find it.

@PeterRaeves Yup; I just now found that out as well. That explains the filler vibe I got from those episodes. They were a barely watchable end to an otherwise great series which is why I've been searching for reasons to justify their premise. No wonder!

Your assumption about the dragon balls was wrong. They did indeed scatter in chapter 156, right after Shenlon brought everyone back to life. Also seeing the mini saga about the wedding-dress was anime filler to begin with, one could argue that it would be pretty lame to fill it with the gang just using the dragon balls.
Apart from that, it should be noted that getting the dragon balls wasn't as easy as it sounds at that time. Bulma did have the dragon radar, but she would not have been able to retrieve them all on her own as we had seen earlier in the series. And Goku couldn't help her either as he had promised to train at the sanctuary with God for three years. He was stuck there all the way to the tournament.
So when the fire actually happened, it would take Goku less time to get the fan, than to collect all dragon balls. So trying to get the fan first, would be the best choice of action. If he would fail, they could collect the dragon balls as a backup plan anyway.


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Why doesn't Korra bend the metal on Kuvira's uniform?
In the latest episode (S04E06, "The Battle of Zaofu") Korra fights Kuvira who wears the following uniform

(from avatar.wikia.com)
In the linked article it is also said that

While leading her army, Kuvira took to wearing a uniform with metal
  strips on her back, biceps, and calves, for which she developed a
  style of metalbending that involves bending the metal on her uniform
  and shooting them off of like projectiles.

Now I was wondering: Can't Korra bend the metal on Kuvira's uniform and chain her (or subdue in another way)? Is this due to the fact that Kuvira already has control over the metal (as described in the wikia article)?

Is korra a metal bender? I thought she wasnt one?

@Quikstryke The avatar wikia specifically lists Korra as a metal bender. The practice is somewhat common, and in principle accessible to any earth bender willing to put in the effort.

@Quikstryke Also didn't she bend out the last bits of poisonous metal in S04E03?

@Quikstryke she learned in S03, though Bolin tried to learn but failed, later we find out he is a lava bender

@ratchetfreak Lava bending is a thing? I guess Roku was a lava bender, then.

oh true..my bad lol

Korra is a metal bender. She bent the metal poison out of her body.

Maybe the parts Kuvira never uses for bending are made of platinum. That leaves the forearms, and I can't imagine how you'd go about bending the metal in a way that would constrain her without her being able to maneuver out of the attempt - you'd be peeling the metal off her.

I don't think there's a canonical explanation of how bending works, but the way Earthbenders fight suggests that they have much more control over soil that's near them, and that they work best with sudden, abrupt movements. For instance, it's common for earthbenders to stop large slabs of rock, but they always wait for it to get close rather than slowing it gradually from a distance. Most attacks originate from the bender, and when they act on distant earth it's usually to throw their opponent off balance rather than injure them directly. There's almost no instances of earthbenders pulling rocks as a form of attack.
It's also shown throughout the series that bending heavy loads is not unlike physically lifting them; it's usually done much more slowly and the weight of the rocks causes resistance against the bender's movements.
It's likely that Korra could bend Kuvira's armor, but it would be impractical to do so from the distance they kept from each other while fighting. This seems to be supported by the fact that in the season finale, after slamming Korra against a wall, Kuvira pulls out three chunks of metal from it and brings them close. She then launches small bits of the chunks at Korra very quickly.
It appears Kuvira felt she couldn't have attacked Korra directly using the metal in the wall, or using larger chunks of metal, without a high chance of Korra dodging or using a quicker attack in response. By that same token, I imagine if Korra tried to throw Kuvira from a distance, Kuvira would easily hit her with a small piece of metal before Korra completed the throw. And considering they can both react to small projectiles traveling at high speeds, I doubt Korra would've been able to bend a large amount of metal and surround Kuvira with it quickly enough to actually trap her either.

Korra more or less could bend the metal on Kuvira's uniform, as long as she knows the exact type of metal. However, it would be pointless to do such thing. An example would be: If Toph was an earthbender and so as Dai Li's force, then Toph should have subdued them through earthbending like enclosing them in a rock or in a statue, which of course Dai Li can always fight easily being the earthbender itself. The same is applicable for both Korra and Kuvira - both can bend metal, so neither can really overpower the other just by chaining.

At least from looks, it seems that you need to be able to gesticulate to bend. So by chaining someone you actively hinder them from bending. This was my thought. I think in the final fight materials appeared that could not be metal bended (gotta research that myself and will post again then)

@kingkero I'm pretty sure that's the case. The Fire Nation was convinced they had incapacitated King Bumi in TLA when they put him in a metal coffin. Turns out he could bend with his face, but he still needed to move at least a little for that. As for materials it came up in Korra season 1 that pure platinum has no impurities and thus can't be bent.

@Doval : Exactly my point.


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How were the walls in Attack on Titan built?
If I remember correctly, in Attack on Titan, it's mentioned or implied a number of times that humans built the walls to protect themselves from the titans. (Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this.) If so then, how did they manage to get the walls erected (which seem to be the result of somewhat extensive work) without getting killed, if they were already under attack by that point?
(Note: I'm only about halfway through the anime series, so I might just be missing something that appears later.)

just the way humans built bridges and huge building in todays time :P

@hungerartist its just a joke, i obviously didn't mean it :S

Spoilers from the manga.
After the king's sanctum incident (ch50~65)

 (when Rod Reiss tried to make Historia eat Eren),

it is disclosed that

 The First King used his Coordinate power (control over titans) to force those titans to use their hardening power to shape up the walls, then used his Memory power to wipe the memories from the pre-wall era from humanity.

Why did he

 leave hibernating titans inside the walls

is unknown.

 he also created the Wallist Church to help him oversee the walls safety.

^ This should be at the top.

If I remember correctly,

 the walls were built with the hardening ability of Titans.

As a result, the walls are very tough to break and have sheltered human kinds for decades.

but titans evaporate and for those walls to happen they must have killed millions of titans..

@Esq actualy titan flesh from titans with the hardening power do not evaporate.

Just adding on the rest of the answers here, but

 "the walls were built with the exoskeletons of titans"

seems to be somewhat different on the Shingeki no Kyojin Wikia:

 The Wall Titans (幻の巨人 Maboroshi no Kyojin?, Phantom Titans) are unusual kind of Titans that make up the Walls that protect humanity. They are first revealed when the Female Titan tried to climb Wall Sina to escape from Eren and the Survey Corps. The lack of sunlight inside the Walls renders them immobile.   It is implied that the Wall Titans have the ability of using their crystallizing powers to create massive walls, notably Wall Maria, Rose and Sina. Their exact motives for doing this are unknown.

This seems to imply something completely different to what I was thinking. Of course you can't trust everything you read, but I like to think this information is pretty accurate.

The walls are built by a special breed of titans that the colossal titan is and this is discovered when a piece of the wall is broken off

It is also stated here that a group of religious fanatics and the king know about the wall being made of titans.
Though the reason for the wall titans to protect humans is not stated it is possible that titan shifters made up the wall it is also possible that not all titans are against humanity considering the size of these titans they could have preyed on other titans thus providing a motive they wished to prey on titans and humans attract titans the humans might have trapped them and then the titans went into hibernation

What episode does this shot comes from? I don't quite recall that scene...

The walls weren't exactly built by humans.

 The walls are all made from 50 meter colossal titans. They are unable to move because it is dark inside the walls and they become immobile in the dark.

This is shown in the final episode of the anime after the credits.

Rod Reiss' ancestors, the first king, used his powers to create the walls (and Titans?) And wiped all memory of the word before the walls from the mind of humanity.

Welcome to Anime and Manga. could you provide a source to this (ie. manga/novel chapter no. urls to web pages)

This is disclosed on chapters sixty-something.


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Why didn't Ashitaka return to his village after his curse was lifted?
After his curse was lifted, the reason for his exile from his village no longer existed. His relationship with San also showed no signs of developing further.
But he decided to remain in Irontown.
Since he is a prince of his people (and the last one to boot), wouldn't it be more logical for him to return home?

@Aaron But the movie is not. So from canon material, he does not return, since we are not told he returns. Anything after the closing credits that is not "word of god" is pure speculation, and outside the scope of the Q&A.

I have a couple arguments on why he no longer returns home.
The first is that his banishment forbids him from doing so. Ashitaka cut his own hair which symbolizes him losing his culture and heritage. Kaya also gives Ashitaka her dagger because she wanted him to have a memento of her. It shows that he is no longer allowed to come back to the village.
Another argument is that he no longer has a way of returning home. In the scenes following Ashitaka leaving the village, it is apparent that he has traveled a great distance from his village. Most likely he has forgotten the way home.
Lastly, he could have stayed behind out of consideration for the others. Mononoke-hime is the person he loves and he wants to stay with her. It is possible he also wants to forge a good relationship between Irontown and the forest so that future demons won't come and attack his village or other villages. Furthermore, his elk was shot and probably can't go as far as it once could. So he stays out of consideration for the elk, since it's possible the elk would not have been able to make the journey.

This is what director Miyasaki says:

Ashitaka is at a loss as he comes into the outside world, that is,
  town, from his village. At this point, he is hiding his face to show
  that he is a non-person. Actually, at the moment he cut his topknot
  off, he was no longer human. Cutting one's topknot in a village has
  that meaning. So, it looks like Ashitaka leaves (the village) of his
  own will, but actually, the village forces him to leave, I think.
  Ashitaka, as such a boy, cannot negotiate well when he goes to the
  market. The Northeast area, where Ashitaka's village was, used to
  produce gold. So Ashitaka just offered a gold grain instead of money,
  not knowing the value of it.

And...

How about going back to the Emishi's village?

M: He can't go back. Even if he could go back, what would be there?
  There might be some time lag, but eventually, the world of what Eboshi
  has been doing at Tatara Ba will come rushing in. So if Ashitaka says
  "I will go home" since his curse was cured, that will be no solution.
  And it will be a big problem if he brings San back.

Kaya, who saw Ashitaka off, loved Ashitaka, didn't she?

M: Yes of course. She calls him "Anisama (older brother)", but it just
  means that he is an older boy in her clan.

So they are not real brother and sister.

M: If they were, that wouldn't be interesting at all. There used to be
  a lot of marriage among blood relations in Japan. I thought of Kaya as
  a girl who is determined to do so (marry Ashitaka). But Ashitaka chose
  San. It's not strange at all to live with San, who lives with such a
  brutal fate. That's life.

Source:Miyazaki on Mononoke-hime

Take this with a grain of salt because I’m just taking a wild guess. In the beginning of the movie, one of Ashitaka’s village higher ups said something about their tribe being driven out 500 years ago by the Shogunate, so they probably wanted nothing to do with them anymore. The Emishi tribe seems like a tribe that takes pride and really value own culture it is likely they don’t want involvement from any outside parties/influences. Ashitaka took the desicion to journey outside of the tribe’s area and cut his hair as a symbol to cut his lineage and involvement with the tribe, so that’s probably the reason why they seemed so sad and lost all hope, it wasn’t because they didn’t think he’d make it, but rather even if he did make it alive, he can’t go back anymore.

The reason why is cause his curse wasn't lifted. It's still there just it is not progressing faster as it did before


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What are the differences between the Totoro releases?
I know that My Neighbor Totoro was released at least twice (possible three times because of some sort of airplane release) in the United States. I'm pretty sure that at there was at least a cast change between the two major US releases, but are there any other changes? Was anything censored or was any animation or lines changed?

According to the Wikipedia article, Tokuma Communications did a release in 1993, which was released on video by 20th Century Fox and dubbed again by Streamline as a special release for airlines. The Wikipedia article claims that Miyazaki would not allow any sort of editing, modification, or censorship, due to his disappointment with Warriors of the Wind, the heavily edited version of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind that was released in the US. The article offers no source, but this site supports the idea that Miyazaki hated Warriors of the Wind.
Fox's rights expired in 2004, and Disney acquired the license, creating a new dub. The Ghibli fan site from the link above makes the following claim about the Disney / Ghibli relationship:

No. This will not happen [editing of or changes to the Ghibli films]. Disney can not cut even one second from the
  films, according to the contract. Ghibli has officially stated that
  "With Disney's commitment to maintain the quality of the original
  titles, there will be no changes to music and sequences in foreign
  language versions." According to Mr. Suzuki, the producer of Ghibli,
  other companies such as Fox and Time-Warner contacted Tokuma, but
  Disney was the only company willing to agree to this condition, and
  that was the main reason why Tokuma chose Disney as a partner.

The FAQ on My Neighbor Totoro also claims that nothing was cut from the Disney release, but does state that the songs were translated into English and dubbed by an American singer, as with other Ghibli releases by Disney.
It's been a long time since I watched the Disney dub, and an even longer time since I watched the Carl Macek dub, but I'm pretty sure Disney did a new translation and wrote a new dub script. The Disney DVD also includes Japanese audio with English subtitles. I never watched Totoro subbed, but I have watched other Disney releases subbed and compared them with the dub translations, and the degree of fidelity is always very high.

As Recent as 10/14/2016- In Disney Channel Philippines, The bath scene between the girls and the father in My Neighbor Totoro was cut out.
By doing so, they cut a subplot that should have explained why the dust spirits left the home.


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What's the meaning behind all the chairs in Madoka's room?
In Episode 9 of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, during Madoka's conversation with Kyuubei, we see that she has a ton of chairs in her room:

At first I thought this was just the usual Shaft weirdness. But I stumbled on a blog post that attempted to explain all the symbolism behind the imagery in this scene. According to the author of the blog, the empty chairs represent fallen Magical Girls. While the author's interpretation is plausible, I also found it somewhat tenuous—the only evidence the author gives is the scene in Mami's apartment earlier on, when Madoka sees Mami's furniture and bursts into tears. I don't have a very clear memory of the scene, but I don't remember it focusing specifically on the furniture—it could just as well have been the empty apartment.
Is there any other evidence in the show that supports this blogger's reading? And is there evidence that supports another meaning for the scores of empty chairs in Madoka's room?

I agree with some of the comments on the blogpost - this seems to me to be more likely a Bokurano shoutout than anything.

@senshin The Madoka wikia elaborates on the Bokurano connection pretty extensively, but I still find it somewhat unsatisfying and tenuous.

one could say this is a SHAFT thing since they did Madoka and Monogatari however i am just thinking of one scene with a lot of chairs in one of the Monogatari series's. might be worth looking into to see if SHAFT just like chairs

Those chairs are a direct reference to Bokurano, understanding which actually adds depth to the scene (if you've seen Bokurano).
Bokurano huge spoilers:

 Childs sitting on the chairs are actually giving up their lives for the privilege of fighting a defence of Earth.
 Note that chairs appear before the big reveal about souls and zombies in Madoka.

Could you explain the meaning for those who haven't seen it? also while you do supply images that shows a comparison could you also find a source as to why a scene from another series is reference, to my knowledge neither anime shares a production company or series author

@Memor-X: Done. Note that that this is HUGE spoiler.

Another comment as I failed to edit in time:
Reference does not have to be related by studio or authors - for example - many references to Evangelion series in Hayate no Gotoku.
Bokurano is quite popular and it's done because of the context is matching series very well. Urobuchi is also admitting to having been inspired by Kamen Rider live action tokusatsu series which are also not related to Magica Quartet or Shaft.

@urizel ahhh, if the series is popular then that would explain it. i just never heard of Bokurano up until now

I never heard of Bokurano either; that's why I found it so unsatisfactory as an explanation. It might be right, but it's not what I wanted to hear.

Sorry, I'm not ignoring your answer, I'm just pouting because I wanted a 300-page exegesis on the multiple layered symbolisms of chairs throughout Madoka and the entire Shaft oeuvre that would tie it all into a coherent semiotic framework capable of interpreting every appearance of a chair in any Shaft work, and the answer seems to be "it was a throwaway reference to some anime you've never seen".

It is multi layered symbolism by reference. It's really not their fault you didn't watch it


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Are we ever going to be introduced to Ryou's downstairs neighbor?
As of episode 8 of Koufuku Graffiti, there's been at least one shot per episode in which Ryou's downstairs neighbor is briefly shown (usually standing on her balcony folding clothes or something).

Is she ever going to be introduced as a character, or is she more just a running joke?

could happen in the last episode but even if it doesn't happen then it can still happen in a later season. Maya Matsumoto in Wokring!! only had a speaking role at the end of both seasons and only properly introduced at the end of season 2. could be the same here

Not until Ryou enters high school~ Her name's Yuki Uchiki.

As mentioned by krazer in the comment, she is Yuki Uchiki. She is finally introduced in episode 10 Chewy, Melty. (Japanese title: Hamohamo, Michichi.) when Kirin eavesdropped on her phone conversation and accidentally fell (and safely landed) on her veranda.
In the anime, episode 10 happened around January (as the next episode happened in February, and the previous episode happened on New Year's Eve). At this time, Yuki was a graduating undergraduate student, while Ryou and Kirin were preparing for their high school entrance exam in March. According to her wiki page on nicovideo, she is going to work as a librarian at the same high school where Ryou and Kirin goes to.

I don't know whether the manga is the same, since I haven't read it.

You should, it's delicious.


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Besides the mecha, space and aldnoah technology displayed in the show, how technologically advanced is Vers compared to 2014' real world Earth?
Vers was colonized in 1980 according to the official timeline. Since Rayregalia cut ties with Earth shortly after, lets assume the scientific development was split, save for the occasional espionage or exchange.
There is much Mecha, space and aldnoah technology on screen, but what about the other fields? They should be really advanced in physics (having firsthand opportunity to build those special mecha), but in some ways it seems they have regressed. Like in social sciences.
How is Vers' knowledge, compared to our own?

The best way to describe it is not by knowledge, but freedom. The people who were sent to Mars were not all "scientific minds". There were some normal people (as seen in the current Mars colonization efforts), but these people were easily manipulated, as seen in how the "knights" swore loyalty in return for Aldnoah, and thus suppressed the masses.
The people have no freedom. They are starving, eating krill to survive (refer to the scene where Count Saazbaum eats chicken for the first time), so the recent scientific advancement since the 1980s has not been "learned" nor "taught" to, or by these people. Instead, it has been kept under wraps by the knights and "king". This is why Princess Asseylum wishes for peace between Earth and Vers, so that the people no longer suffer without knowledge or freedom, so that a trade route for both can be obtained and thus the people can be "happy".
So to answer the question: Ver's knowledge is a lot better, but it is not as effectively used, as there is no fresh thought or freedom of thought.
If "knowledge = power", then the people have neither.


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Was Chiisana Obake Acchi, Kocchi, Socchi ever released in English?
When I was five or six years old, sometime around 1994, I pestered my mother to buy me a VHS tape about three little ghosts from the stand next to the checkout at the grocery store. I watched that video over and over again, then forgot about it until recently, when I remembered it, recalled how much the art style looked like early Pokemon, and suddenly realized that that was probably the first anime I ever saw.
In preparation to write an id request, I did some searching, and I now think the show I saw was probably Chiisana Obake Acchi, Kocchi, Socchi. The timeframe is right, the plot sounds similar, and the picture seems familiar. The character names listed for the Spanish and Polish dubs on Anime News Network sound familiar and both Anime News Network and My Anime List give the show the English title Three Little Ghosts. Anime News Network even lists English language script staff. But there's nothing under "English cast" or "English companies", and I can't find any hard evidence that it was actually released in the United States.
Was Chiisana Obake Acchi, Kocchi, Socchi ever released in the US, and if so, when and by whom?

This article suggests that Saban Entertainment, which was a US-based company that dubbed a number of Japanese anime (and also Power Rangers), co-produced "Three Little Ghosts" with a Japanese cooperator. This being the case, I can't imagine that they didn't also create a dub, but I can't find any concrete evidence of the dube existing either.

@senshin Good find, I'm pretty well convinced after seeing that article that this was the show I saw. Most anime from my childhood had been hacked apart by Saban on their way to the US, and a Google search suggests Saban often didn't credit their voice actors, so that could explain why there aren't any actors on ANN's page.

Not the most reliable, but this TV Tropes page says it was common in early anime dubs to have uncredited voice actors, and specifically mentions Saban.

The show in this video is definitely the one I saw.

The article that senshin found indicates that Saban Entertainment, the infamous anime mutilator and "creator" of Power Rangers, co-produced Chiisana Obake Acchi, Kocchi, Socchi, so it seems incomprehensible that they wouldn't have produced an English dub. I also found an English-dubbed video of Three Little Ghosts which I am quite sure is the show I saw. The Anime News Network page gives the three ghosts' English names as Sally, Bumper, and Cutter, which is exactly what I remember their names being in the show I saw. The ANN page doesn't list any English voice actors, but this TV Tropes page mentions that Saban and other dubbing studios around this time frequently didn't credit the voice actors, so it's possible that the compilers of the ANN page couldn't find any information on the English voice actors and decided to leave it blank.
Given all that, I'm quite satisfied that Chiisana Obake Acchi, Kocchi, Socchi was released in the US and that it was the show I saw.


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Where does Pica's body go when he uses his fruit?
Pica uses the Stone Stone fruit, which in recent episodes, shows him

 turning into a giant stone colossus.

But, what happens to his human body when he uses his fruit in this way?

Well, in the most recent episode you saw

 Ruffy destroying the head of the big stone giant Pica created, while Zorro states, that the stone body is just a hull and that Pica can recreate it. Only seconds later you see Pica coming out of the stone body itself, so I guess it is not wrong to say: He hides somwhere insided the stone body he created.

It's funny and maybe sad, that Pica was not defeated only until most recent chapters... But you are right. Pica's body can move freely anywhere in the stone he is manipulating. Which makes him pretty hard to pinpoint in a place like Dressrosa.


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Who is Onihime talking about in this scene? Is it a 4th wall joke?
In Momokyun Sword episode 3, around 12:50, Enki is in the process of "torturing" her prisoner Karin, in a very special way:
Beginning by running her hands up her thighs, telling Karin "私 は 天国 見せて 上げる" - I'll show you heaven.
Then Onihime tells her to stop:

And Enki promptly stops and apologise, but she is looking straight at the camera angle - probably turning 180° and facing onihime based on their positioning on the shot above.

But who is this "a lot of people" Onihime mention? It couldn't be anyone from the Earth or Celestial realm, because they are really mad at the oni anyway by default.
It seemed to me that she was breaking the 4th wall. Is it so?

With the limited information here, yes, I think it is the case.

I haven't watched this since it originally aired, but from what I remember I agree this is a 4th wall joke.

The subtitles in the screenshot are not exactly accurate. Onihime warns that 「各方面」(kaku houmen = all sides, from every quarter) will get 「うるさい」 (urusai = noisy, loud, possibly cause a ruckus). It seems that Enki is threatening to rape Karin (from Enki's perspective, it would be heaven, but since Karin is protesting 「いやぁ！やめて！」[iyaa! yamete!], that would constitute as non-consensual). Therefore, Onihime warns that everyone would get noisy if Enki went through with it - meaning that either 1) Karin's 「仲間」(nakama = comrades, friends) will be indignant about it once they find out, 2) viewers will object with a loud complaint, or 3) the hentai viewers will make some other sort of noise... Her next line recommends for Karin to pray that her nakama will arrive soon, so it is very possible that kaku houmen refers to them.
It doesn't look like Enki's eyes are looking directly at the camera in the next shot, but rather at Onihime, so no, she does not break the fourth wall.
In summary, Onihime rather than Enki might break the fourth wall by alluding to viewers, but it is not clear enough that she is not referring to an objection by in-canon characters.


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In SAO 2 did Asuna break up with Kirito?
I noticed that when introducing Shino to Asuna and Lisbeth, Kirito mentioned them as his nakama. Why is that? Why is it that Kirito didn't introduce Asuna as his girlfriend? Is this what is normally done by a Japanese couple? Or did they broke up?

Related

There is no reason to think so. When Kirito introduced Shino to Asuna and Liz at the Dicey Cafe, the three of them were preparing to bring Shino back to her hometown, where she encountered the gunman she shot and killed as a young child, so that she could accept the consequences of her actions and overcome her guilt of having killed a man. One typically doesn't revisit the scene of a childhood trauma with just anyone, so Kirito, whom Shino already knew and trusted through GGO, called Asuna and Liz his nakama to tell Shino that he trusted them -- therefore she should too. It was more important to convey that Asuna and Liz were trustworthy rather than the fact that Asuna was his girlfriend.

Wouldn't Asuna be more trustworthy if she is his girlfriend, rather than his nakama?

Shino wouldn't have viewed it that way, seeing as she was an outsider to their relationship and knew nothing of how it came to be. If all she knew was that they were going out, she might have simply seen Asuna as an admirer or perhaps someone with ill intent. The alternative makes it clear that they've been through a lot together.
Kirito may have also had other reasons, being the player that he is.

the three of them were preparing to bring Shino back to her hometown, where she encountered the gunman she shot and killed as a young child, I think in this scene, they were going to let Shino meet the lady she saved in the past? I'm not disagreeing that this would dig up her trauma, though.

Yeah, her and the baby she was pregnant with at the time.

I'm not sure about the cultural reasoning behind it, but I can at least say, from a story point of view, they have not broken up, since

Later in the story, Asuna and Kirito walk to Asuna's house so Kirito can properly greet Asuna's parents, which is not something you would do when you've broken up :P

That's about as non-spoilery I can get, but I hope it helps as an answer...

nice, avoided a very spoilery part there

You guys are over thinking it. Remember when asuna was trapped in the game, how kirito went crazy trying to get her back. How in the all the show their friends call them lovebirds, cause of how they acted in public, or how spoiler if you haven't watch all of it. How when Yugi died and they were sitting on the grass kirito said to asuna "I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, but what I do know is that want to be with you" might not be what he really said, but it's close, also shino called them lovebirds to.

In both ALO and GGO it seems that Kirito shars feelings for sinon as much as she does him not to mention what happened in the cave but it seemed like they had a connection and in the Excalibur episode when sinon says when you draw this  think of me Asuna her face would turn in disappointment as Kirito said okay when I draw this I will think of you I'm also looking forward to them dating

You guys are overthinking. Don't expect an anime to reach its full romance right off the bat.  Asuna loves Kirito, as she states that Kirito gave her a home to come to. And Kirito lives for Asuna, in the SAO arc remember how he poured his heart out to Asuna, saying that she is everything to him, that he lives for Asuna, and that they both will protect one another.
I really don't mind season 3 and 4,

  people saying Asuna won't be main character

she is already a main character, but the LN tell stories from Kirito's perspective, and he seems to be a trouble-sponge. In GGO Kirito said that he can't afford to die, he now has a reason to live, Asuna. If they were to finalize Kirito's and Asuna's wedding, the anime wouldn't have much drama anymore. I feel like their weeding should be saved for the last, and final episodes.
And I don't mind the new volumes, I just hope they still bring up their relationship in at least flashbacks or them missing one another, as those 2 are meant to be together.

 I heard something happens to Kirito after he comes back from UWO (season 3) and that Asuna goea to rescue her prince inside UWO (season 4).

Hi. It would be great if you could use paragraphs to format your answer; at the moment it is a barely readable wall of text. (Paragraph breaks are inserted by leaving an empty line.) Also, you can use spoiler markup by typing >!  (mind the space!) at the beginning of a paragraph; it will then be hidden from view.

I mean if you watch the Excalibur episode towards the end it looks like krito has feelings for sinon as she says when you draw it think of me and if you look at asuna's face she looks disappointed and sad so they had to have broke up and I'm also looking forward to the Kirito x sinon

In one episode, Shino was laying on Kirito's lap as he was staring at her butt. In this scene she asks if there's anyone out there that wouldn't want to see them like that. Kirito doesn't respond except with a nervous smile.
He also picked up Shino from her school as if he were her boyfriend. He didn't introduce Asuna as his girlfriend when Shino met her, he flirts with Shino in front of Asuna, and he treats Asuna as if she's not special, like he would a girlfriend. This makes it look like Kirito has moved on and Asuna is the one holding on to this relationship.

Could you mention which episodes these things happen in? That would make this answer a lot better. Please edit to add them in.


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How does the Grail choose the participants?
How does the Grail choose the participants?

We know that the Grail tries to pick people who have some sort of strong desire (when Kotomine asks Tohsaka at the beginning of Fate/Zero).
Do you need to descend from a mage bloodline? Did the murderer guy (the one who got Caster in Fate/Zero) have magical blood?
It seems like you don't need to be aware of the existence of the Holy Grail war (Shirou and the murderer guy were both pretty clueless).
You do seem to need an heroic relic... or do you? When Kotomine was surprisingly chosen in Fate/Zero, did he have one already? What if you lose the relic before the summoning occurs? (In Fate/Zero the participants were already making preparations for years before the summoning).
The Matou were disappointed that Kariya left behind their magical teachings, so they decided to adopt Sakura to prepare her for the next war. When Kariya returns and chooses to fight, he successfully becomes a master. This suggests that there is a way to opt out/in from the war (?)

So how does the Grail pick participants exactly?

The exact way in which the Grail picks Masters is not well-understood, as far as I'm aware. It's a fuzzy process even to the participants themselves.
To try to address your specific questions:

Do you need to descend from a mage bloodline? Did the murderer guy (the one who got Caster in Fate/Zero) have magical blood?

I'm not sure whether you strictly need to descend from a mage bloodline (this is probably addressed in side materials I haven't read), but Ryuunosuke did have a mage somewhere in his ancestry, and as such, he had a small number of Magic Circuits (this is mentioned in the light novel, but not the anime). The magic tome he had on hand when he murdered that one family right before summoning Caster was apparently something he found in a storehouse belonging to someone in his family.

It seems like you don't need to be aware of the existence of the Holy Grail war (Shirou and the murderer guy were both pretty clueless).

This is true.

You do seem to need an heroic relic... or do you? When Kotomine was surprisingly chosen in Fate/Zero, did he have one already? What if you lose the relic before the summoning occurs?

You don't need a relic to be granted Command Spells by the Grail. Having a relic helps with the summoning further down the line, but even then, you don't strictly need a relic. If you don't have a relic, the Grail just gives you a Servant who is "compatible" with you or "similar to" you in some sense.

The Matou were disappointed that Kariya left behind their magical teachings, so they decided to adopt Sakura to prepare her for the next war. When Kariya returns and chooses to fight, he successfully becomes a master. This suggests that there is a way to opt out/in from the war (?)

Kariya had no guarantee that he would be selected as a Master during the fourth war. He was essentially gambling, hoping that by undergoing the worm treatment, he would be picked by the Grail.
Practically, I get the impression that there are usually few enough mages in the Fuyuki area that most mages in town during a Grail War end up becoming Masters.

In regards to Matou's, Sakura was being prepared for the 5th War, Zouken himself said he was prepared to give up the 4th War to grantee victory in the 5th through Sakura. Zouken also shows how he had no interest in the 4th war even after Kariya became a Master rather now that Kariya was a Master and made the deal for Sakura's freedom Zouken saw it as an opportunity to humiliate/punish Kariya further for abandoning the family (as evident by him being surprised Kariya body was still holding out despite the worms + servant and also one of the worms in him was the one that took Sakura's virginity)

@Memor-X Not that it matters here, but I thought Zouken's plan was to have Sakura's son/daughter be the participant in the Fifth War (not Sakura herself).

i don't remember him saying that in the anime but it wouldn't be a stretch to think that would be a backup plan should Sakura no longer be fit by the time the 5th war came. i'd more expect Sakura, even after 80 years would still be around forcefully by Zouken's Worms and that would be easier than trying to find a second worthy male Magus to ensure Sakura's child had any sort of potential.

On the "mage bloodline" question: I haven't finished the VN, but does Shirou himself have actual magus blood? He's not blood-related to Kiritsugu but he does seem to have magic circuits.

@Torisuda You know, I honestly don't know anything about Shirou's ancestry. Asked a question: http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/20549/what-do-we-know-about-shirous-ancestors


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What's the meaning of the numbers at the end of the episode?
At the end of any episode of Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru, some numbers appears coupled with the title and the number of the next episode (circled).

286

266

281
What's the meaning of these numbers?

I don't think there is any meaning to them (I checked the novels, but those are definitely not page number from the novel). They are most likely for the purpose of styling.

Angel Beats! also did something similar, except that the numbers, prefixed by the character 'c', appear in the previews for next episode.

Angel Beats! episode 7's next episode preview.
These are the cut numbers found in storyboards, or （絵）コンテ (e konte, from the English word continuity) in Japanese.
According to Anime Production – Detailed Guide to How Anime is Made and the Talent Behind it!,

Cuts refer to a single shot of the camera and an average TV-anime episode will usually contain around 300 cuts.

which basically matches the range of numbers that appear in both Oregairu and Angel Beats!.
To top it off, I was able to find a screenshot of a part of Angel Beats!'s storyboards for episode 8:

Image taken and edited from 「Book Review」Angel Beats! Illustration Collection.
In the above image, cut no. 326 corresponds to this scene in the anime where Otonashi hugs Kanade and utters in desperation the line 「無事でいてくれ」, the exact same words (ignoring the minor variation in the translations) as written under [c 326] in the next episode preview screenshotted at the beginning of the post:

Episode 8 of Angel Beats! at the 22:37 mark.
In conclusion, I just proved that there is prior art of showing the cut numbers from storyboards in the anime, and we can almost be certain, short of finding the actual storyboards of Oregairu and connecting them to the numbers in question, that this case is no different.

Corrections to OP's post

The circled numbers actually mark the current, not the next, episode number.
See the list of titles for all episodes.

The numbers/titles don't always appear at the end.
For example, the title of episode 2

17 ②きっと、誰しも等し並みに悩みを抱えている。

appears very early, corresponding to the 17th "cut scene" in that episode, excluding the OP and ED.

+1 Interesting finding, and it so far matches the appearance of the episode title for episode 2 and episode 7, though the title is not actually narrated.

I don't know the story of Oregairu, but the titles do seem like part of the conversations, though. They're like what the characters said/would have said in those situations.

The title for episode 10 appears right at the beginning. And also for episode 11. Not sure what you are talking about?

I don't think so. Visually speaking, it is extremely similar to the page and chapter indicator on top of every pages in the LN. However, the LN doesn't have chapters with the same titles (only similar titles). The LN's title format is   , whereas there is no character names in the anime titles.


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Why is Saber wearing a white wedding dress and why was she posed like that?
In the 2014 Fate Stay Night anime, Saber was under the control of Caster and was posed like this:

Was there any actual reason for this or was it merely fanservice? How was this explained in the original Visual Novel?

The reasons are twofold. The original visual novel, which is what the anime was based on, was an eroge. Naturally, scenes like these would appear. This scene came straight from the visual novel with minor differences.
The second reason has to do with Caster's identity.

 Caster's real identity is Medea. Her life was full of betrayal and her innocence was taken away from her when she was young. Her backstory indicates that the reason why she put Saber in such an embarrassing position with the dress was because she essentially wanted to do the things that was done to her to Saber. The difference is that she wanted to make Saber her slave and make Saber betray Shirou out of her own free will. She didn't want to control her forcibly with the Command Spell, an analogue to how Aphrodite forced her to become Jason's lover with her powers. The dialogue in the Visual Novel also shows why she put her in such a dress and why she had taken a liking to Saber. She wanted the white dress to represent Saber's virginity, and she wanted her to succumb to sexual pleasure while staying a virgin forever.

Without spoiling, the scene was not mere fanservice. Rather, it has to do with Caster's past. The things that Caster did to Saber were the things that happened to her in her past life.


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What do we know about Yune's father?
I've read the first few chapters of the Ikoku Meiro no Croisée manga. In these chapters, we hear a little about Yune's mother, and a little about her older sister, but I don't remember anything being mentioned about her father. Do we ever hear anything about him?

Very little. In fact, we know very little about Yune's family in general, or what she was doing in Nagasaki when Oscar found her.
In Chapter 1 of the manga, Oscar mentions meeting Yune's father, but doesn't elaborate. We only hear about her mother early on when she gives Claude her mother's kimono to sell. It's implied that her mother is dead. We hear the most about Yune's older sister Shione, and even see her a few times in Yune's flashbacks. In the anime, Yune remembers Shione singing to her, tending her in an illness, and doing shadow puppets with her hands through the door.
In Yune's flashbacks, the house we see appears to be a large mansion, so it seems probable that Yune's parents were either nobility or somehow affiliated with nobility. The beautiful kimono that Yune inherited from her mother also implies wealth.
The manga ends without ever telling us anything more about Yune's family, so this seems to be all we can ever know.
(Early on, I suspected we'd find that Yune was Oscar's love child from a forbidden dalliance with a Japanese woman, but I no longer think that likely.)


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What do servants expect will happen at the end of the Holy Grail war?
I've begun rewatching Fate, and there is something unclear to me about the Servant's behavior during the war:
Does the Holy Grail grant only one wish? Because if that is the case, what goes through a Servant's mind when they participate in the war? If they use a bit of logic:

I kill all other Servants
Me and my Master win
Holy Grail appears
... Who gets their wish granted? Me? My Master?

Of course, we know that in truth, masters will use a command seal to kill their own servant at the end, so they can actually summon the Holy Grail. So Masters already have a plan. But what about Servants? Do they all plan to betray their Masters at the end or what?

Each of them will get their wishes granted

To expand on @Septian Primadewa's comment

The winning pair is supposed to be able to claim the Holy Grail and utilize it to grant a wish for each of them. Its true purpose is to actually utilize the seven Servants returning to the root as a way to form a hole directly to it.

Source - Holy Grail War *emphasis mine
However the catch is in the last sentence of that quote. Most serious Magi are like Tokiomi Tohsaka and don't see the Holy Grail as a Wish Granter but a way to the Root as such they will keep one Command Spell until the end and use it on their Servant and force them to die as was Tokiomi's plan with Gilgamesh and why he plotted so much to regain his lost Command Spell
The Einzbern's would follow suit using all 7 Servants as they don't care for the Wish, they want the Third Magic, Heaven's Feel. much to the same as Zouken Makiri/Matou who sought the same magic because the materialization of the soul would allow him to continue to live but stop the rotting of his Soul.
For some Servants being summoned to the War is their wish, such as Diarmuid Ua Duibhne who wanted to faithfully serve a Lord which he was able to through Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald. Likewise with Masters as with Waver Velvet in a way, he didn't necessarily have a wish but winning the Grail War would show his worth as a Magus (seeing the Holy Grail War as the ultimate test of Magi)
Of course there hasn't been an incident where a Wish has been granted as all previous wars did not end with a victor. So there is no actual proof in universe that they are granted Wishes from the grail so the wish could be just to lure other Magi to the War and summon Servants so they can all be sacrificed for those seeking the Root or the Third Magic.


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What animes or trends in anime was Evangelion a response to?
It has been said that in some ways Evangelion is Anno's critique to what he saw as wrong with the mecha anime genre of the time.  Lists of shows that Evangelion has influenced abound, but what were the titles that Anno was critiquing?

I don't think it was any specific shows, rather, the state of the anime industry and the Japanese people.

A lot of this is touched upon in the interviews published in Schizo and Pirano

I've seen Eva portrayed as a deconstruction of giant robot shows all the way back to Gigantor--an attempt to depict a young boy piloting a war machine built by his absent father in a more realistic way.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2002-06-11
Anno is not really critique anything in particular.  He came up with the concept of EVA when he was going through depression.  It is a coming of age story and offers ideas of living the life that he and Gainax thought were important for life.  The show does play homage to series like Ultraman; and is littered with hidden references. Most of the food in the vending machines were discontinued favorites that the animators liked (the junk food market has a quick turn around with many flavor varieties being limited edition).
I would recommend watching Blue Blazes (Aoi Honō). This J-drama has Anno and other members of Gainax and does show a little about who Anno is and how Gainax made the Daicon (Diacon 4 in particular) opening that made them famous.
I would look at ME! ME! ME!
This recent music video is a much straight forward critique on how anime is consumed by Otakus in Japan.
Otaku no Video
is another cool OVA to check out. Made by Gainax it is something of an autobiography into how the studio was created.

The question is asking about what Eva is a response to, not really about what Eva inspires, or listing of shows that reflect Anno's style of animation. The question is somewhat addressed in the first half, but the second half is derailing from the question.

It is mostly about Anno's response to depression.  The cross explosions are just to look cool and have nothing to do with religion.


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Why did Gintoki scream "Psycho-Pass!"?
I just watched the first episode of the new Gintama 2015 season. At the beginning, when Gintoki was hit by a chair, he screamed Psycho-Pass!
I know Psycho-Pass is another anime (I watched it) - but what was the meaning behind that reference in Gintama? I was wondering if both animes had the same studio or something, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I am not so sure but as I was searching for psycho pass - gintama connections and got that :
Hijikata Toushiro and Kougami Shinya (from Psycho-Pass)
it might be related!

Gintoki screaming Psycho-Pass! when hit by a chair,

is a reference to a scene (episode 17 at 18:21) from Psycho-Pass, where Kasei gets hit on the face with a portable patient monitor by Makishima.

Gintama is well known for using gags and references regarding other anime. Most references are made when the situation is similar to that of the other anime. This Psycho-Pass reference is a new one.
I also believe it could be a word which was misheard by the viewers. Found this on Yorozuya Soul Forums (dead link). The author has a good point.

Gin had shouted a lot of random words before, when he gets hit or blown away, maybe it's just a random thing, I personally think that maybe he actually said "psychopath" but the translator though he said Psycho-Pass, since they are both pronounce the same way (Psycho-Pass is a pun), at least that's my assumption, I could be wrong, it's not like I'm fluent in Japanese(YET!)

If it really was the intended pun, he should have been hit with a book...

@Mints97 not necessarily. The similarity kinda lies in the way both faces are attacked by an object. I dont think Gintama meant to recreate that exact scene from Psycho-Pass.

It's a reasonable answer. But I do agree with @Mints97 that the joke would have been a lot easier to get and even funnier had it been a book.

@Omega agreed. I couldn't find any other references.. But since Gin has yelled random stuff before, and throwing a book would mean exact replication, I think its explainable. Maybe the concept of this reference was to confuse the viewers and let their imagination decide what really happened :p

I don't think it's the first hit on the face that is being referenced, but the second (Psycho-Pass episode 17 at 18:20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjhZ78d4RZQ&t=18m20s. Same angle.

Ooh that seems like better answer than mine. Please do make it as an answer. The credit goes to.you for finding it out :) @Gao


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How do you train in a jutsu that kills you if used?
For example, Guy Sensei and Rock Lee can use the Eight Gates technique. If the last gate is opened, you die.
There is a lot of emphasis in the series that shows that one must train very hard to perfect a jutsu, technique, etc.
But how do you train and perfect something that you can only do once... and then just die?

http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/34257/how-does-guy-know-how-to-perform-the-jutsu-in-the-eight-gates-released-formation?noredirect=1&lq=1

It's like jumping off a building.
You can jump from the first, second or third floor and survive. The method to reach all the floors remains the same (Climbing by stairs... or you may call this training.).
However, after a certain number of floors, you will come to a realization that after you jump through this floor (let's just say the 20th -- you need not practice climbing 20 floors for this -- the experience of climbing one floor is just fine), you will become extinct.
You don't need the experience nor practice to reach the 20th floor but you will surely become extinct if you jump from there.

sound funny and reasonable at the same time.

lol nice analogy after all