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What happens to Yusuke's spirit/power equipment?
Started watching Yu Yu Hakusho on blu ray now, about 10 years after I first saw it as a kid.  Wondering what happens to Yusuke's various power equipment. I recall in the first few episodes he needs some kind of ring/band that helps recharge and focus his spirit engergy for spirit gun... then it just goes away, at least in season 1. Does he still have them?

They're still around. Botan mentions both the Communication Mirror and the Demon Compass during the Chapter Black Saga.
The devices start to lose their usefulness as the series turns into a fighting series. Being able to track a demon or have X Ray vision aren't terribly useful in a fight against Toguro or Sensui. As for the ring, apparently it makes Yusuke severely exhausted after he uses it; I recall him passing out after he uses it against Gouki and needing to be picked up and brought home by Boutan. He needed it early on when his own spirit energy was fairly weak, but later on, after he trains with Genkai and starts to gain power, the tradeoffs of the ring become more of a liability than a benefit. Presumably he still has it, though, he just doesn't use it because it's not helpful.

I would think that if the ring multiplies his attack force, it'd always be useful regardless of the exhaustion factor. I guess Ill have to finish the series to find out.

@V1GG3N I'm pretty sure he never uses it again. That was just an in-universe theory about why. His later fights tend to be drawn out and the opponents are smarter, stronger, and faster than Gouki, so it's a big risk for him to pass out if he misses or if his one blast still isn't strong enough. Out of universe, the author probably just forgot about it or didn't feel like using it.


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Can the Avatar still be reincarnated?
Near to the finale of The Legend of Korra - Book 2: Spirits when Vaatu rips Raava from Korra's body and destroys her, Korra says to Tenzen that the Avatar Cycle has too been destroyed and she is the last Avatar.
At the end Korra confirms that Raava is back inside her however her connection to the previous Avatars is still gone.
I am wondering, does this mean that the Avatar can no longer be reincarnated? or is Korra like Wan where he had no previous past lives to turn to for advice (unlike Aang who could turn to Roku, Kyoshi and those other 2 Avatars he spoke to at the end) and thus can still be reincarnated.

more like the avatar cycle got restarted. . . say if Aang is avatar 1.9 than Korra is Avatar 2.0

Actual Avatar reincarnation means Raava accepts part of current Avatar soul, leaves its body, and finds new Avatar. Communication with previous Avatar incarnations was exactly communication with parts of their souls inside Raava. Since Raava got itself destroyed, and then resurrected, it is in "clear" state, without souls of previous incarnations.
But while Raava exists in this world, it can find new vessel to become next Avatar incarnation. The only consequence of its temporary destruction is that Korra is now much like Wan.

Korra lost connection with the past Avatars. It is still possible for Korra to get in the Avatar State (which is the unified state with Raava) but she can not talk with Aang or other past Avatars and use their knowledge.
tl;dr

 Korra became the first Avatar.

I just learnt that Korra's connection to past lives was severed completely and it also gets worse.
According to her letters to the next Avatar in The Legend of Korra: An Avatar's Chronicle (book), Korra states that even the next Avatar may not be able to connect with her for guidance. It's like every Avatar that will come next will no longer have a connection to the past life before.

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Aptitude for Busoshoku?
My question is about busoshoku haki or coat of arms as people like to call it. Until the last episode I thought haki was something that required intensive training to master. But in the last episode
For those who haven't watched spoilers:

Sabo was shown wielding busoshoku against a small army at 17.

Now I only started reading the manga in the zou arc so I'm not sure if this is filler or cannon but is it safe to assume then that some people just have an aptitude for mastering buso quickly? I mean only a small percentage of people are capable of using haoshoku so it seems like it makes sense.
But it took Luffy two years to perfect it and I'm not even sure if Ace ever learned it. Does anyone have any feedback on this?

Ok but I have a follow-up question to go along with that. Does being able to use busoshoku automatically mean that you can use kenbunshoku? It seems like so far every character that has buso has kenbun. But I'm not 100% sure. From what I've read they are two entirely different things but only the buso requires a ton of training.

Haki does require intensive training to master, but after being rescued by Dragon at the age of ten, he presumably started training with the revolutionary army shortly after his injuries healed.
At this point, Sabo wasn't just your average ten year old, having been fighting Luffy and Ace many times every day, he was already stronger than an average pirate or soldier. It seems likely that Dragon or Ivankov or another high ranking revolutionary saw his potential, and trained him specially, as by just the age of 22 he had already risen to the rank of Chief of Staff, number two in the revolutionary army.
Unlike Luffy, he was in a position where he was surrounded by strong allies who could train him and teach him useful skills like Haki and martial arts, so having learnt to use busoshoku haki effectively by seventeen isn't hard to believe. Except for in the New World, haki is a very rare skill, and considering it took Rayleigh eighteen months to teach Luffy the basics. Luffy never had anyone to teach him growing up in Fusha Village and then setting sail by himself, as you would need someone who knows haki themselves, which is rare, and is also willing to spend the time to train you.

Obviously, Garp could have taught Luffy haki if he had wanted to, but he was rarely present being an active marine, had very dubious methods of training his grandsons, and was devoting more of his energy when he did meet with Luffy and Ace to convincing them to join the marines, and knew that if they did join the marines as he expected, they would eventually be taught haki.

you should edit your answer and add your comment to it

Firstly I agree with Qiri. Secondly thats true I bet he would have if Luffy said he was fine with becomming a marine. I guess it all comes down to time and place. Can you take a look at the comment I posted under my question. Its a follow up asking about further detail.

This matter is not mentioned specifically in the manga either, but we can make a few suppositions about it.
First, as ton.yeung mentioned in a comment, by 17 Sabo has been around people who have mastered Haki for a long time now (Dragon, Ivankov, and many more we may not yet know). Therefore, he had time to train and learned how to master it by 17.
Another thing is that we know from Rayleigh that every person is better at one type of Haki than in the other two. Luffy is better at mastering the Emperor's Haki. Sabo, who has shown incredible strength in his fingers, may be better at Busoshoku than in the other two and therefore that may explained why he was able to master it so young.
Last but not least, Ace Luffy and Sabo have shown exceptional physical and mental capabilities from a very young age. Common sense may not applied to these three.

In the manga is Ace ever shown to have haki? I've been reading since the zou arc and I haven't had a chance to go back that far. I never saw him use it in the anime. Even at Marineford and the first person who used it in the anime I think was sentomaru.

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Who is this gorilla that carried Sengoku on its shoulder?
I'm sorry to ask this, but I'm little curious about this picture, here Sengoku seem riding on a gorilla.
I don't know how far in anime, so I put the picture as spoiler.

Who is this gorilla, is this Sengoku's new pet? I only remember that he has a goat as a pet.
I don't think it's Kong -of course not-

Who do you mean by Kong?

@solalito sorry for late response, here's Kong

It's the gorilla that was transformed to a toy.
From the chapter 743:

Oh, I guess he's come with Sengoku...


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Why did Kakashi not kill Hidan?
A few episodes after the battle with Hidan and Asuma... :'(. Shikamaru, Ino, Choji and Kakashi set out to find Hidan and Kakuzu. When they find them Shikamaru uses his shadow jutsu to "paralyze" the enemies. So far they can only see just Shikamaru. Why doesn't Kakashi use his new sharingan to completely obliterate hidan while he was frozen?
Please no spoilers as I am only in mid season 2.

What new Sharingan?

The Sharingan Kakashi used on Deidara that tore off his arm.

that's not really a "new" Sharingan. It's his Mangekyou Sharingan, Kamui, that he has pretty much had for a long time.

"new" to the show. First time you see it is when he uses it on Deidara.

I guess you can call it "new" for that reason, but in Naruto (the original) when Kakashi is fighting with Itachi, it was mentioned the he had one.

THAT IS STRATEGY. When you don't even know a single thing about the enemy, would you go face to face directly? Well, in Shikamaru's case, there must be a person to be the bait, and once they make sure that the enemies are completely immobilized, the plan begins. Unfortunately, Kakuzu freed himself, so the plan failed.
Why did Ino did not use the Mind Body Switch Technique on Kakuzu?
There are several reasons why Ino decided not to use it.
1. If the opponent's will is strong enough, they can force the user to leave their body. Apparently the stronger one has the stronger will.
2. If the user's chakra level is low, the technique will be harder to maintain.
3. If any physical injury is inflicted on the victim's body while the mind link is active, it would cause the user's body to also receive those same injuries. This is a good chance for Hidan to kill her by piercing through one of Kakuzu's hearts, and Kakuzu will still be fine since he has multiple hearts. That is not a good idea to eliminate the target.
Why didn't Choji, Ino and Shikamaru apply Formation Ino–Shika–Chō in the battle to distract Kakuzu while Kakashi was aiming at Hidan with his Mangekyō Sharingan?
1. Kakashi initially having trouble to aim at his target with Kamui properly, he struggled to hit his target. Recall the episode when Kakashi is using Kamui on Deidara. Hidan is shown to be very skilled in melee combat, meaning he could run and jump to dodge Kakashi's aim.
2. It requires some amount of preparation time and has a huge drain on his chakra each time it is performed. If he missed, a huge portion of his chakra is wasted.
3. Kakashi hasn't completely mastered Kamui yet, so at the time transporting an arm was his limit. Don't forget that Hidan is an immortal bastard, decapitation only makes him immobilize. Even though Kakashi was capable to aim at Hidan's head accurately, Kakuzu could reveal his 4 masks with different nature affinity to disturb Kakashi.

Sure Kakuzu freed himself. Why did Ino not mind transfer to Kakuzu or even Choji and Ino battle him to distract while Kakashi used his sharingan. I get the whole STRATEGY thing but it could have been better.

@IE5Master See the edited answer.

+1 for immortal bastard. Thank you for your time, your answer was very informative.


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Where can one buy Manga locally in Australia?
So before if i could i would buy Manga from Madman Entertainment before looking at overseas stores like Right Stuff. today however i got an email from Madman saying;

You might've heard the news....
  As of May 1st, Madman will no longer be distributing Manga,
  or books in general - at least, for the time being.
But we know you love Manga, so we're giving you one final opportunity to grab a bargain with 60% off all Manga and books* on the Madman web store!
Don't miss out. Sale must end April 30 at 11:59 PM.

I am wondering if there are any places/distributors in Australia which still sell Manga and have an online store?

Many bookstores, such as Dymocks, also sell manga, and have online stores where the manga in stock. You may also want to check Kinokuniya, since they do imports from Japan as well as stocking locally distributed books. Of course the Japanese imports are typically in Japanese, but there are some rare bilingual releases if you're able to find them.
Additionally, it looks like Simon & Schuster has picked up the rights to distribute Viz Media titles in the wake of Madman's announcement, so most of those should still be available after May. The other companies, though, might be a bit trickier to track down. Looking at the S&S website, they mainly redirect you to retailers rather than selling directly, but hopefully it won't be long before the manga shows up on their site so you at least know where to get them.


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Why is it that Volunteer Army Necklace consists of two tags?
In Hai to Gensou no Grimgar the volunteer army necklace has two tags. During the fight between Mary's former party and Death Spot, and later during the fight between Death Spot and Haruhiko, all of them pulled one of the tags off from the necklace and let it fall to the dungeon's floor. Why is that? What's the point in leaving the tag there? Does the light novel, the anime is based on, explains why they do such thing? Considering that the tags doesn't come cheaply.

I was in the military once and we received Dog tags, these things tell whoever collects our body to know who we are even if our body is charred and damaged. The reason we rip it off and hand it to our comrades is to notify our family that we are dead and the corpse is not recoverable, thus please just build an empty grave. Or in Grimgar's case, it is most likely to get someone to get rid of their zombie corpse or at least tell them who the zombies are by leaving behind information that they are dead.

I believe that the volunteer army necklace can be likened to the Dog tags of our world, as a proof of identity in case of death.
In our world, dog tags are used to identify who the corpse belonged to and we receive two sets of these things. Two plates hang on our necks and 1 plate each on our ankles. In the scenario that we are unable to get our corpse back to our families, we were ordered to rip off one of the tags on our necks and hand them to our comrades if necessary. It is also used to identify mutilated corpses.
In the case of Grimgar, it most likely has the same effect. Since when they die, they become zombies, they would need to use other methods to notify their team mates they are dead. Simply leaving one of the tags there seem to be the method they opted for. Another reason is most likely to tell them who the zombies they encounter are and if possible, please get them purifed.


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The reason of Bartholomeo Kuma's devil fruit named as Nikyu-Nikyu no Mi?
Nikyu-Nikyu no Mi is devil fruit that eaten by Bartholomeo Kuma, this fruit can be translated as Paw-Paw Fruit.
The power of this fruit are it can repelling any attack, or pain from our body as we can see in Thriller Bark arc when Kuma repelling the pain from Luffy.
This fruit also can make other peoples flying for few days to somewhere place in the world.
What I'm ask here is what the reason behind a paw that can "repel"? Is there any myth or something that make this fruit named as Nikyu-Nikyu no Mi/Paw-Paw Fruit?

Paw-Paw fruit grants the user the ability to repel everything they touch, and is physically represented as paws on the user's palms, making the user a Paw Human.
The Paw has variety of uses that leaves a paw-pad imprint resembling the pads on his palms.

Cats uses one paw to repel inferior life forms. The Paw Of Do-Not-Want. Which might also be the reason behind a paw that can "repel" of your question. Video: https://twitter.com/boingboing/status/596558460382220288
The fruit's name, Nikyu, comes from the word "Nikukyū" (肉球?) which means "Paw" in Japanese.  Ref: Nikyu Nikyu no Mi
I did a little search online if there is a significant reason why its called Nikyu-Nikyu no Mi/Paw-Paw Fruit but I found none that its related to myths or something. So the name "Paw-Paw" is basically just from its Japanese name counter part "Nikyu-Nikyu".

ooh, The Paw Of Do-Not-Want I think I can agree with that XD I guess it's more like a pun rather than a myth then...

This will sound a bit nutty, but I would add to bot's "Niku-kyuu" answer that it may be a Disney reference? Baloo the Bear from the Jungle Book sings "When you pick a pawpaw (fruit), or a prickly pear, and you prick a raw paw, well next time beware!" Kuma's catchphrase of asking where you would go on a trip (and sending people to their personal hell/paradise) I think is likewise a reference to Brer Bear as depicted in Song of the South, who got very excited about Brer Rabbit's "Laughin' Place" that promises both honey and bees. It even lines up nicely with how the final treasure island is called Laugh Tale -- everybody's looking for the pot of (liquid) gold...
I'm personally persuaded of the Song of the South reference due to Oda linking racialized exclusion from theme parks with a history of slavery on Saobody, and foreshadowing this set up with the shadow zombies (ie slaves) in use at "Thriller Bark", itself a mutation of the phrase Amusement Park (with a Michael Jackson reference thrown in for good measure). I'd even argue that the Davy Back fight was foreshadowing, the way it had sailors FORCED INTO SERVITUDE in the midst of a BIG HAPPY CARNIVAL. They even sold Foxy merchandise like he was Mickey Mouse.
And if the other Disney references pan out, I'd guess Aokiji is partly a reference to the "blue bird" from Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, since they're cracking jokes about discrimination like 2 or 3 pages into his introduction. Maybe Water 7 is Splash Mountain! I could go on, but that's the gist of it


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Where is this statue on horseback from?
In ep. 1 of Joker Game, we see this shot of a statue (that resembles a person on horseback) before a large Western-style building. Does this correspond to a real-life location?

The first episode seems to take place in Tokyo, so I tried searching for statues on horseback in Tokyo. The main result I got was for a statue of Kusunoki Masashige in the Imperial Gardens, which looks similar in stance, but the photographs that I have seen (such as this one) do not seem to have such a building in the background.
I also tried searching for the Imperial Palace to try to see if any buildings match up with this one, however, and I discovered that most of the Palace was destroyed in firebombings in the Second World War. It seems plausible then that this indeed is a statue of Kusunoki Masashige, and that the area around the statue has simply changed from when the anime is set (1937).
Is this actually the Kusunoki Masashige statue, or is this some other location in the Tokyo area?

I believe it's the Imperial General Staff Headquarters. (Photo from Geospatial Information Authority of Japan for comparison below. Similar images in the postcards scanned in the link.)

As for the statue it seems to be of the founder of the General Chief of Staff, Prince Arisugawa Taruhito. While the current statue is now currently located in Arisugawa Memorial Park in Minami-Azabu, Minato, Tokyo, the General Staff Headquarters was located across the palace moat as seen in one of the links.

And what would that make the statue in front of it? Please add more information. This is a comment, not an answer.

Thanks, this was more convincing than the original form of the post, particularly since you've provided the links. However, perhaps you could include some images for comparison in the body here (so as to avoid possible link-rot in the future) and also indicate what the two links are about? (If you need help with formatting, there are some guidelines here.)


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Why do anime characters stand on telephone poles all the time?
In a lot of anime and anime-styled fan work, anime characters are shown standing on the tops of telephone poles.

I understand this angle makes it easy to show the character against nice scenery, but it's not something that should be as regular as it is. Was there a particular show that sparked all the pole-standing?

I think it's just part of the trope were all anime characters have the ability to jump higher than any human can pretty much regardless of the genre. It's pretty much inevitable they'll end up on a telephone poll eventually.

what anime/s are those please?

The reason the characters stand on poles mostly have to do with the scene being either dramatic or to make the scene look "cool".
This trope is known as "I Have the High Ground":

Supernatural, magical, or just plain awesome beings know there's no better place to be effortlessly standing on than tall and usually thin objects, be they pine trees, lampposts or the nearest available tall building. This is flying for people who cannot fly. Or even the ones who can.

Less about true strategy and more about looking cool. Expect Dramatic Wind (actually, wind speed increases with altitude, so wind that seems dramatic to those on the ground is ''normal'' at high altitude). In anime and manga this has become a choice dramatic entrance for villains, introduced via a panning away of the camera from a completely every day scene (see example 1), or the aftermath of a dramatic event, to reveal that said villain was watching all along, and provide a nice segue for the next part. Example

As is mentioned on the page:

This seems to have originated from training techniques that involved standing on bamboo; see, for example, the Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Teen Titans examples. This is common in Wire Fu movies

Hence, there is no particular show which sparked the pole standing, but rather its gradual adaptation into the anime world taken from real life Martial Art practice techniques, which became ever so popular and a regular occurrence because animation tends to increase the dramatic effect and make it scenic as compared to shows/movies, where the characters would (probably) look weird rather than cool, unless it's directly related to Martial Arts.

I always felt that it showed martial art skills like in kung-fu films.
This skill is a Martial Arts Technique utilizing Mei Hua Zhuang (Plum Flower Poles).

But not all of the characters that do this are martial arists? Please try to expand your answer to explain why their would be a general connection.

I think this has the seed of a real answer--one could argue that standing on a telephone pole is a superpowered equivalent of this kind of training that became popular in anime, probably through the influence of Hong Kong action movies. It would take some research to establish the connection, though.

Best lookout spot without close proximity to other leveled areas. To summarize a great vantage point. Either that or just looks cool while showing skill.


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Why does Black Jack charge exorbitant fees?
Is there a reason why Black Jack charges exorbitant fees for the surgeries and operations he performs?
In the series I often find Black Jack to be inconsistent due to the amount of free surgeries he performs while maintaining a reputation of charging insane medical fees. Are his ridiculously priced operations merely to get his patients to question the value of their (loved ones) life?

Perhaps the only consistency about his fees, besides their high price, is that if he feels he failed he will cancel the fee. The pricing seems totally random and he charges high amounts even for people that appear to be poor. I understand that as an unlicensed doctor he has no obligations to save someone. However, part of my reason for asking is that the reason Black Jack is alive is entirely due to the fact that a doctor took responsibility and saved his life. Normally, people would feel a sense of debt to this fact and try to repay this debt by doing the same in turn to those they meet in life. I don't think as a doctor he needs to give away surgeries or operations, especially with his level of expertise, but doctors are already well paid and it seems outrageous to charge as much as he does.

Is there anywhere in the manga or anime that solidly explains why he charges as he does, or are there any convincing arguments about this?

Not to mention the fact that he basically lives in a shack which is barely furnished. So what does he do with all of that money? Ponoko's college fund?

I've seen all the Anime adaptations, and read all the Volumes to the Manga, and from what I've witnessed in both the Anime & Manga he chargec such mass amounts in an effort to see if whether or not the patient truly values their life or the life of the one they are requesting he save.
Kuro himself went through a lot during his rehabilitation and because of his surgery (that was Incredibly risky) he was allowed a second chance at life that in itself is worth more than any monetary value.
Which is what brought about his overall philosophy.
Plus due to how hard he and his doctor fought to preserve his life and regain his physical abilities through rehabilitation caused a lot of distress, he takes patients whom he has saved through surgical means (who threaten suicide personally.) However, if they must go through excruciating rehabilitation and begin to complain or want to give up he is a lot harsher and impatient and will be blunt and state that he was himself was blown to bits as a child and still managed to regain full functionality and success, so they as his patients mustn't lose faith.
He doesn't seem to spend much of the money and lives, for the most part in somewhat poverty, Pinoko is quick to point this out multiple times throughout the manga and anime, but there are times when he actually won't ask for payment or will even take something in exchange that's worth if anything else just emotional or even no value.
There are times when he spends money, like when he makes trips around the globe for his patients, or when he purchases islands in order to preserve their natural ecosystem and to prevent urbanisation.

^ Which I believe is done in memory of the little boy who donated the skin graft that he has on his face who later grew up to be a environmentalist, but was killed -sadly- during a protest.
He'll also spend it on spoiling Pinoko, who she herself suffered through an exhausting and debilitating physical therapy
Pinoko was abandoned by her twin sister, and Kuro was abandoned by his father and lost his mother during a bomb explosion, because of this he tends to be more compassionate with patients who come from similar backgrounds.
Since he's unlicensed he doesn't have to limit his skills to the rules that the medical association holds he is far more advanced and is well worth the extra dough.

Especially when compared to the other doctors who are kept on a tight leash and consequensly are not as experienced or skilled as our good doctor Black Jack.
Plus since he ask for so much money, if the patient were to die or he'd fail the operation, those who would have had to pay the impossible fee would feel a sense of relief with not having to spend the substantial amount of money, and Black Jack himself may feel less at guilt for having loss a patient.
However no matter the circumstance Kuro always goes the extra mile for each patient, whether it be because of a promise, the pay, or because Pinoko insist that he help he'll never give less than his 100%.
Although in actuality it's his moral code and the fact that he owes his own life to a Doctor who took risks that he himself has become what he is today.
His goal is to save and preserve life, because nobody ever truly wants to die, and at the end of the day you don't take anything with you once you die, so the money itself isn't all that important to Black Jack.
(In the Manga and Anime there's a scene where he goes to a black Smith to sharpen his surgical tools and he pays a substantial fee for the job, the Smith then proceeds with throwing the money into the very fire and continues with the work. Kuro didn't protest or ask why and it's noticed that the Smith mentioned that the last time he preformed this task that he burnt even more money, so it's evidence enough that money doesn't really matter much to Black Jack)

I don't believe there was ever a solid statement in the Manga for Black Jack's high prices. However recently I came across two interesting stories in Vertical's volume #2 that might shed some light on Tezuka's intent.

In the story "Granny" , which is about another doctor who also charged a lot and an old woman who worked her whole life to pay off a debt to the doctor, Black Jack says

"I thought I was the greediest man ever."

This seems like kind of a joke, so I don't think his prime motivation is greed. In fact Black Jack doesn't seem to spend much of his money ( he basically lives in a shack).
Later in the same story he charges the son of the old lady a huge sum, but that seems to be a test to see if the son is willing to make the same sacrifice that his mother did. It's not clear if Black Jack actually charges the son after the son passes this test.

In the same volume there is a story of Black Jack's recovery from his surgery as a child when a classmate donated a piece of skin to save his face. Black Jack   Promises to become a doctor so he can pay this friend back.

These two examples could provide some reason for his fees, but I tend to think that he really just decides the fee based on the character traits of the patient, circumstances, or finances of the requestors to either punish, reward, or test their worthiness.


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Why not export to America?
I've come across many forums and fan-sites of various anime. It seems that of the 300 million people in America, there's a huge market for anime, specifically in the gaming and streaming industries (as evidenced by the JRPGs and Hulu/Netflix having specific anime sections).
Why aren't more anime that aren't renewed for second seasons in Japan sent over to America for investment and continuation?
Note: I understand when an anime is cut off because the Manga is not being written. At the same time, could the IP of an author not be bought and turned into an American anime?

You ask this as if it isn't happening, but Sailor Moon Crystal and Dragon Ball Super were both made essentially just for western fans, and there's a handful of other examples. If you're wondering about less popular shows, I find it unlikely that a work which was only moderately successful in Japan would have a large western market.

@LoganM **I find it unlikely that a work which was only moderately successful in Japan would have a large western market. ** Rosario + Vampire was cancelled by the network (Gonzo) and a petition was made to continue it. 28k+ signatures were added. I find it hard to believe that a viewership with almost 30k people that would SIGN a petition is not a good business decision. IF you sell even 20k in DVD series at 20$ a piece, (I estimate 3 CDs for 12 episodes), you're looking at $1.2m, plenty to pay for all of your expenses and such, not even including any merchandise or advertisements...

You're underestimating the cost of making an anime, see http://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/4175/how-much-does-a-typical-anime-episode-or-series-cost-to-make. Based on those numbers, a 12 episode season would cost in excess of 1.2m USD. Also, those numbers are almost a decade old, and costs have gone up somewhat since then.

Not all of the 300 million are anime fans, nor are they willing to buy into anything you just throw at them just because it's from Japan.

@LoganM As I said, that's using VERY conservative numbers that don't even BEGIN to account for all of the ways the anime would make money. Also, the numbers you linked GOES BY YEN not by dollars (although it does go by episode). So you'd be looking at whatever above that you sold in profit from merchandise, advertising, further sales, etc.

It may come to a surprise for you, but the anime you typically watch is not what is considered mainstream in its country of origin, unless of course you watch shows made for children and families.
In fact, most of the anime that the international community consumes are what is called "late night anime." The overall ratings on these TV series are so low that the average Japanese person is likely never to have seen them. In other words, they are very niche. To compensate for low rating and viewership, these types of anime typically make money from Blu-ray, DVD, and other merchandise sales.
Since viewership is low, the budget for creating anime is pretty low as well. It's been mentioned by industry insiders that the average budget for a 1-cour, 13 episode series is about $2 million USD.
Low viewership of these anime is the result of a number of factors, the most prominent one being cultural. If you're not aware of how things works in Japan, office workers tend be expected to work 12 hour shifts regularly; students are also assigned large amounts of work (on top of any club commitments) and only get holidays and Sundays off. With all this work, who has time to stay up late to watch late night anime?
You're probably right, surely foreign investments in these productions can breathe new life into these productions. Unfortunately, the truth is a bit of a complicated one. As you may or may not be aware, all anime (with exceptions such as the Noitamina block) are glorified infomercials to promote not only manga, games, and light novel publishers, but also music production companies (who do you think profits off of those OP and EDs?), and general product advertisers such as Pizza Hut, and Lawsons. Product advertisers such as these don't care about sales, they're trying to sell themselves to you as opposed to the anime.
Such promotion and advertising deals don't usually pan out when it comes to international markets. If you recall the Pizza Hut references in Code Geass, the US versions blurred them out. The exact reason was never explicitly stated, but seeing that Pizza Hut Japan was such an overbearing sponsor domestically (as in within Japan), it's possible the negotiations fell through when Bandai was negotiating with the US entity of Pizza Hut. Despite sharing the same name and brand, Pizza Hut in Japan and Pizza Hut in the US are separate and distinct entities with their own ideals on doing business.
On top of that, localization rights to license a show don't come cheap and often times these don't include a mechnical license to use the music. Most of these licensing costs are paid upfront and if a series is successful enough, royalties must be paid to the original production committees (which can range from 20 to 30%). This makes things bit cost prohibitive to just bring whatever over, so localization companies need to be picky so they can pull off a product or at least pull even.
Without actual products to sell, the profit making possibilities of investing in new anime are slim. In 2013, the anime industry in Japan brought in over $2.03 billion USD from Japanese and international markets combined. In 2014, the Japanese manga industry made more than $2.3 billion USD just in Japan. In Japan, the symbiotic relationship of anime and manga works because of the existing infrastructure and relationships. However, in the US, everything is fragmented, making coordination between distributors all the more difficult.
As for the studio, they don't sell the distribution and merchandising rights of a IP that no longer is in distribution. Why would they? If you do, you're essentially telling the fans that you're abandoning this product, which could diminish their respect for the company and its products. Similar things have happened in the past such as with Macross and Robotech. While there were some good things to come out of such an affair (such as making the US audience aware of the type of animation known as anime), there were some downsides as well (Macross can never officially be released in the US as long as Harmony Gold hold the rights). What's to say the owner of the IP won't reboot the series later, like they did with Sailor Moon Crystal, Dragonball Super, or Osomatsu-san? For better or for worse the respective IP owners hold on to the rights of their respective IPs to preserve the integrity of the series for for themselves, it's creators, and for the fans. Why sell off something your people toiled for months and years to make to some strangers oversees to do with as they like? You don't have a say once you sell off the right to your IP. Who's to say American companies will respect the visions and idea of the original creators and fans?
However, not all is grim. There have been talks of joint ventures with Japanese companies to invest in anime for the international market.

Streaming video distributor Crunchyroll and Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corporation announced on Thursday that the two companies are establishing a joint venture which will invest in the production of anime for the international market.
That joint venture, whose entity name and size of investment have not been revealed, will take part in the production committees of anime titles which will then be distributed by Crunchyroll.
Sumitomo Corporation is one of Japan's largest general trading companies (sougou shousha). Its media division distributes content for cable television, terrestrial broadcasters, and cinemas. In recent years, it has increased investments in the business of creative content.
In February, Sumitomo partnered with Japanese media company Imagica Robot Holdings and the public-private Cool Japan Fund to acquire SDI Media, a U.S.-based provider of subtitling, translation, and language dubbing services.
According to the press release, Crunchyroll boasts 700,000 paying subscribers and more than 10 million monthly viewers. The report notes that international distributors such as Daisuki and Crunchyroll, as well as a number of Chinese companies, are increasingly taking part in production committees.
With the rising cost of licensing content for overseas distribution, content providers can ensure that they win distribution rights by investing in production instead of competing and paying high license fees. However, Anime! Anime! Biz also notes that Crunchyroll's aim is not merely rights acquisition.
Crunchyroll co-founder and CEO Kun Gao cites the increasing importance of overseas markets in the anime industry. In establishing the joint venture, the company aims to connect fans to the production of anime from the time of its inception. With the joint venture, Crunchyroll, which is traditionally strong in North America and Europe, can also expand its distribution network with Sumitomo, which is traditionally strong in Asia.

This is not to say only Crunchyroll is pursuing such a venue. Funimation and Netflix are doing the same. How well these new ventures will turn out is any one's guess. How well will these companies be able to reach international fans of anime, how well do these companies understand the current international market of anime and what fans want? Only time will tell...

Let's start by constraining the adjectives "many" and "huge" in context.  Yes, there are a lot of fansites out there that feature discussions around anime and manga, and streaming services are definitely picking more of them up.
However, that does not mean that the market for this is large.  To my knowledge, the streaming anime business is still relatively novel; it wasn't until around 2009 before Crunchyroll straightened up and flew right, starting to remove illegal copies of anime off of its site and getting proper licenses for its content.
(If you want a list of those places, this will help you.)
Most other services in the 2000s suffered from similar issues in attaining legal licenses to distribute content, or from the networks of the consumers being far too slow to reliably stream.  Heck, in 2001 most people still ran a copy of Windows 2000.  In 2008-2009 there was more prevalence of better networks in key markets, but the chances of them having decent broadband with which to stream on was still not as high.
Now, we should start talking about the difference in markets between America and Japan.  There's a lot more expense that has to go into a series for foreign distribution, and there has to be a viable and encouraging market to bring a series over.  If a series receives a cold domestic reception like Nichijou, the chances of it being exported are close to nil.
Simply put, it has to be a good investment for all parties involved.  If it isn't, you won't be able to see it translated to your locale anytime soon.


text:
How did Kanade get access to Angel Player?
Tachibana Kanade (aka Angel) is a prominent figure in Angel Beats. The SSS,

 at least in the first few episodes,

is constantly fighting her, but she has certain abilities that make her very difficult to defeat.
However, it's revealed that abilities aren't

 God-given, instead, she uses software called Angel Player to create these abilities herself.

But,

 Angel Player was created by the Programmer, as stated in Episode 11. The Programmer is an elusive figure, who likely didn't even know Kanade.

So how did Angel Player find its way to Kanade, for her to later use?

From the Wikia:

Some time after the creation of the Angel Player program, a student by the name of Kanade Tachibana discovered the program and became the first user of the program. She used the program to create Guard Skills to battle against the SSS.

(emphasis mine)
The exact details of the acquisition process is not revealed, however it is believed that Kanade found the program by herself. Considering that she has an English manual, it could be that she found it with one of the computers in the computer room, or bought it in the Afterlife.

According to an Interview with Maeda Jun (Angel Beats! planner, writer and music composer source)

When Maeda was asked “What exactly is Angel Player?” this was his response:

There were people fighting against God, even before the arrival of
  Yuri. Similarly, there were people that tried to unravel the mystery
  of this world as well. Angel Player is the result of an individual who
  found ways to manipulate and create material. Kanade found that
  software on her own, analyzed it […continues]

Otonashi was not the creator of Angel Players. Nor was he the only bug to find its way into this world. Ultimately, Maeda seems to suggest that the world has been going on for god-knows-how-long.
In the interview, Maeda Jun [also] revealed and filled in some of the points of debate after Episode 13 of Angel Beats! last aired.


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How different is the story of the Hyperdimensional Neptunia remake?
I'm a few chapters into Hyperdimensional Neptunia Re;Birth 1 and I understand the game is a large rework of the previous first Neptunia game. I'm not overly interested in the mechanical changes, but I'd like to know how the story has changed - as it's been mentioned a few times already about being overhauled.

How much does Re;Birth 1's story differ from the original?

Upvote just for the picture.

There is quite some differences between the original PS3 game and the Re;Birth PS Vita game aside from mechanics. the basic premise of the plot is still the same but the progression though it and the finale are different
World
In the original game, much like Re;Birth, the 4 nations were on floating continents however in the original game they moved. this played to a mechanic where you had to go through dungeons in order for time to progress before one of the other nations where nearby for you to cross over. in Re;Birth it appears they don't move as the world map doesn't show them changing places
Also in the original game every dungeon was on it's own floating island which circled a nation so more or less the 4 nation's main continents were more or less a giant city. this isn't the case in Re;Birth with some of the dungeons being on the same landmass as a nation's capital
Main Plot
Alot of the elements of the main plot remain consistent between the 2 such as the quest to get the Keyfragments to release Histoire, IF being a fan of Vert and being used to poison Neptune. Avanir taking control of Lastation, Afoire's final plan to destroy Gameindasti by colliding the 4 nations and Green Heart proudly boasting about her breast size to Lady White Heart at the beginning prompting Lady White Heart to call her "Thunder Tits". however the events within the main plot have been changed up
Key Fragments
in the original game all 4 Key Fragments were guarded by the Guard Vermin, one in each nation which only was accessible after the 2nd Arc of Lastation, Lowee and Leanbox. Planeptune's Keyfragment acquisition was still different as indicated in the screenshot as it was this dungeon that is shown in the Screenshot that the Keyfragment was obtained and it wasn't accessed by Neptune and Compa falling down
Missing Characters in the Main Plot
Absent from Re;Birth was Nisa and Gust who represented their titler companies, Nippon Ichi Software America (the American branch of Nippon Ichi Software) and Gust.
In regards to Gust when Neptune was poisoned it was her who created the antidote thus her being removed also meant that this part had to be rewritten
Nisa was largely unimpressive and didn't leave much impact but a couple of character's background had to be re-written with her removal which we'll get back to later
Missing DLC Characters
while optional in the original game the 2 DLC Characters, Red and 5pb. (likewise named from their companies, Red Entertainment and 5pb.) both of whcih more focused on IF than Neptune
with Red she was looking to build her harem of "Wifeys" (english-fied version of waifu?) and targeted IF first. despite being defeated she kept trying to make IF, Compa and Neptune her Wifeys which always lead to a battle and her defeat.
with 5pb it starts off with her being shy about singing in front of people until IF find her and after a number of encounters builds up her confidences. 5pb also is shown to have a demon and angel side to her when she was contemplating stealing Neptune's puddling
in Re;birth the DLC characters are Histoire, Plutia and Peashy however the last 2 don't have any storylines associated with them (like why they have crossed to another dimension) while Histoire's "story" can more or less be the main plot as the DLC doesn't add her to the party until she is released (the later 2 are unlocked in chapter 1)
Substories
in the original game there were also other small substories consisting of a scene. some of these poked fun at other games such as Neptune, Compa and IF making comments on a Mario Cart like racing event.
One of Nisa's substoires involved her meeting with the Large Breast Loving Brothers however in the original game the Brothers were bandits. after getting into some trouble with monsters Nisa saves them after they ridicule her of her lack of breasts. when they question why Nisa did this after they ridiculed her, in her usual fashion Nisa boasts about her strong sense of justice and will always help those in need. moved by this the Brothers then turn over a new leaf. as Nisa is mission from Re;Birth the Brother's background was rewrote.
Another of Nisa's substories involved her helping a couple of people who were being chased by a Demon which was revealed to be a pissed off Lady White Heart who wanted to kill them for making fun of her chest size. Nisa calmed Lady White Heart down but when the people she was chasing thanked Nisa while at the same time making fun of her chest size (calling her pimple nipples if i recall) prompting Nisa to do a 180 and aid Lady White Heart to kill them (not sure if they were killed or just badly beaten).
another substory involved Lady Blanc and Noire both going to a convention in Lastation and seeing one another but not recognizing each other.
Story Arcs
Because of the game mechanic in the original game where you could only traverse between continents when they were close the plot was broken up to be played in almost any order.
before getting the Keyfragment each nation had 2 Arcs. i says 2 because Leanbox was 2 distinctive plots but when i played i first went to Lastation and was forced to stop helping Chian and then went to Lowee (the continent cloest at the time) and was forced to stop that until i did Leanbox's first arc before returning to Lastion and getting the Keyfragment.
Lastions 2 Arcs were more or less the same with Avanir taking over Lastion, Noire feigning amnesia to lean why Neptune was there, helping Chian for the expo and fighting the CPU Breaker Avanir created.
I can't remember much of Lowee's Arcs but i think it was still similar as the CG on Blanc with a book in Re;Birth is also in the original game.
the first arc of Leanbox in the original game was more or less the same minus Vert joining the party and getting a Keyfragment. the second Arc was about Vert working her hardest to earn back the faith of her people after being lazy in the first Arc however was overheating alot (the X-Box 360 Overheating Problems when it was released) and being rescued by Neptune's Team (primary because IF was worried).
The Quartet Weapons
In the original game each weapon was on each continent but broken into 4, found at the end of 4 different dungeons which were all "kill the boss at the end" types so you had to go through 16 dungeons before being able to get to Celestia.
Also after remaking the 4 weapons Neptune leaves the party in an attempt to face Arfoire alone (having regained her memories) forcing IF, Compa, Gust and Nisa to fight her when they try and stop her.
in Re;Birth the weapons aren't broken and get remade into weapons that better suit the CPU. this also means that the CPUs didn't force the weapons into their sockets. also in the Original game the gateway worked so there was no need for the party to get the Basilicon's help
Also in the original game the acquisition of these weapons didn't coincide with each nation having to deal with Fake CPUs and thus Lady Blanc's 3 sizes was never blurted out during a quiz
Other Stuff
The Guild
in the original game the Guide was made up of people who were born in one nation but worshiped another's CPU. generally these people were looked down upon by others so IF's affiliation with the Guide was kept hidden for much of the game
CPU's joining
in the original game the CPU's were optional, only required to get the True End. in order to get them using Gust's hidden ability to show the national share levels one needed to increase the shares for one nation in order to trigger an event which lead to Neptune, Compa and IF fighting them.
IF x Vert
IF's and Vert's relationship is much more expanded on in Re;Birth than it is in the original game, most likely because of how the CPU's are optional. in Re;Birth we see events such as Vert joining the party when they leave Leanbox stating she can't live without her Iffy, Vert using IF as her "warmer" in Lowee (placing the warmers IF gave her in her endowments before returning to her Iffy) and IF "dying" when everyone tried to fit into the portal device to transport them to Celestia with Vert, purposely, squeezing in with IF and smoothing her within her breasts. (to be honest i loved all these Shoujo Ai/Yuri moments between them. great improvement)
Overlord Momus
In the original game Overload Momus did not exists, same same in Re;Birth, however Arfoire never creates it. instead spreads the rumor that the CPU's fled Celestia when Overlord Momus appeared and destroyed it while also spreading news that the Overlord would descend from Celestia and the CPU's, now weakened, will not be able to stop it.
In Re;Birth Overload Momus takes the form of CFW.Arfoire from Hyperdimension Neptunia Mk. II (and i assume Re;Birth 2 as from what i have seen i don't see that the plot has changed), the form of the Deity of Sin Afoire takes when ASIC succeeds in resuecting her

DOS.Afoire, the Deity of Sin's true form, also appears in Re;Birth as a couple of Colosseum battles such as Delphinus (who too appeared in Mk. II's Colosseum as a palette swap of of DOS.Afoire however was a different pallet swap to Re;Birth's Delphinus)
Afoire
in the original game it's revealed that Afoire was the True Goddess until she got tired of the job and split her power, and Gamindustri into 4, creating the CPUs and giving full control of the world to Histoire. later however she wanted it all back and reclaim her spot as the True Goddess and turned on Histoire and sparked the Console Wars so she could reclaim her powers from the CPUs.
in Re;Birth it's revealed that Afoire was just a regular human who fought along side the Hero Quartet when they fought the True Goddess who was evil. when the True Goddess was defeated her power was split into 4 and Arfoire raised the CPUs herself.
it is also initially suspected that Arfoire was corrupted by the True Goddess's power she copied from her during the battle and sought to become the new True Goddess however in Re;Birth's true end Nepture suspected that

 Arfoire wanted to become the True Goddess so she could better raise the CPUs.

Endings
The 2 Endings, Normal and True, also are different.
Original Game
Normal
I never got the Normal Ending in the original game however compared to Re;Birth's normal ending i can assume they would be different as one of the requirements of the True End in the original game was having all the CPU's (shares didn't count)
True

 After defeating Afoire and escaping Celestia the CPU's realize they still have alot of work to do as Afoire's Enemy Disks are still active and all over the world. in order to make their job easier they sacrifice their HDDs making them regular humans and ridding the world of monsters for good

Re;Birth
Normal

 Afoire is defeated and Histoire visits each nations to see how the CPUs are doing finishing with Planeptune where she joins Neptune, Compa and IF in eating pudding

True

 Afoire is defeated but tries to destroy Celestia. with the CPU's exhausted everyone goes to flee yet Neptune remains hoping to save Afoire with everyone having escaped but prays for Afoire to be saved too.A Year later Histoire states that while everyone escaped Celestia was suspected to have been destroyed in the explosion, Neptune and Afoire with it, as the gateway no longer worked. after visiting the other nations to see how the CPUs were doing she visits Planeptune. while IF and Compa are talking about Neptune, low and behold Neptune falls through Compa's roof revealing that Celestia wasn't destroyed but instead just the gateway and that she fell from the sky because she was flying around in HDD and got hungry and reverted back.Neptune also introduces Afoire who was saved (and looks very different now not looking like some witch). Afoire apologies to Histoire about the trouble she has caused and voes to make up for it until the end of her life while Compa and IF warmly welcomes Neptune home

The CPU Candidates
if one got the Shares up to a certain level for Planeptune, Lastation and Lowee they can get plans to unlock Nepgear, Uni, Ram and Rom. to actually unlock them one had to get the items and the shares to 35% for the CPU Candidate's nation (which stills fall into the requirements for Re;Birth's True End which is 0% for Other Shares and all 4 nations having atleast 20%). following their unlocks there is a scene which Histoire says that they are born from the accumulation of shares with each CPU posting on their blogs about their new sister(s) (with Vert expressing how she's depressed that she didn't get one but will still work hard for Leanbox)
since i never got the normal ending in Re;Birth with any of the CPU Candidates unlocked i can only assume their appearance in the normal end is similar to the True End in which it appeared their small segment are injected in the scene with some differences as

 with Nepgear she has taken over her sister's work since Neptune didn't return from Celestia

however how the world is formed in Re;Birth still makes it incompatible with the 2nd Hyperdimension shown in the other Re;Birth games and Megadimension Neptunia VII

would also add that in the original game with English as the audio language Lady Blanc had a much more fowl mouth especially when in HDD as when she attacked she would say things like "Bitch!" or  * "die you bastard!"* or when she got hit she would some times say "that frickin hurt!". also if you finished a battle quickly, even in human form she would sometimes says "What? Is that it! I'm not done yet!"

Without spoiling you anything, I can say that the main setting is the same in both games; Neptune loses her memory, and starts an adventure alongside Compa and IF.
In Re;Birth 1, the dialogue is the thing that has been radically changed. They made the storyline more steadier and more diverse and included special events which can't be found in the original game. There are also more comical scenes included, due to the success of Choujigen Game Neptune The Animation, which had a rather lighthearted atmosphere.
Vert, Noire, and Blanc have now more impact through the whole story, unlike in the original game in which they only had involvement near the end of the game. New side characters also appear in this remake.
Like the original game, Re;Birth 1 also has two different endings, namely the Normal Ending and the True Ending. Althought these are fairly different from the original, too.
Here is an interview with the director Shingo Onodera and Idea Factory CEO Haru Akenaga, regarding the changes made in the remake.


text:
What is the method used by Oomuro Sakurako in her "lucky color" lottery?
In the last scene of episode 4 of Yuru Yuri San Hai (i.e., the third season
of Yuru Yuri anime), Sakurako played with her friends a lottery game for finding out "lucky colors". She did so by drawing a diagram on the ground and following the lines.
I have never seen this particular kind
of game before, and am wondering if this is some traditional children's game or Sakurako just invented it on the spot. Can anyone provide some clues? Thanks!

This is a method of randomly assigning things called "ghost leg" (in Japanese, called "Amidakuji", which means "Amida lottery").
Basically, the way it works is that each player picks one of the lines at the top. Then, you follow the line downwards. Every time you intersect a horizontal segment, you follow it. Here is an example of one possible outcome for a player of this game.

Note that the loop-de-loop and the non-strictly-horizontal cross-segments (like the ones that go left-down-right and right-down-left from the rightmost line) are not used in conventional ghost leg. This is just the show being silly.
This system is well-known in Japan (and maybe the rest of East Asia?), but is certainly not well-known elsewhere, which is likely why you have never heard of it.

Thanks for your information. In fact I live in China and this is the first time I see this game. The Wikipedia page linked in your answer does not seem to indicate the game's origin, neither does the page's Chinese version. The Japanese version did say it came from Indian buddha, though.

It seems to me that if non-strictly-horizontal corss-segments are allowed then the output will not always be a permutation of the input. That is, different inputs may get sent to the same output.

Maybe I will need to move on to Mathematics SE haha.

For what it's worth, I recall seeing such a game in a children's magazine in Hong Kong years ago (and in fact was about to comment suggesting that this could be the game here).


text:
What are typical release cycles?
What are typical release cycles that are used for manga chapters or anime episodes?
I'm not asking for specific mangas/animes but simply how often on chapter/anime could be released, eg weekly or monthly.

To close-voters: this is indeed a simple question that probably could have been answered with some Googling. But it is, in my opinion, not too broad. Look at my answer below, which I believe is concise enough for an SE answer, and tell me if you think it needs to be vastly longer to fully answer this question, or if you can conceive of many other equally correct answers for this question.

@Evilloli All though I am not a close voter myself, I do think there are 2 different questions being asked here. One regarding anime, and one regarding manga. Also there are 2 contradicting questions. What are typical release cycles and how often an chapter/anime could be released weekly or monthly. So I can see why the question is voted as such.

@Dimitrimx I mean with could: how often could I expect a chapter/episode not how fast is the production of a chapter/episode

The most typical release cycle for a manga chapter is either weekly or monthly. A lot of times the magazine will have its release schedule in the name—Weekly Shounen Jump, Monthly Shounen Magazine. Others, like Ribon or Manga Time Kirara Carat (which are both monthly) don't offer such clues.
Some magazines operate on other schedules: Hana to Yume comes out twice a month, while Dengeki Moeoh comes out every other month. Wikipedia has a list of manga magazines that give the release schedules of various magazines.
If you buy tankoubon such as the ones released outside Japan, you can usually tell which manga were weekly and which were monthly by the length of the chapters. One volume of a weekly manga contains about ten chapters. One volume of a monthly or bimonthly manga will only contain 3–5 chapters, but the chapters will be longer so the page count is about the same.
Anime pretty much are released one episode per week, every week, barring the occasional preemption by a sports game that runs late or delay due to natural disaster. You can go on the page for a simulcasting show on Crunchyroll and see the exact day and time when new episodes of a show come out. For instance, the current season's Flying Witch comes out Saturdays at 3:00 PM Pacific Time.
Anime releases are also split into cours, 13-week blocks of episodes also sometimes referred to as "seasons". (As described in What is a "cour"? and What defines one "season" of anime?.) Some shows, such as Madoka, Bakemonogatari, and Ore Imo, run one cour in length. Others, such as Kill la Kill, Fate/Zero, and Monogatari Series Second Season, run two cours, or 24–26 episodes. Still others, such as Full Metal Alchemist 2003, run four cours, or about 51 episodes. And some, like One Piece, have completely transcended the cour system and just run until the generation of viewers who were alive when it started has died off and no one remembers how Zoro and Nami joined the crew anymore.

do the magazines always feature the same mangas each time they are released? or are some monthly mangas released via weekly magazines?

@Armin Mostly the same series in each issue. If you want to know more you can ask that as a separate question.


text:
Why did V.V kill Marianne?
Since Marianne also agreed to Charles's plan, why did V.V kill her? Was it just because he "thought" Charles will deviate from the plan because of his closeness to Marianne.

Maybe because he knows Lelouch and Nunnaly will oppose them somehow?

Actually it was just that V.V was jealous of her

In a flashback, it is revealed that V.V. was the one who assassinated Marianne, having done so out of jealousy. He lies about this to Charles, breaking his promise of mutual honesty between him and Charles.

Source: V.V - Character History - Second Season (final paragraph)
but why was he jealous? probably because he thought that Charles was getting closer to Marianne and further away from him, enhanced by the fact they are twins and have that extra bond twins are thought to have

He is the older twin brother of Charles zi Britannia, but as he has become immortal at the early age of 10
...
Charles and V.V.'s childhood years were marred by an internal feud in the Imperial Family called the Emblem of Blood. This period filled with deception and assassination resulting in the deaths of various members of the royal court including their mother. This event convinced the two to create a Geass contract to create a world without lies and to do so, they intended to destroy the "Gods". Several years later, Marianne Vi Britannia and C.C. joined in their venture as well.

Source: V.V - Character Outline
As you can see from the quote above the two went through hell with the Emblem of Blood and created the contract between them to destroy Gods to create a world without lies. then years later Charles marries some commoner unlike Charles other wives and she joins in on their plans along with her Geass Contractor/Master.
Also after Marianne was killed Charles had her body taken away in the event she could be returned too it, sealed Anya's memories, made Nunnally blind and sent her and Lelouch to Japan to protect them. even though all of that came after the fact it does show that in a way Charles cares for Marianne and her children so V.V does have some ground in thinking his younger twin brother is being stolen by some woman.


text:
CC's loss of memory
I'm confused about the whole scene as to how and why CC lost her memory.

Why did she lose her memory? It is because she was not letting herself out of CC's world/ the collective consciousness?
How exactly did she (and Lelouche) destroy the first temple of Akasha?

C.C didn't loose her memories, she sealed her Code probably to prevent Charles from stealing it from her when Lelouch promised her to make her smile.
Episode 16 - United Federation of Nations Resolution Number One

C.C: Um... what should I be doing now?
Lelouch: Let's see now. Sing me a song while hopping on one foot and wearing your clothes inside out.
C.C: Yes. Right away, master.
Lelouch: What? No, wait! I was kidding!
C.C: I'm sorry. Please don't beat me hard again.
Lelouch: Her mind is completely reverted. She's now only the slave girl before the power of Geass came.

Episode 20 - Emperor Dismissed

Anya: It's been ages since we were face to face like this. It's me! C.C., don't tell me that you've actually...
C.C: I'm so sorry!
Anya: What are you doing? Closing yourself up in here again like this. C.C.? C.C.!
C.C: Who are you?
Anya: It's me. See?
C.C: It's you. So you've chased me all the way in here now. Are you that worried about Lelouch, Marianne?
Marianne: Oh, c'mon. Do you really think I'm such an ideal mother that that's all I think about?
C.C: Then why did you come here for me?
Marianne: Because so much has changed. I need to know if you're still on my side.
C.C: Huh?
Marianne: C.C., why did you seal off your own Code? Just when you have what you wanted. Charles was ready to grant your greatest wish, the wish to die. But you stopped him.
C.C: Even I don't know why I did it. Actually I'm a little shocked, but I did.
Marianne: Then you have to find the answer in the real world. I've made up my mind and that's all there is to it.

C.C's memories appear to be tied to her Geass so when she sealed her Code she reverted back to before she got Geass from that Num who later forced her to take the Code.

as for the "temple" (which remember Suzaku was corrected when he called it a temple by Charles who said it's a weapon) they never destroyed it. the Sword of Akasha is the one place but there are different gateways to it. it appears that any Geass Location that appeared when Ragnarok was activated has a Twilight Gate than links back to the Sword of Akasha with the Geass Order having a Twilight Gate within their facility
How the sword got damaged was that C.C released the Shinkiro and with that Lelouch attacked the place with it.

Thanks! I think so much happened so fast, and not all the concepts were clear to me.


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What is the proper order for watching the El Hazard series?
The El Hazard series, written by Ryoe Tsukimura and directed by Hiroki Hayashi, consists of two OVA series and two TV anime:
OVA

El Hazard: The Magnificent World
El Hazard 2: The Magnificent World

TV Series

El Hazard: The Wanderers
El-Hazard: The Alternative World

How are these different productions related? What is the best order for someone to enjoy them?

Chronologically by release, it goes:

The first OVA, El Hazard: The Magnificent World (OVA1, 1995)
The first TV series, El Hazard: The Wanderers (TV1, 1995)
The second OVA, El Hazard 2: The Magnificent World (OVA2, 1997)
The second TV series, El-Hazard: The Alternative World (TV2, 1998)

The Wanderers TV series (TV1) is of a seperate continuity (basically a retelling of the OVA series, but aimed at a younger demographic) to the two OVAs (OVA1 + OVA2).
The Alternative World TV series (TV2) is set after the second Magnificent World OVA.
So chronologically by story, it goes:

Magnificent World (OVA1) ⇒ 2. Magnificent World (OVA2) ⇒ 3. Alternative World (TV2)

⤜ || ...somewhere completely unrelated... || The Wanderers (TV1) ⤛


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Which Lieutenant is Renji not counting?
When Ichigo fight Renji in Season 2, after he smashes Ichigo into a wall he then says then if Ichigo was somehow able to defeated him there are 11 other Lieutenants and 13 other Captains.
Including himself Renji only seems to be counting 12 Lieutenants and 13 Captains. at first i thought he was skipping Squad 4 because most lood down on then in terms of combat ability but then why would he then include Squad 4's Captain if that was the case.
So which Lieutenant is Renji not counting and why does he exclude that Lieutenant but not their Captain?
NOTE: I am referring to the English Dub

At the time the 13th Division did not have a vice captain. After Kaien Shiba's death sometime before the start of the series, the position goes a while unfilled, with the duties being covered by the two third seats of 13th division, before passing on to Rukia. Therefore there was no vice captain at the time Ichigo came to rescue Rukia.
http://bleach.wikia.com/wiki/13th_Division

I always forgot that Squad 13 doesn't have a lieutenant...

Then later on there was the first division commander Kyoraku who had 2 lieutenants, and Kensei who had a Super lieutenant. Though we lost a few  by the time all of that went through, wouldnt it have been funny if he had to say 15 Vice captains and 13 captains.


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What are those Wooden Tube thing?
In Episode 32 when Renji is going through the story of how he and Rukia met and became Soul Reapers, at the start when we see what his life was like in Rukongi District 78 - Hanging Dog, the Old Man that he and his Friends steal from had these tubes which appeared to carry liquid which seemed to spill out when he fell onto his table.
My first guess would be these are some form of water bottle used in Feudal Japan so i am looking for confirmation if these tube things are. if not what are they? and do they have a basis in Japan?

Yes their purpose is to store water or a different liquid.
I've seen them in other anime and manga but I cannot remember them though.
 In general they've been used all around Asia.
This one for example is from Borneo and it can be seen that it is heavily decorated:

Here is the Shop were it is available more information.
It has current day versions like these:

link

link

link
They are usually handmade, being made in the wild when hiking or camping like this.
This is all the information I could gather including some japanese websites (I have no knowdeledge of the Japanese language). I found information only on shopping websites and I hope it is not against the rules. I hope it is a conclusive answer even if it has ambiguous sources.

wow that bamboo in the last picture can be used as stabbing weapon. hmmm, that give me idea


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Was Kyoko and Chizuru's first meeting ever shown in the manga?
In Episode 8 of Series I of the Yuru Yuri anime, Kyouko and Yui go the library and see Chizuru Ikeda, Chitose's twin, reading alone. Mistaking her for Chitose, Kyouko starts trying to get her attention, and gets more and more persistent as she's ignored. After finding out that Chizuru is Chitose's twin, Kyouko starts annoying her by acting overly friendly every time they meet, and taking delight in Chizuru's irritation.
Oddly, I have no memory of anything like this happening in the manga, yet late in the manga, Kyouko and Chizuru have the same kind of relationship they do in the anime. Specifically, in Intermission 18, Chizuru is annoyed to find Kyouko hiding in the bushes eavesdropping on her conversation with Himawari's sister Kaede, and Intermission 20, she snarls at Kyouko when she comes to the classroom to see Chitose. We do see in the manga that Chizuru feels Kyouko is coming between Chitose and Ayano, but what we see in those chapters seems much more specific than that.
Did any manga chapter have a story like the anime episode that showed Chizuru and Kyouko meet?

I think the reason you probably don't remember is because volumes 3-5 were not translated into English. Their meeting may be within those pages

@ToshinouKyouko Even "unofficially"? I did notice that my "unofficial" translation has a weird gap where they repeated a run of chapters.

@ToshinouKyouko I guess if you don't even remember your own meeting with Chizuru, my chances of getting an answer are pretty slim...

Aye, unofficially :(

@ToshinouKyouko I watched the anime on Crunchyroll, but I discovered the series after the official English translation of the manga was gone. It seemed like the anime embellished a bit, so I was wondering if Kyouko and Chizuru's first meeting was one of those embellishments or not.

JManga were beginning to publish it, but shut down :(

@ToshinouKyouko Too bad, I'd love to support an official version of the Yuru Yuri manga (and possibly find out the answer to this question). Any chance of Crunchyroll Manga picking it up, do you know?

I haven't heard anything to say so, its possible though

Yes, this was shown in Chapter 35 of volume 4 of the original Japanese manga. The anime adaption only made minor changes, such as the place of their meeting is changed from the school library to a local public library, and Yui's Kanji exercise book is seen with different contents.
You can refer to this page for detailed information. I personally find this "Yuru Yuri database" site very useful in answering questions like yours, so please allow me to recommend it to any of the Yuru Yuri fans here.
Also, since a long time has passed after this question is first asked, it is highly possible that amateur English translations are out there right now. Maybe I should not provide a link for copyright reasons, but googling will certainly lead you to one.

Now I'm really glad I didn't delete this question a year ago when I thought about doing it! Thanks a lot for your answer. We do discourage posting links to scans here, so good call on that.


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What is this Detective Conan OVA title?
I just remember the last section bit where Conan & Sonoko(?) forced to make emergency  landing on some harbor(?). I think the real Pilot & Co-Pilot got poisoned by accident because they are kissing the victim hand without their gloves.

This is not an OVA, but rather a movie. The title is:

Magician of the Silver Sky

It is the 8th movie and one that features Kaitou Kid. The last part goes like this:

 While flying the plane, it's struck by lightning. They activate the back up generator. They see that the auto-pilot is broken down so they have to cancel the landing. They manage to pull up but lose one engine in the process and damage the runway. The next thing they notice is that there isn't much fuel left. This is because when everyone was in the cockpit, Ban accidentally hit the fuel gauge button which made the fuel (in separate engines) go into one big tank.

 Conan finds a place to land (Sakamori Dock). Kid (in disguise of Shinjo) says he can't do it because he injured his hand and that Ran should take his place. Kid opens the emergency hatch and tells them good luck. Kaitou Kid then jumps from the plane. Nakamori chasing the real Shinjo, notice the real kid flying, and so they chase after him.

 Conan tells Sonoko to take his place and that he has to go to the washroom, also to put on the headsets in case contact is made with the airport again. Conan uses his voice-changing bow tie and tells Ran using Shinichi's voice. Ran tells him to stop acting so cool and that the fate of these passengers is within her hands. She then tells him that she loves him which makes him go silent. She tells him that she see's a ribbon of red lights. Heading towards the dock. Conan sees it and realizes why Kid jumped off. He was going to attract the lights of the police to create a runway so they can see.

 Ran successfully lands the plane. Ran thinks that the person who jumped was Kaitou Kid's accomplice and she was talking to Kaitou Kid. She is relieved to know her secret wasn't let out.

Last part summary quoted from the page itself


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What drinks are SURELY known to affect and/or differ Franky's behaviour?
It is known that Franky is powered by cola in his stomach fridge, so if other liquids are used, his behaviour goes through drastic changes.
So far, I'm aware of two cases in Enies Lobby and one in the Future Kingdom, right before the Impel Down events.
Is someone able to provide a complete list?

Could you include the drinks that were used in the cases you cited? And also either an episode or a chapter course for these instances?

@Cyberson vegetable juice at Enies Lobby and green tea at the Future Kingdom,can't recall episode number though,

You might want to add that into your question body, and look up those episodes because that will help people to be able to find the answer easier.

@Cyberson the cases when these happened are really obvious and noticeble, maybe even borderline memorial. I doubt it's necessary to explain further

I've read the entirety of One Piece, and I remember that the events do happen, just not a when. Knowing this, it would probably benefit people trying to help you if you included episodes.

There are many in Enies Lobby, remember when chopper gave Franky different type of juices from the refrigerator? One of the CP9 is inside that ref. when chopper is doing it. >_<

Though Cola is the known drink used to power franky himself and his body it is shown that other drinks can also affect his personality. Used as a trope by Chopper in Enies Lobby, it was used as a plot point in his stay in the Future(?) Kingdom where he becomes gentleman like when tea is used. And reverts when it fizzes.
From the wiki

It was shown during Franky's fight with Fukuro that depending on what kind of drink Franky has, it can change his hair style and attitude when Chopper accidentally hands him vegetable juice and tea. It also shows that Franky's strength is many times greater when he has more bottles of cola in his stomach fridge, and he needs it as a fuel for certain attacks. His hair acts as a kind of meter to the amount of cola in his stomach, being tall if he is full and sagging if empty. Franky's stomach compartment can hold up to three bottles, or six liters, of cola.

So Canonically only three drinks are known through which Franky's personality alters viz. Vegetable Juice and two kinds of tea.
http://onepiece.wikia.com/wiki/Franky/Abilities_and_Powers


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Who are the characters on the two secret rubber straps for season one?
One of the pieces of merchandise for Symphogear season one is a "trading rubber strap", about half way down the second page of goods on the official site. There are ten varieties - Hibiki, Miku, Ryouko, and Chris in regular clothing; Hibiki, Chris, Tsubasa, and Kanade clad in Symphogear; and then two more secret ones that are shown only in silhouette.

Who are the characters depicted on the two secret straps? I can't tell from the silhouettes, though the shape of the one on the left looks suspiciously like Tsubasa's hair.

Haha! I finally got a tumbleweed badge!

Is it possible that they're sneak peaks into season 2's Shirabe and Kirika?

If you're still looking for an answer, it's a second Kanade and Tsubasa.
Here is what they look like. (Source.)


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Does removing Potara earrings of a fused character nullifies the fusion?
Just give you some info about the Potara earrings.

Potara Fusion is similar to the Fusion Dance technique, however unlike the Fusion Dance, the Potara Fusion is permanent.
To use the Potara fusion, the two fusees each take one of the two earrings and put them on opposing ears. The two will automatically merge as soon as the earrings are put on.

After the fusion is done, the fused character has 2 earrings on each side of their ears, neither in the Anime nor the Manga has shown that fused character remove the Potara earrings. This makes me wonder what happens when fused character like Vegito remove one or two of the earrings, will they be separated? Or still permanently fused forever?

i assume it wouldn't revert otherwise Old Kai and Kaibito would have done it by now. remember that Old Kai's been fused with an old woman for hundreds of years

No, removing the earrings does NOT nullify the fusion.
Source - http://universaldragonball.wikia.com/wiki/Potara_Earrings
Quote from the wiki -

The earrings have the ability to fuse two people into a single entity, substantially enhancing the abilities of both individuals. The resulting fusion lasts forever, even if the fused being removes the earrings. However, there is one instance where the Potara Fusion will be nullified and restore the fused being back to their original forms, which is when they are sucked into an environment that would not support it (as seen with Vegito being absorbed inside Buu).

Edit: I've found a quote of Elder Kaioshin, stating that the Potara earrings are meant to be eternal-lasting.

Context: Elder Kaioshin gives the Potara to Goku Elder Kaioshin: “Here! Put
  this Potara on your left ear! [ ] Put the other one on Gohan’s ear.
  Just by doing that, you two will be able to merge together! Like with
  Fusion.” Goku: “Huh! Re-really!?” Elder Kaioshin: “Of course. And
  what’s more, the effect is greater than with Fusion! This has been the
  trump card treasure of the Kaioshins since long ago.”

source - Chapter: 501 (DBZ 307), P6.2-6

Context: Goku asks how long Potara-based fusion lasts
  Elder Kaioshin: "The Potara don't have such a weakness. It's eternal! You'll never return to normal again!"

source - Chapter: 501 (DBZ 307), P11.6
Edit 2 -
As jphager2 has mentioned in the comments below, after using the Potara Earrings, they can then be removed & re-used to fuse 2 new people, we've never been given information about the possibility of 2 fusions being able to fuse, and the only information I can find on it is speculation.

Switch over to referencing the episodes. Old Kai, Old Kai and Kibito, as Memor mentions.  And add a picture!

Hmm... It seems like an answer to me. But! It did not stated in the original source, the quote was apparently a fan theory. I was hoping for a real answer, either theory or what, as Axelrod said, referencing to the episode like Memor-X did, it's more convincing that the quote from the wiki. But anyways, I will upvote your answer, I'm hoping for an edit soon :)

@HappyFace I've edited my answer to provide quotes with sources.

@jphager2 We don't see any fusions fuse, but we do see multiple sets of fusions.  Perhaps this can be touched on in Super.

@HappyFace And now it's done!


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Why do many anime include pocket watches in them?
I have not seen a lot of anime, but some of the ones I have seen have pocket watches in them. Noir, Phantom, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Steins;Gate all have pocket watches of some sort in them and are usually an important piece at some point in the anime. How come many anime include pocket watches in them? Thanks.
These images are from Noir, Steins;Gate and Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom.

Note that with FMA, the approximate historical time-frame that the author had in mind probably justifies some use of pocket watches. This also depends on the shows one is watching; I don't think I've seen any pocket watches lately in the shows that I've watched.

Why do many anime include pants? Most of the ones I have seen have pants. Pants are usually important, too, in that not having pants is a telltale sign of a show actually secretly being Strike Witches.

@senshin Touché, but there are many shows with a low pants density which aren't secretly Strike Witches, e.g. Mari Mite, which averages 1 pants / season yet has a rather low Strike Witchosity.

I'm not an expert on Japanese culture but if I had to guess, there are some symbolism involved.
1) A pocket watch became popular after World War I and it was one of the expensive items being imported into Asian countries. It was valuable and was something that can be inherited.
2) A watch symbolizes time; past, present, and future. It represents the character's past (usually dark and sad in anime), present (struggles) and future (final goal, whether it's a bright one or inevitable death.)
That's what I think.

In addition to what monty_bean said, a watch does show the symbolism of time, but it's far more significant with a pocket watch, which can have more meaning, such as the engraving on the watch in FMA.
A wristwatch just does not carry the same emotional gravity that a pocket watch does; it would register more as just a fashion accessory or something to tell the time with. The significance of the watch itself wouldn't be nearly as present.


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How did Luffy get the scar on his chest?
There's a debate going on how Luffy got the scar on his chest but I recently seen episode 223 where Zoro and Luffy we're fighting and Zoro gave him that scar. Then for what reason is there a debate on how he got his scar?

It's debatable because after that seahorse arc when Zoro sliced luffy the 'X' mark on Luffy's chest was not shown. So it's assumed that nothing has happened to Luffy at that time. While during Marineford War when Akainu punch past through Jimbei's bodys and also hits luffy 2 years after the timeskip the 'X' mark was shown for the first time. If I were I Odda I would prefer Luffy get's a scar from his enemy than his own nakama. It's more badass from a character getting a scar from a formidable enemy because that scar will remind him of an important event that happened at that time. ;)

Yea that would be better and thanks for the explanation

Also note the scar is not a clean cut like a Sword would make (specifically like the one Zoro got from Mihawk), but very wide, and of varying depths, like a bad burn would be.

I remember a cover of a manga chapter where someone asked where the scar came from and Oda (or whoever wrote the answer) confirmed it was caused by Akainu

I think Luffy got the scar during Marineford War. It's on Vol. 59 Chapter 578 and Episode 487.
After his brother Ace died, Jinbe carried him and tried to escape to Akainu. Jinbe jumps into the sea but finds the water below to be frozen. Akainu manages to strike Jinbe and harm Luffy at the same time. Jinbe apologizes to Luffy for letting him get injured.

It can be seen in this image that Luffy's chest is burning after Akainu's punch past through Jinbe's body.
One Piece Wiki also did mention how Luffy got the X-Mark after the time skip

After the Timeskip
After those two years, a few things have changed. Luffy wears an open, long-sleeved red cardigan with four buttons (which shows the X-shaped scar covering most of his chest he received by then-Admiral Akainu), with a yellow sash tied around his waist, somewhat reminiscent of Gol D. Roger's outfit. He has grown slightly taller and is shown to be significantly more muscular due to his training. This can be seen in his slightly thicker neck, more pronounced deltoids, and better-defined chest.
(Emphasis mine)

It's in episode 223 when all except Luffy and Robin has no memory of becoming pirates. Zoro gets hypnotised by a memory thief and attacks Luffy. In the fight, Zoro uses his Katana and make a X mark on Luffy's chest. That is how Luffy got his scar.

No, he got it later on. As you can see after that episode Luffy still has no scar on his chest, and that episode is filler as well. The right answer is already accepted,

It was well-known that the Red Dog's (Sakazuki/Akainu) Magma Fist hit the Luffy's chest several times. The most crucial piece of evidence is that in the Fisherman's Island, Zoro and Luffy said that when the Red Dog was promoted to Fleet Admiral, Luffy subconsciously grabbed his chest, and it is obvious that the pain caused by the Red Dog is still very clear. So in summary, the scar on the chest of Luffy should be left by the Red Dog. Luffy will definitely let him pay back 100 times in the future, together with Ace's share.


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When is Haikyuu season 3 release date?
I'm wonna know when will be the release date of the season 3 of Haikyuu. It says that its in this fall or in the later part of this year. But if someone know the date can you share it with me?

Haikyuu should be released as a fall anime. There is still enough content left for the 3rd season. Both manga and anime have been well received.
Haikyuu Season 3 in fall. Not sure if this can be taken as an official confirmation though.
Though content for 4th season might not be enough so they might decide to take some time off and release OVAs.
Manga Volumes for Haikyuu. 1-17 Covered by first two seasons and only 3 Volumes left. Manga spoilers and Season 3 speculation below

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

It's official, Fall 2016. (from Haikyuu Anime Official Site (Japanese))

Cool. Good to know. Haikyuu has been one of the best fall anime for 2 seasons now.


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Where does the term Wud come from?
In the series Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil, magic users are often referred to as Wuds.
What does this term mean? Is it an acronym or an abbreviation?
Or is it supposed to be some other thing?

It's likely to be a shorten version of ウィザード (Wizard) -> ウド (Wud). It could also be a throwback to the expression  独活の大木 (うどのたいぼく、"Good for nothing").

Wanna write up an answer for this, @ʞɹɐzǝɹ? Or do you feel you don't have enough material to go on from?

The word is likely to be an abbreviation for Wizard (ウィザード), but there is a bit of allusion behind the name.
It is a tricky one to explain and requires a bit of exploration into the Japanese language.
There exists an expression there, "うどの大木:"

"Great trees are good for nothing but shade."
大きな木々は、日陰以外には役にたたない

This refers to the Japanese spikenard (known as 独活, "udo"), or "mountain asparagus," referring to how the older, larger plant being of no use, except when it is young (and tender), where it is typically used for consumption in cuisine)
It's likely that the creator used the expression to allude to the state of Wizards in the series' universe, useless (good for nothing) fellows (as mentioned by certain character within the series).
There is speculation that there might be even more uses of allusion, but there are no solid sources to corroborate it:

オズ (o-zu, as in Wizard of Oz) → オヅ (o-du, or o-zu, depending on romanization) → ウド (u-do, translated as "Wud")


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Does Issei actually sacrifice his arm
In High school DxD, Issei "sacrifices" his arm to get the balance breaker form. But what does sacrifice mean here? He still has his arm and he can still control it.

Basically what happens is that as you said, Issei gives his arm to the dragon in return he get balance breaker. the arm that he traded is now belowing to the dragon, no longer a demon, that is why he was able to hold the cross or the holy water without being hurt in the fight between him and the phoenix.afterwards, the dragon power starts to take over his arms which stops him from having his normal arm and akeno had to suck out the dragon energy for issei could do whatever and not expose that he is a demon.
long story short, he has control over his arm but if akeno wasn't there, his arm would literally be the arm of the dragon
Hope this helps

Noteworthy that Ddraig and Issei are fused until Issei dies. So for all effects they are two essences in one body. (removing the sacred gear kills the user).

From what i understood, is that his arm is no longer human, it is the one of a dragon, that's why akeno sucks the energy from his hand to give it back it's human form.


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Is Itachi Shinden a separate anime series or part of Naruto Shippuden itself?
I have followed Naruto only via its manga and, barring a few episodes, I haven't seen much of the animated series. Considering that the manga ended almost a year ago, I am very much out of the Naruto universe.
Few months ago, I came across some posts that mentioned Itachi getting a separate anime series of his own, with trailers of the series uploaded on YouTube. Today I saw some amvs  titled Itachi Shinden and a part of the episode which has Shisui and kid Itachi fighting the ANBU.
A few internet searches yielded that Itachi Shinden is actually an animated adaption of the novel of the same name. However, I couldn't find whether it's a separate series that was being talked about or part of Naruto Shippuden fillers.

A related question: http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/30579/3578

Itachi Shinden is in fact a part of the Naruto series. The myth is that Itachi Shinden will have its own anime, this is not true. Itachi Shinden will be an arc attached to the current Naruto Anime. In the current anime of Naruto, Itachi's life has been shown while he was active in the ANBU, however, the new arc introduces a new look to Itachi's life, his personal life. Not much is yet known but it's definitely an arc of Naruto seeing as it was also created by Masashi Kishimoto.
Anyway, I hope this helped you find your answer.


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Why is Midori referred to as green-skinned, when she's not that green?
During the anime and the manga, the author refers to Midori as green-skinned, in fact, even her name means green. But she doesn't look obviously green:

I would expect a name like Aoi instead if there was some leeway - http://www.omniglot.com/language/colours/japanese.htm
In the manga there is a panel with RGB codes, I thought I'd color her in just to make sure it wasn't an anime adaption problem & I removed the shading:

Midori's skin is hex value #85D8D0 or RGB (133,216,208). The green component of her skin is only 8 units larger than the blue component. Thus, even without my subjectiveness, she can't be considered green-skinned. Several color-focused websites classify the color as Cyan, not a shade of green.
Is there some reason for this - maybe based in language? Why didn't they just say she was cyan / aqua / turqoise? or even, blue?

Think of it this way, Midori is what the Japanese would refer to as a "Gyaru."
One of the more popular styles of gyaru is "Ganguro", characterized by their deeply artificial tan and dyed/bleached hair.

Green skin might refer to her natural skin color. It's likely that she chose another hue as the bronze shade of typical ganguro gyaru is too similar to her original color. After all, ganguro gyarus are not only into radical fashions radical fashions, but also radical makeup. So some order more radically different shade makes sense in this context.
You make the mistake in thinking "midori" can only refer to the kanji [緑]{midori}. If your are unaware the kanji [青]{ao} refers to both the color blue and green (more commonly the former nowadays). Another way to write this kanji is 碧. While typically pronounced "ao," many people take it as a given name and pronounce it as "Midori." The name here might be use in an ironic sense (character design wise), like calling a black cat "White."
Cyan is a greenish-blue or a light blue color. This fits her character and name in two ways:

When tanning your skin color you have to take into account your natural tone, unless you are painting over it completely
Her name is a bit of a pun on her complexion, she's both green (underneath) and blue (outside)

i thought Ao means Purple. . .

@NamikazeSheena purple/violet is murasaki (紫).

but  but i played Ao Oni . . .  and their color is purple :c

@NamikazeSheena whose color is purple in Ao Oni?

The Oni(s) of course

What does this have to do with the dictionary definition of Ao (青)?

Japanese has multiple words for the color turquoise:

ターコイズブルー  (turquoise blue) this is used for dominating blue or neutral
ターコイズグリーン (turquoise green) this is used for dominating green.

The green part in ターコイズグリーン isn't 緑 (midori), but Midori is a common girl's name.
And she is probably called green-skinned, because turquoise-green-skinned is way too long. So they only use the last part.
Source for Japanese words: Wikipedia