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What are the anime censorship laws in the United States?
I have a similar question to ask. What are the anime censorship laws in the United States? There appears to be major culture difference between United States and Japan and I am not sure if that implies a difference between their respective anime censorship laws.

for what it's worth, I presume that there is no specific 'anime' censorship laws, but overarching media censorship laws.

Im not American but it seems to me that almost all Japanese anime are censored by the US government who are afraid of the soft power of Japanese anime. This happens in China too.

@DavidWashington What? That's not at all true! I doubt you can point to a single instance of governmentally-imposed censorship of anime in the US.

@DavidWashington I'm American. The US does not censor anime. The US holds the right to free speech so high that we won't even censor crackpots who spew hatred at the rest of the world. American anime censorship is self-censorship by the American distributors, usually for PR reasons.

Thanks for telling me that, @Torisuda! I presumed that it happened in the US since Snxxden revealed some cover-up stories. I hope this wont make it too political. But, anyways, I prefer to trust on the US government better than the CPC in China.

@DavidWashington Well, the US government does all kinds of shady stuff. I wasn't particularly trying to defend them. They'll sometimes put political or legal pressure on the news media not to carry certain stories, and of course there's the illegal surveillance that Snowden aired out. But government censorship of entertainment media doesn't really happen. And anime is as obscure as obscure gets over here, so it's way under the radar.

The FCC, the government body responsible for broadcasting media, does not have any specific laws against animation that comes from Japan, otherwise known as anime. Because the 1st amendment protects the Freedom of Expression, the censorship laws that are in place and enforced by the FCC in the U.S are concerned with obscenity, indecency, and profanity. The short summary of the law is that, for media to be prohibited to be aired on television from 6 a.m to 10 p.m, it must:

Not be acceptable to the average person.
Depict anything that violates other existing laws, such as child
pornography.
Lack any artistic, scientific, political, or literary values.
Contain greatly offensive language or otherwise known as profanity.

This is arguably vague, but usually if it meets some of the criteria above, it would be permitted. For example, a satirical anime on U.S politics would probably not be acceptable to the average person and can be offensive. However, if it contains a good amount of political value in the work and does not violate any other existing laws, it would be permitted. Even lolicon material is permitted as it meets some of the criteria above, although it is a murky territory and can land you in legal trouble nonetheless.
Note that this is also the criteria used in courts for media in general, also known as the Miller Test.
Censorship are also in place for libel and slander, but it would be extremely difficult for anyone creating anime to be prosecuted for such things as it would have to lack any artistic, scientific, political, etc. values.
The censorship that you see in anime imported from Japan and translated into English are self-imposed. Different studios handles it differently. For example, the infamous 4Kids Corporation would blatantly westernize the anime it imports, replacing Japanese food with American food, removing highly emotional scenes, and much more. There are also non-governmental ratings made by independent organizations such as the MPAA and government imposed ratings such as the TV Parental Guideline. Theaters and TV stations would follow these ratings to show what is and what is not appropriate to show in what timeslot, in addition to the FCC rules described earlier. Keep in mind that these ratings have no legal weight. A TV-MA rated content can be shown at any time of the day and no one would be prosecuted for it. People would probably think less of your network and so TV stations follow these ratings to keep their audience, but it is not illegal to ignore the ratings.
In summary, as long as it passes the Miller Test, it should be legal.

To be clear, the FCC only has jurisdiction over broadcast media. For our purposes, that means over-the-air TV. The FCC does not have jurisdiction over cable, internet streaming, home video, etc.

"Censorship are also in place for libel and slander" - I'm not a lawyer, but I don't think US law provides for pre-emptive censorship of libelous material (i.e. there is no analog to the Censor Board). A party who has been libeled may be able to obtain an injunction preventing distribution of the libelous material, but that's a different sort of thing.

@Frosteeze Wow. Thanks for this detailed answer. I am confused about the following statement in your answer, "Even lolicon material is permitted as it meets some of the criteria above." I thought that material was declared obscene in the 2008 Iowa case Christopher Handley case.

The judge ruled that the law against loli manga was unconstitutional, but yes he kept the charge for obscenity. The clause of the law that the guy was charged with was because of obscenity, not because it depicts sex with a minor. So if this was regular porn, it would still be obscene. And seeing as regular porn is still legal, I still think it is permitted in certain cases. He was convicted because of a plea bargain since they thought the jury would still find him guilty. Other cases involving lolis seems to be dismissed. I will however, edit that to be clearer since you do have a point.


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Which episodes of One Piece are filler?
I want to watch One Piece, but the anime has a lot of filler content not in the manga. I'd rather not watch the filler content and only watch the episodes which are directly related to the plot. To be clear, I'm defining a filler episode as one which is not based on any story in the manga or based on extra manga chapters which have nothing to do with the overarching story.
Which episodes are filler?

This question is taken from this question. I was curious about this myself after completing the One Piece manga, but to keep uniformity between similar questions, I took the same wording as Logan-M had used in his question about Bleach filler.

I wonder how many episodes will be in this list...

There seems to be alot less filler in One Piece than in Naruto or Bleach.  That being said, there have been 12 filler arcs:

Warship Island Arc (episodes 54-61)
Post Alabasta Arc (131-135)
Goat Island (136-138)
Ruluka Island (139-143)
G-8 (196-206)
Ocean's Dream (220-224)
Foxy Returns (225-226)
Lovely Land (326-335)
Spa Island (382-384)
Little East Blue (426-429)
Z's Ambition (575-578)
Ceasar Retrieval (626-628)

Episodes 50, 99, 102, 213, 280-283, 291, 292, 303, 317, 318, 336, 406, 407, 492, 499, 506, 542, 590 are also listed as filler on the wiki.
There are additional episodes that are part of main arc that spend time on (sometimes non-canon) details that aren't significant in the manga.  As this is subject to opinion and doesn't take an entire episode, I don't have a simple list for this.

Just a note:  There are a few cases (such as Usopp vs. Daddy) which are less clearly just filler despite being only in the anime.  Oda intended this to be included in the manga but cut it in order to have them get to the grand line by the 100th chapter.  The key glasses Usopp aquires here are retained in canon and it clearly shows his remarkable sniper skills more than anywhere else prior to that point in the series. Most filler is comparitely poor though.

One piece fillers
^ pretty much tells what what to skip and what to watch:
canon - Watch
filler - don't

and if you're wondering, there are about 96 filler episodes.. (14% of the series)
screenshot ->

source: Stack Exchange

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

sort: votes


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What does Kurome say in AkaKill Theater Ep. 22?
I was watching the Akame ga Kill ONAs, and in AkaKill Theater episode 22, Kurome is constantly pointing out that Akame doesn't get enough air-time even though the series is named after her and talking smack to her.
She then says something starting with Ba-, and is immediately censored. The dialogue goes something like this:

Run: We're just about out of time, so let's at least have a good-
Kurome: Sis. Ba-  * censored *
Everyone is stunned, the display in the back says  "She actually said it!"
Run: So I think, that's enough for today
Akame: (Super Pissed) Kurome, meet me outside

So what does she say?

According to this answer, Kurome most likely said something along the lines of "Sis, you are just like Bakabon" or "Sis, have you heard of Bakabon?" given the context.

以前このスレで妹を斬るの回のアカ斬る劇場でアカメとクロメが話してて
クロメが最後に何て言ってたのか？って話題があったが　あれは多分
「お姉ちゃん　バカボンみたいだね」か「お姉ちゃんバカボンって知ってる？」
のどちらかだと思う。

Tensai Bakabon is another show named after someone who, like Akame, didn't have anywhere near enough screen time for a title character, as it is

Bakabon's troublemaker father who eventually steals the show and becomes the central character.

So essentially, Kurome is mocking Akame for the fact that she has just been upstaged by a supporting character (Kurome herself) for the third time since the start of that episode.

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

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


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What does 'Akame ga Kill' mean and why is it called that?
Just what the title says, why is the show called Akame ga Kill! and what does it even mean? Akame was just an ordinary member of Night Raid, yet the show is named after her. She wasn't the main Protagonist, she wasn't even the main Waifu! And as this unanswered question mentions here, the only difference was:

 She fought Esdeath, the primary antagonist, and ultimately survived.

I googled a bit and came across this link, according to which Akame ga Kill! literally means:

Akame is kill

So what does that even mean? Does it mean that Akame is Death itself, or Akame is Dead (Not physically, but mentally - that she is dead inside). But I doubt that either of these interpretations are correct since she acts all cutesy from time to time.
As another user points out, a general translation would be Akame Kills, but that would be a very stupid name, wouldn't it? So can anyone help clear this up?

Edit: Even Akame knows something's not right (from AkaKILL Theater Episode 24 - END).

"ka" and "ga" are japanese particles. In the Title Akame ga Kill, an object is missing as stated in the accepted answer, The targets that Akame Kills . In this situation "ga" is used because we dont know the person Akame Kills. Also "ga" is just used to emphasized the word Kill, Where as if we use "wa" instead It would emphasize the word Akame. As in "Kore wa zombie des ka?" , which if translated into english means Is This a Zombie? see Functions of Japanese Particle が (ga) http://www.learn-japanese-adventure.com/japanese-particles-wa-ga.html

Fun fact, The manga had Tatsumi say just this to Akame. This actually could change the translation's meaning. He asked her to kill him if he ever lost control. IN romanji, part of that sentence was Akame ga Kiru according to the translation team.

@Ryan Good catch! I searched and found the conversation in chapter 64: Tatsumi said 「アカメが斬るんだ」 ("Akame ga Kirun da") to Akame, which basically is the title drop.

To reiterate, アカメが斬る (Akame ga Kiru) means "Akame cuts/slices/kills".
Kiru also has another meaning: "to perform surgical incision", though the kanji is 切る in the case of this definition.
This aligns well with the settings of the series: the goal of Akame and her group is to perform the necessary surgery on the corrupted empire by eliminating the tumors.
What is missing in the title are the objects, the targets that Akame kills.
In episode 1, Tatsumi said 「俺が斬る」 (Ore ga Kiru), which means "let me kill (her)" or "I'll kill (her)".
Even though there was no object specified, we could infer whom Tatsumi would kill.
As for whom and what Akame kills, アカメが(Xを)斬る, the object X can be any of those in the chapter titles.
Granted, it wasn't always Akame who did the killings, but she is actually a personification of Death (see explanation below) because her lethal and efficient one-cut-kill is befitting of Reaper's Scythe.

Does it mean that Akame is Death itself, or Akame is Dead (Not physically, but mentally - that she is dead inside).

Actually, that is my thought exactly.
In episode 24,

 Esdeath remarked that Akame is no longer human.
 It makes sense because Murasame's one-cut-kill doesn't work on non-human beings, or more precisely, beings without a beating heart, which is why Akame didn't die after cutting herself with it because she became Death.
 Also at the end, Akame said "I can only kill" because that is her newly acquired job as Death.
 Najenda and Akame, the only two survivors of Night Raid in the anime, actually symbolize Life and Death, as shown by them wearing capes of opposite colors and carrying out opposite roles of constructing and destroying for the new empire.

Akame was just an ordinary member of Night Raid, yet the show is named after her. She wasn't the main Protagonist, she wasn't even the main Waifu!

Princess Mononoke is also named after San who is not the main protagonist, even though Hayao Miyazaki had originally preferred the title The Legend of Ashitaka and even went as far as creating a new kanji for legend (sekki).
Although Akame is not the main protagonist, like San, she is still indispensable to the plot, especially in a symbolic way.
Why not name the series Ore ga Kiru or Tatsumi ga Kiru?
Well, because it wouldn't be as intriguing as Akame ga Kiru.
The readers would get hooked on who is Akame and why does she have red eyes, the literal meaning of akame.
(In Chinese, it so happens that there is a phrase 殺紅了眼 to describe a person who goes berserk from killing too many people that his eyes turn red.)
At the risk of reading too much into the material, it's red eyes and not black eyes because the story is full of the so-called "leftist" ideas, hence the oft regarded color of the left.
Subjectivity aside, the ordering also matters: a is both the first letter in the English alphabet and the first character in Gojuuon, so Akame ga Kiru will pop up earlier in searches than the alternatives.

The question I had is "why did they translate 斬る (kiru) but leave が (ga)?"  Based on this response, the answer appears to be "'kill' is one valid romanization of きる (kiru), and also coincidentally happens to be the correct English translation, which someone thought was cool".

About political colors - in the US, Red is conventionally associated with the right, or at least Republicans, to my knowledge. Is this different elsewhere?
Also, do you think that was intentional? If so do you have more evidence? It seems like reading into the material a bit much to me, but I'm intrigued if there's a fuller argument out there.

@moegamisama The association of red with communism is pretty much international, even in the US people are familiar with the term "red scare". I don't think that is intentional, just coincidental, but I like to tell what I've observed and what I might like to believe were true, and I specifically used the word "subjectivity" to denote that one is free to choose what to believe in, just note that there is no objective claim anywhere I can find. My argument is to entertain, not to claim the truth but something that is probably not falsifiable.

This is straightforward if you know Japanese. 斬る kiru is a verb meaning "to cut", with the specific nuance of "to kill with a blade". Which is what Akame does, which is why the show is named "Akame ga Kiru", which means "Akame cuts" or "Akame kills with a blade".
The English title "Akame ga Kill" is a fortuitous coincidence owing to the fact that the Japanese pronunciation of English "kill" is also kiru, and "kill" means more or less the same thing as 斬る kiru.

I googled a bit and came across this link, according to which Akame ga Kill! literally means: Akame is kill

No, that guy was wrong (or perhaps a master ruseman). There isn't any interpretation of the title under which it could mean "Akame is kill".

As another user points out, a general translation would be Akame Kills, but that would be a very stupid name, wouldn't it?

What's stupid about it? That's what the whole bloody story is about - Akame (and the rest of Night Raid) killing.

Now, as for why Akame specifically is the title character, that I don't know. But it is the case that she is the one most wont to killing with a blade (as opposed to, say, a gun or a fist or whatever). Would the title make as much sense if it were "Tatsumi cuts" / "Tatsumi kills with a blade"? No, because he doesn't do that all that much.
Given that they lampoon Akame's lack-of-main-character-ness in the show, I don't know that there's too much to read into this. Maybe she's the title character because the artist liked drawing her on the manga covers or something. It's not like the reason for her being the title character needs to be particularly deep.

It's stupid because she isn't the main character. If it would've been Tatsumi Kills or Night Raid cuts that would've made much more sense.

According to Wikipedia, Akame ga Kill! translates to Red-Eye Kill!:

Akame ga Kill! (Japanese: アカメが斬る! Hepburn: Akame ga Kiru!, literally meaning "Red-Eye Kill!")

There is basis for that, Red = Aka 赤 (アカ) and Eye = Me 目 (メ)
As you can see, the katakana for Akame is used rather than the hiragana since it's used for a character's name so it's describing her perfectly: she has red eyes.
As for the last part, kiru (斬る), while one could just pass it off as a crappy translation to English because it sounds like kill, it apparently does mean kill:

to kill (a human) using a blade (sword, machete, knife, etc.), to slice (off), to lop (off), to cut (off)
Kanji in this word
斬: beheading, kill, murder

Source: japandict. Alternated sources to support: wiktionary, Glosbe.
All of these definitions seem to point to a sword being used, which is what is depreciated on the cover of volume 1:

As for why that name, I haven't watched/read the series and can't answer, but I dare say your linked question here asking why she's the title character may explain that part (when it gets an answer), however I posted this answer (while incomplete) hoping that it would help someone complete the answer.

Well, actually I wouldn't go so far as to relate this to some person she has killed or whatever.
I rather think that the sentence "Akame ga kill" could loosely be translated to:

Akame has killed.

Following this thought, one could say that it just means all kills and bad things the Night Raid did were pinned on Akame, as Akame in episode 24 suggested.
She could be the symbol for all sins committed by the Night Raid.
Instead of making the title "The Night Raid has killed", the title refers to the future and reflects the impression of the uninvolved people such as the villagers from the hometown who still think Tatsumi is alive; they aren't as informed as the soldiers or the revolutionaries and so it would be possible to make them believe all crimes had been committed by the sole Akame.
Well that's how I interpret the title.

I think you're on to something there.

Akame ga Kill, is a dark thriller with a male protagonist, that being said, a lot of media regarding dark emotions doesn't have the main character's attributes in the title. The title references the theme, and is in third person from the protagonist's point of reference (They don't necessarily need to say the title out loud in the media).
In the title "Death becomes her" Bruce Willis is the protagonist, kinda dark. "She lives!" is about a cancer patient with the BF as the main character and he tries to make her life meaningful in the short time. These types of stories almost always have the main character identify with the titular character and at some point accept them for who they are.
"Akame Ga Kill" is the main Character's Tatsumi's statement at sometime in this series which ultimately came from his experiences living with a family of assassins; it also can reference to the point that his main inspiration kills/cuts/incises(as in surgery). Tatsumi has to redeem his friends as well as the innocents killed by the evil empire, Akame kills the evil empire, so killing the evil empire has become normal. It is to reference the main theme, and is a clever enough title to reference many themes in the story.

Simple. You say Akame isn't the main female character. To me she is. Maybe the mangaka felt about it like this as well but just didn't want to put too much attention on her either since Tatsumi is the main character overall. Think about it for a second. Akame gets the most in depth background story of all the female characters in the anime. She's by far the most interesting one as well. Also, the anime ends with her standing at the end dealing the final fight. Not Tatsumi. Not Mine. Not Sheele. Not Leo. No. Akame. So therefore, Akame ga Kill.


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Did Kirito lie about being the *best* beta tester?
I watched SAO on Crunchyroll, where the subtitles for episode 2 have Kirito saying:

I made it higher than anyone else during the beta test.  The reason I knew the bosses skills is because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors far above us.

At the time, I just accepted this as "Kirito is just that good," which was born out by his skills and abilities later on in the series.  After all, someone had to be the best.
However, this question claims he lied during that speech, and I've since checked the dubbed version, where he says

During the beta, I made it to floors that were higher than any of the other testers.  That's a fact.  I knew about the boss 'cause I fought tons of monsters with way more sword skills on higher floors.

The implication of word choice and tone in the dub does sound like the kind of exaggerated bragging that gamers do when they're claiming preposterous things, but the subs don't convey that to me at all.
Is there any information showing whether he was actually lying?  Was he just a good beta tester (possibly in the lead group), or was he really significantly above everyone else?

@ton.yeung - that's one reason I prefer subs.  But I'm also not the most perceptive, especially when it comes to subtleties of Japanese culture, so I'm willing to accept that I just didn't pick up on it.

it's not impossible that kirito really made it higher than anyone else. during beta testing there would only be limited players and in the nature of MMO, other players might have been doing other quests on other levels when kirito got to the most recently available level in SAO and then the beta testing came to a halt.

I've checked the Japanese anime dialogue: he really does claim to have gone "ascended to where nobody else could" (rough re-translation), and the way he's speaking is consistent with arrogant bragging. He doesn't re-emphasize the truth of his statement, unlike in the dub, and the phrasing in his last sentence is a bit different. The Japanese dialogue in the first sentence is "俺はベータテスト中に、ほかの誰もとうたつできなかった　そうまでのぼった。", if that's of use to anyone. (I know this is an old question)

You can think that's a lie, but not totally.

I made it higher than anyone else during the beta test. The reason I knew the bosses skills is because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors far above us.

There are two possible interpretations of his claim:

Kirito made it to higher floors than anyone else.
This is incorrect, because you cannot go to higher floor without defeating the boss first. And, after you defeat it, everyone else can go to the next floor through the teleport door.
Kirito have more experience than others.
This is probably correct, because from Light Novel Volume 1 - Chapter 2:

 The two months of beta testing were like a dream. At school I thought endlessly of my skill set, equipment, and items. I ran all the way home as soon as school ended and dived till dawn. The beta test ended in the blink of an eye. On the day my character was reset, I felt a sense of loss as if half of my actual self had been cut away.

Because of this, you can assume that Kirito had spent a lot of time on the game,  maybe more than others. Maybe he compiled more floor map information than other players... maybe, he knew more mobs, but he couldn't know mobs or bosses from upper floors. All information which Kirito knew was also available for other beta players if they tried to view it (maybe, but unique quests were unlikely to be made public).
There's no info about boss defeat in beta, but there probably wasn't any boss defeated by Kirito only (but that's my opinion).

+1 for the first point, i totally forgot that floors can be skipped so one doesn't actually need to track all the way. also with Beta Boss Data the Wikia has info on some (can't remember the page) however it seems to suggest that some Beta Bosses were changed on release

Didn't he also mention during the fight the weapon used when low hp was different, it wasn't a nōdachi? That was why he called out the warning to begin with as I recall. By that statement, he couldn't have known the skills because the boss wasn't even using a nōdachi like the book the beta testers wrote said. It seemed like a plot hole that no one but Kirito noticed it wasn't a nōdachi, but a talwar, being a life or death fight and all.

The information about the weapon are a nōdachi comes from the book from beta testers. That's because on these floor on beta test, that's the weapon used. Kirito only noticed it, maybe talwar isn't used on a boss on beta test, only on some semi-boss on the floor, or noone of the tester who defeat the boss using talwar on the beta are on the fight with the 1st floor boss. If you read, aparently, only two testers are on these fight, diabel (who are apparently waiting for the last attack bonus) and Kirito.

He was a Beta Tester. Klein identified Kirito as one in the first episode before Kayaba trapped all the players. The Sword Art Online Wiki also confirms this:

Early in the official version of the game, he noticed and identified Kirito as a beta tester, and asked to be taught the basics of fighting.

However, what Kirito was lying about was how far he got during the Beta testing phase. In fact, he only got to the 10th floor during the Beta, which was about as far any of the Beta Players got:

One of the lucky 1000 players accepted into the closed-beta, Kirito logged hundreds of hours of playtime. He, along with the other top players, were able to reach the 10th Floor before the beta had ended.

Source: Kirito: Sword Art Online Closed Beta
Also, the article on Beta Tester says

The beta period lasted until the August 31, 2022 and the beta testers managed to reach the 10th Floor by the end of the beta.

In both instances, it says that they reached the 10th floor, not cleared it.

However, as cited in my question that you link to, during the scene, Kirito claimed that (emphasis mine):

Kirito: I made it to floors not even the other Beta players could reach.

What he claimed contradicts with the information from the Wiki, so I think Kirito is lying about his progress.
Also Kirito seemed to be out of character when he acted stuck up and looked down at the other Beta Players as he compared himself to them and accepted the term Beater. So while Kirito is one of the top Beta Players, I believe he was lying about his own progress during this scene1.
1 This is based on watching the anime. I have not read the light novels.

@ton.yeung on the Wiki i link to the reference says "Volume 1 said that it was the 6th Floor, but this was retconned to the 10th in the Progressive version of the story.", i liked to hope a Wiki's references are correct

I edited the question a bit to clarify what I'm getting at.  Basically, the dubbed version implies something which I didn't get from the subbed version, and I haven't seen the novel form to know how that weighs in.

I always figured that, if he was lying, he was doing so to focus more ire on himself than other testers.  "Screw those other guys, I'm the top player.  I'm the one holding out on everybody."

Yes, Kirito did lie. Before Klein tried to log out, he said that he reached till floor 8 in 2 months. About the term "beater" in the extra edition of SAO, the guy said that he accepted his fate just to keep other beta testers from being hated.

I think that he lied in that scene because he wanted to get all the hate towards him. He must've did that to make betas not receive so much hate. But, he could have meant he leveled up wayyyy higher then other betas. Though I still think he did that to make the betas receive less hate and not to brag.

I believe he made this statement to try and remove the hate towards other Beta testers and direct it at himself.

Ok, I have an idea. This was the beta, right? So wouldn't there be bugs? What if he wasn't lying about advancing past other beta testers? What if he found a glitch a way to pass floors with nothing stopping him?
Also what if he fought the bosses, but merely got them low and claimed he beat them. But just before killing the boss he would leave, but not without reward. Because that reward would be knowing how to fight and beat the bosses. The boss would live to continue keeping the gate closed for other testers. So perhaps he did go to other floors farther above. And since it's the beta, the bosses may be easier to fight. They may have the same abilities in the alpha but their attack damage and maybe attack speed had increased. Or maybe more HP and less damage but maybe the room itself worked against you. Like hidden traps for the boss to push or somehow get you into.
So, in conclusion, I believe that he did make it way higher than other beta testers but in a way that made it impossible for them to progress without finding that glitch. Being able to advance levels just before killing the boss. Maybe even acquiring new items. I don't believe that you'd get a plethora of items at the start of the game. But seeing as he said previously that he was imagining item builds means that he may have more items then just beginner items.

Maybe he did actually get higher than the other beta testers. In the anime when Kirito claims that he made it to higher floors than any other beta tester it shows a map of Aincrad flying by in the background. As the map pans by you can count the floor levels highlighted in red. If you count the floors it ends up at the 29th floor. This appears that if he was saying he went to higher floors than any other beta tester he wound up on the 29th floor without passing it. Although this does not confirm if he really did end up on the 29th floor or not, I think it can be assumed that he is claiming he went to the 29th floor.
This also maybe just a cool background that the anime chose to show to represent the idea that he has made it to high levels.

Welcome to Anime & Manga! While we all appreciate your contribution it's better not to answer old posts when you have nothing to add or contradict. It's also better to include relevant sources and/or information in your answer.

That's essentially impossible, based on SAO rules and info from LN / Anime / Wiki. If one player can go to one floor, then, all players can go to these floor. If you read my answer you can understand this better.


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At what age did Kakashi Hatake become a Jounin?
This answer on Yahoo! says he became a Jounin at the age of 13, which makes him the youngest Jounin.

I have heard a lot of chatter on the subject, but I've never seen the answer stated outright (or with any proof). The youngest I've seen reference to was Kakashi. He was a chunin at 6, a jonin at 10, and joined ANBU Black Ops at 13.
Itachi, on the other hand, became a chunin at 10 and became a Captain of ANBU Black Ops at 13. He's still pretty amazing, but Kakashi was younger.
Sources:

http://naruto.wikia.com/wiki/Kakashi_Hatake
http://www.absoluteanime.com/naruto/itachi.htm

Is it true that he is the youngest Jounin? What is his real age when he became a Jounin?
The magic number starts from at the age of 5

13 is correct actually. In Naruto, not Naruto Shippuden, I remember vaguely that Kakashi was speaking with another Jounin and Kakashi made a comment about how he was already a Jounin at Naruto's age. Not posted as an answer purely because I am lazy to go and find that one episode out of like 220 in search of that one line.

Kakashi became a Genin at the age of 5 and Chunin at 6.
Obito became a Genin at the age of 9 and Chunin at the age of 11.
It was around the time when Obito became Chunin that Kakashi was promoted to Jonin.
Obito then "died" at the age of 13, which was almost two years after his promotion to Chunin.
From this thread on narutoforums (emphasis mine):

It is impossible for both Kakashi and Obito to have been 13 during the Kakashi Gaiden, because there is at least a confirmed 4 year age difference between Kakashi and Obito when they were confirmed to both be Genin teammates during the Chuunin Exams. They entered the academy the same time, and they all graduated the academy together as teammates. Kakashi was at least 4 years younger than both of his teammates at all times. There is no possible way that Kakashi was a 13 year old Jonin during the Kakashi Gaiden.
At this idea that he was 13 isn't even supported in the databooks, either. It's time we all got our facts straight. If Obito died at 13, then Kakashi was most likely 9 during the Kakashi Gaiden. It is impossible for these two teammates to have ever been the same age.
Kakashi was 13 during the Kyuubi attack on Konoha. There is a 4 year difference between the events of the Kakashi Gaiden and the events of the night Naruto was born.

Also, from the talk page of Obito Uchiha on Naruto wiki

Obito-Kakashi timeline is based on the anime mostly and pre-chapter 599 manga/databook stuff. Kakashi graduated the academy as 5 years old, Rin and Obito as 9. Obito is 3 years 7 months older from Kakashi. They all took the same Chunin Exam, with Kakashi having managed to become a Chunin in it at the age of 6, while Obito age 10 failed. Obito trainer hard, took the next exams and became a Chunin at 11. Obito got crushed by boulders as 13 years old, that means Kakashi was 9-10 at the latest in the Gaiden. Kakashi is now 31 so Obito died as 34.

As for the youngest Jonin part, no one really knows how many official Jonin are there. If I remember correctly, Itachi wasn't officially declared as a Jonin. He got into the Anbu after he became a Chunin. So Kakashi might be the youngest Jonin. There is no definitive answer.

Edit (courtesy of @Merrice Henderson):
There is evidence that Kakashi made Jonin the same year that Obito and Rin made Chunin. This is an exert from Obito's wikia page:

Eager for Rin's attention, Obito trained relentlessly, eventually rising to the rank of chūnin himself. His excitement was short-lived as Kakashi soon afterwards became a jōnin, once again earning Rin's praise and Obito's resentment."

So, Obito was confirmed 11 when he became Chunin. If we go based on the theory that Kakashi is 4 years younger (which I am more inclined to believe), then he was 7 when he made Jonin. That would effectively make him the youngest Jonin of all time. If Kakashi was the same age as Obito and Rin, there are a few years that need to be accounted for, like:

"Who was he teamed with after graduation while Obito and Rin were still in the academy?"

"What happened to Kakashi's other teammates, or was he on hiatus for that time?"

After some web digging, I found the exact chapter which mentions about Kakashi's Jounin promotion. It is in the manga chapter 239.
Below are some relevant pages from the manga chapters:

With this new finding, can we say that Kakashi became a Jounin at the age of 9, given the fact that he was 4 years younger than Obito, and Obito was 13 in Kakashi Gaiden. Thus, we can confirm that this website and the Yahoo answer which say that Kakashi became a Jounin at the age of 13 are wrong.
About the youngest Jounin, it is still a mystery.

Yes, Kakashi was already a Jonin when he was 13. I don't want to spoil you, but there is an episode where his former teammates gave him presents for his promotion to Jonin.
However, he may not be the youngest Jonin, because Itachi Uchiha became Chunin when he was 10, and at 13, he was already the leader of an Anbu unit. So he might have become Jonin somewhere between the age of 10 and 13, which means he was younger than Kakashi when he became one.

But, Nowhere its mentioned that Itachi became Jonin. And, there's no reference that only Jonin could become Anbu member/captain.

That's why I said that he "might" bot be the youngest jonin. It's just a specilation.

I think Kakashi was 10 years old when he became a jonin because there was a couple of evidence for example one is when Minato is talking Obito the story of how Kakashi's dad died. Minato specifically said "Five years ago".Then in other chapter or on the anime there is one episode mostly about Obito, but in one scene he tells his grandma he is five years old, that means Kakashi should be around his age. Mostly because they look the same age. Then later on Kakashi's dad kills himself. Just leaving Kakashi being five or maybe six years old. So if you don't know your math five plus five is ten.
Also I don't think Obito and Rin are about 4 years older than Kakashi because they were in the same class in the beginning and they did not look any older. Also if they were older, when it should the flash backs when they were in the Academy, they would of looked really similar to what they looked like in Kakashi Gaiden.
Episodes 119 and 120 are the episodes of Team Minato (Minato, Kakashi, Obito, and Rin) going to destroy Kannabi Bridge. In episode 119 Minato tells the story about why Kakashi was the way he was. In episode 415 Obito tells his grandma he is 5 years old. Later on in that same episode he goes with Rin to a Youth Ninjutsu Competition. There Kakashi, Obito, and Rin look exactly the same age. But if I'm wrong and Obito and Rin are about 4 years older than Kakashi, why was Kakashi not one year old. But sorry I'm putting to much of my opinions. On episode 119, around 13 minutes and 24 seconds Minato says “Five years ago” when he is going to tell the story about Kakashi, so you can check that out on the link below. Also, on Obito's wiki page it says he is exactly Kakashi's age in Naruto Shippuden.
Sources:

Episode 119
Episode 415
Obito Uchiha

According to the Naruto online, from bandai ingame quiz the correct awnser is 12.
It says thats the official game and lots of the stuff is correct but something are not totaly correct and this one falls in that catogory

SPOILERS BELOW.
Kakashi was in anbu for the span of 10 years (in the anime)
 This was after Rin died when he was fourteen (he was promoted to jounin at 13 like the person above said the same year Obito died), a year after Obito's death. Minato wanted to keep Kakashi closer to him after Rin died.
In the Anbu filler side stories,four years pass when he meets Tenzo and he's already Captain of Team Ro by then. This puts him at 18. Four years because Hiruzen BSs the reason Yamato be transferred out of Root by saying,"the kyubi Jinchuriki is already 4 years old and we'll need the wood release user to control the kyubi if we need it" and since Kakashi made anbu the same year Minato died and Naruto was born four years had passed since then putting him at 17 or 18 when he made Captain. So far all together it adds up to 6 years. Itachi joins anbu at 10 (In the anime idk about the manga but the anime sub has a passing comment from Yamato about 10 years being the youngest anbu ever) and was made captain of his own team by 13. This is another 3 years. 6+3=9.
He stays one more year (That's 10 years in Anbu) until he's forcibly demoted because his friends are concerned for his mental health. The first batch of students Kakashi (he should be 24) fails for not grasping teamwork.
The second year (he should be 25- Neji Ten Ten and Lee graduate this year since they graduated one year ahead of Team Seven and train under Gai)he fails another team.
Right around the time a third set of his students: Sakura, Sasuke and Naruto graduate he's 26 which adds up to The Naruto Wikia page and the three year timeskip into Shippuden when wikia says he starts off as 29
Please correct me if I'm wrong ahaha or if my math went stupid somewhere. I was trying to figure this out too by braindumping

Kakashi became Jounin at the age of 13, but if Kakashi is 4 years younger than both Obito and Rin, how could Obito attacked Konoha at the age of 15?! Also, Obito didn't attack Konoha after almost dying, there was a 2 year gap.
So, long story short, Kakashi and Obito are of same age.

Can you provide canon references to support your statement, Kakashi became Jounin at the age of 13?

Itachi was never a jōnin. He entered ANBU as a chūnin. ANBU is chūnin and above, not just jōnin.
While Itachi was an S-rank nuke-nin, and of jōnin level ability, he was never officially made a jōnin.
Imagine how that would look in the clan massacre cover up.
"Oh, look, that ninja the leaf village just promoted to jōnin butchered his entire family bar one and defected! Their highest level ninja aren't even loyal!"
Yeah. Danzō Shimura may be an asshole, but he isn't that stupid.
Kakashi entered the academy with Rin and Obito but graduated at 5, meaning he was obviously moved class.
He became Minato's apprentice and would likely have taken the chūnin exams (which he passed at 6) with a team who had lost a member. (Team rotation).
It does not mention the specific age that Kakashi became a jōnin but he does say that "by Naruto's age" he was already a jōnin, meaning he was definitely younger than 13.


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What is Saika constantly posting on the Message Board?

I'm on the first season of Durarara!! (Coalgirls Subs), and on the Message Board Saika often posts random words like Love, Peace, Cut, etc. - All of which are subbed except for this repeated character.
Initially I thought that Saika might be spamming with DESU DESU or something similar (I don't know why I thought that), but googling this didn't return any results.
So my question is, What is this word, Saika is constantly spamming the board with?

母 means 'mother', does that make sense in the context?

Well no, like I said Saika just spams with random words on the board. Anyways, thanks for helping out. Mother seems to be the correct translation.

You will understand the meaning later.

Going back and re-watching the scenes a couple of times, I came across this. It's a 1-second scene with the 母 character subbed as 'Mother'. Missed it the first few times.

母{はは} (haha) is the Kanji for 'mother'.

Can it be read as laughter then? Or does have a different meaning in this context? I've watched the entire series and I'm not sure it's not just randomness because some characters are like that, but it could also be a calling to the parent sword which infected this person. Could you clarify this in your answer?

@Hakase I'm afraid I can't you help there since I've never seen the anime. I was just commenting on what the Kanji means. I'm also not aware of the character being used for laughter but that doesn't seem too far fetched and I'm not an expert on 2ch culture ;) Apparently Kalilz knew more about it?


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How does Haki work?
Haki seems to not only affect the Devil Fruit user, but also all the other weak enemies. What is the mystery behind it? It seems like willpower but there are so many different types. I have read through One Piece Wiki but I still haven't got a clear picture.

Haki is a power that lies dormant in all the world's creatures... "Presence", "fighting spirit" and "intimidation"... It is not different from the things that humans can naturally sense such as these... 'The act of not doubting'. That is strength!
— Silvers Rayleigh explaining Haki to Luffy at the start of his training

What we know is that Haki is a manifestation of inner strength/willpower/spirit.  It is similar to chakra/ki/Nen.  It has not been shown or implied to be usable in any way besides the three know types. It is a latent ability in sentient beings (and that we know of only sentient beings) that exists in the world of One Piece.  I do not mean spirit as another word for ghost but instead soul/essence/life energy/determination.
There is no implicit mystery behind it or rather I did not pick up on hints that there is a secret.  It is a physical/spiritual law of that universe that does not really exist in this one.
The reason it works on logia users seems to be that hitting with one's spirit will hit their spirit.  Even if their body has been turned to flame by their logia, hitting their spirit will still do damage and turn their body back it normal.  Any more explanation of this would require an explanation of the nature of a devil fruit (which I don't fully know but Oda and Vegapunk do).
Some fans have been speculating as to whether Haki without understanding Haki is the cause of some of the more outstanding displays of ability in the early series but this is not confirmed. This includes Pell's survival, cutting steel, anything Oda calls "heart" etc.  That is the only thing I know of that can be considered an outstanding mystery.
There are three types of Haki and they can be read on said wiki:

Observation Haki/Mantra allows the user to detect the spirit of other people.  It allows him to detect where they are and predict any attack they are about the throw.
Armament Haki which hardens a weapon/skin/clothing of the user at will to protect against blows.  This allows the user to hit with his spirit and hurt logia users that are immune to normal blows with their fluid state.
Conqueror's Haki allows the user to force his will at a distance towards others.  This can induce terror in the recipient or cause them to pass out.  Often this is used to convince beasts to flee or follow the orders of the user.  Apparently it can also be used to push away inanimate objects as was done by Shanks on Whitebeard's ship.

In essence Haki is always the same energy.  The powers are to sense it in others, focus and use it in oneself, or push it out of oneself at others.

Haki is indeed difficult to get your head around but you get more detail about Haki when you get more into the series and then you even find out about the Advanced version of the 3 types of Haki I am not sure if you want to know about just basic Haki or Advanced but seeming as the basics of it has already been explained I can explain how Advanced Haki works. Starting of with the Colours of Observation or Observation Haki it can do the same as basic Observation Haki but on a whole other level if trained enough you see around 10 to 20 seconds into the future you could probably train it even more to see into the future not proven yet though so it is really broken. Next Colours of Armament or Armament Haki it has the same effects on devil fruits like basic Armament Haki but with basic Armament Haki it is pretty destructive but with Advanced Armament Haki when you punch an object the blow comes from the inside so it is destroying things from the inside out and also proven by Luffy you don't even need to touch the object or person to actually hit them so basically someone can dodge your attack barely but they will still be hit from the inside out I haven't looked that much into the Advanced version of Armament Haki but I heard that it is basically pouring your Haki into the object or person and that is what attacks them from the inside I actually don't know if this is true I just heard that's how it works. Finally we have The Supreme King or Conquerors Haki the Advanced version allows you to imbue  Conquerors Haki into your weapon or fist/arm basically like Armament but with Conquerors you can use the clash between Gol D. Roger and Whitebeard for this as an example again like Armament don't know too much about Conquerors Haki but that is how it works and what I know of it now Luffy can also use this form of Haki as well so you see him use it and that is about it for the 3 types of Advanced Haki pretty confusing for the last two since they have only been shown recently so we will just probably have to wait after Wano to get a better understanding of it.


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Why did Kurama keep helping Naruto?
As I was browsing through an old question, the answer shocked me. It seems that if Naruto were killed, Kurama would just revive. Then why did Kurama give Naruto some of its chakra when he was on the verge of death? For instance, when Naruto first summoned Gamabunta while falling to his potential death, Kurama gave him some chakra and helped him out. Wasn't Kurama's dream to break free from Naruto? What's the need of breaking the seal when he can just let Naruto die and he is free? He did push Naruto to the point of opening the gate when Naruto fought with Pain. Why not just sit tight and let Naruto die? Did I miss something? All this while I thought if the host dies so does the tailed beast.

The reason might be because if the Jinchuuriki dies, the bijuu will indeed be set free. However, the bijuu will also "die" first. The bijuu will "die" first before reviving itself after some time. Where it revives might also be random, as seen in Isobu's case. Isobu, or more commonly known as the Sanbi, revived itself after its host, the 4th Mizukage died. It revived itself in a lake.
Now, Kyuubi might want to avoid this. There are three possible reasons for this.

Kyuubi had half of his chakra sealed in the 4th Hokage with Shiki fuuin. Because of this seal, even if the Kyuubi had revived itself, it would have revived with only what he had during the time he was sealed in Naruto.
Kyuubi dislikes the idea of having to die first. Kurama's nature is a bit prideful, so that fits.
The half of Kyuubi that was sealed in Naruto was the less sinister half, and Naruto had the power to attract people, so this half might have taken interest in Naruto ever since Naruto used his power to defeat Haku.

Kurama is quite a prideful one and wanted to defeat the Jinchuriki and gain control instead of simply dying.
Jinchuriki were shunned and outdasted by people because of having a beast sealed in them, or needed an extremely strong person to keep the bijuu sealed in them and several Jinchurikis in the past couldn't control their emotions and the tailed beast broke free.
His hatred for humans was immense and he took great pride in belittling them. Naruto was quite impulsive, so kurama gave him his chakra to make his presence felt which would make naruto seek more and more.
In the encounter with orochimaru at the tenchi Bridge, kurama is shown belittling naruto, trying make him submit himself and seek his power.
Then in the progressive battles where naruto is emotionally broken it tries to takeover naruto through his hatred until finally it almost broke free in the battle with pain after naruto was hopelessly broken(thanks to the fourth hokage, the attempt failed).
So to sum up,Kurama's sense of identity was strong, for him naruto was just a cage that held him. Almost like HE WAS NARUTO, not some enslaved creature that donated power as and when asked.  Like it looks, his identity was very strong and being sealed didn't stop him from being what he is, THE NINE TAILS, THE MOST POWERFUL BIJUU.He showed his ominous presence and didn't want some puny human to defeat him in any form.


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What is the context of this Hunter x Hunter reference in Inou Battle manga chapter 2?
In chapter 2 of Inou Battle wa Nichijou-kei no Naka de manga adaptation, we can see that the middle panel makes a reference to Dragon Ball's meme "It's over 9000!". The line was actually "It's over 8000!" in the original Japanese manga, and this explains why Andou only counts up to 8000. The censored word is Scouter, which is the device to measure power level.

However, I don't recognize the reference on the left most panel. Searching for the censored word reveals that it is Menthuthuyoupi from Hunter x Hunter. However, I don't read the manga, so I don't understand the reference.
Which scene from Hunter x Hunter does this reference come from? And what is the context that makes it worth referenced by another author?

The first reference, "Bankruptcy Chapter 7," is referring to one of Knuckle's abilities. Doing so, he lends his opponent some of his nen, but while they use it, they are charged "interest" on it, meaning they have to repay that much nen back to him.[1]
The reference here is that the male character is wondering how long it would take for Bankruptcy Chapter 7 to completely "bankrupt" her chuuni powers from her.
This is explicitly seen in a fight between Knuckle and Youpi (for short), during which Knuckle uses this ability on Youpi. It is revealed that Youpi has excessively high levels of nen. Knuckle states, comparing Youpi to the "boss" (Morel)[2]:

Five times what the boss has? Ten times? More? I can't tell! Assuming he's ten times stronger... with 700,000 aura... how long will it take before he [is hit by Bankruptcy Chapter 7]?

This is reinforced by a quote on the Wiki:

Menthuthuyoupi is an Enhancer. Knuckle estimates the size of Menthuthuyoupi's aura to be at least 10 times greater than Morel's, or at least 700,000.
  — Hunter x Hunter Wiki, Menthuthuyoupi

The reference here is just made to compare the scathingly high levels of Youpi's aura and drives home that her chuuni power is supposedly... over 700,000.

[1]: Explained in uber depth in episode 90, starting around 4:00.
[2]: Stated in episode 112, starting at 11:51.

+1. It is also there in the panel, but what is Bankruptcy Chapter 7 supposed to be?

@nhahtdh It refers to one of Knuckle's abilities which is designed to rob a user of their nen aura. I've added this, and some references, to my answer.

In addition to what @Killua said (being a hunter himself, he knows better!), there's possibly another reference from the Hunter x Hunter manga.
When I saw this question, I immediately remembered the panel below. In it, Shaiapouf (aka Pouf, the guy in the left side of the panel) is complaining that he and Menthuthuyoupi (aka Youpi, the muscular one in the right side of the panel) have the "same level of thinking". Pouf has a more complex (and supposedly more rational) way of thinking, while Youpi is a simple-minded guy.
So, in both panels there's a comparison of some ability involving Menthuthuyoupi's level on it, to the shock of the one compared with him. This is not the unique reference to a Hunter x Hunter specific scene in this manga.
See the spoilers below for the context of their conversation:

 The "Majesty" in question is Meruem, King of the Chimera Ants, who are supposed to rule over the world as the most powerful being in existence. The King has three Royal Guards, including Youpi and Pouf, and they were breed to protect and help him.

And

 However, Meruem becomes attached to a weak human woman, Komugi (the "she" in the panel), a champion player of a board game called Gumgi - and the "perfect" King was not able to defeat her in the game. Pouf, who are fanatically devoted to the King as an ideal of perfection and supreme power, thinks that Komugi is making Meruem doubt that ideal, so, after much thought, he concludes that she needs to die. While talking with other guards about the question, Youpi simply spoke, without much thought, the same conclusion that Pouf arrived.


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What is the relationship between Natsu and E.N.D?
From what I know, E.N.D is the most powerful demon created by Zeref.
Zeref tells Natsu to choose between life and death. He's practically telling him that he'll have to decide if he wants to live or if he's going to kill himself for the sake of the other’s. He'll want to die instead of hurting his friends.
Zeref said that Igneel wanted to kill E.N.D but couldn't.
So, What is the relationship between Natsu and E.N.D?

"Because we all know that when Natsu realizes that he’s E.N.D" don't you answer your own question here

I don't know if it's true, I doubt he's  not E.N.D.

ahh, ok, just how that sentence was worded it seemed to imply that it was already established that E.N.D is/was Nastu

Well Zeref just told us Natsu = Etherious Natsu Dragoneel. Although it doesn't make sense to me. END's book is still there, so that means the demon isn't summoned, yet we can see Natsu. So he can't be END, yet Zeref called him END... Woot?

"Who will be facing me ? Is it you or END ?" .
Igneel Knows about Natsu . He knows something but he could'nt about it.
this article says about Natsu where Makarov hint about Natsu's Ability .
this
That moment when Atlas meet Natsu.
E: Etherious
N: Natsu
D: Dragneel
About the Prediction
Chapter 373 - Death or Live

Natsu : The Guy Igneel to wanted
  Zeref : to be precise the one he could'nt kill .
  Natsu : *I 'll defeat him *

  Zeref : You can do it .However remember one thing Igneel could'nt kill him.

Only You and End will be able get to me . - Zeref

Fan Art of Natsu Dragneel Becoming END .

So, what are you going to tell that E.N.D is the father of Natsu?

That was a prediction .

But rather i think that Natsu will be the one who posses the Power of END .

Based on the Article you gave to me, says that Natsu is END. END isn't his father, Therefore, natsu is a demon. According to article's : There's story behind this "                                                                                Igneel took him with the intention of killing him but couldn’t because Natsu was just an innocent little boy. The dragon got easily attached to him. So he decided to teach Natsu how to use Dragon Slayer magic and tried to make him a good person."

Your point is ?

END isn't the  father of natsu. Therefore, natsu is a demon

But isn't obvious that Natsu is Demon-END?

Read the discussion it was stated that "Natsu is demon ." but the title of their discussion is "END and Natsu's Parents" right ? basically what I'm telling is that Majority of their discussion is all about Natsu not Parents.

" E.N.D stands for evil Natsu Dragneel" discussion

What I'm trying to say is Natsu is Demon that's all .

I have already read that articles.But why did you answer that "That was a prediction " when I ask you E.N.D is the father of Natsu? even though It wasn't told on the articles.

Maybe I just dont uderstand the question ? or wrong answer rather .

Thank you so much, for answering my questions, natsume! that would be nice topic for us.

Wrong Answer . Maybe . My answer would be like this "Yes , definitely Natsu is a Demon ."

Heh ! Dont you ... dont you .. HAHAHAH

I think this question should be updated by recent revelations as it has officially been revealed that END stands for Etherious Natsu Dragoneel in chapter 416

Well the answer should be updated and not the answer, but still you're completely right

sorry, but, what chapters are this?

In chapter 436 it is revealed that, ...

 Natsu (Dragneel) is the younger brother of Zeref (Dragneel). Zeref's younger brother died a few years after birth. Unable to let go, Zeref researched everything he could find about bringing back the death (R-system), travelling through time (Eclipse Gate) and creating magical beings (Etherious). In the end (pun not intended), he combined all of his knowledge and created an Etherious version of his younger brother, using the original body of that younger brother, named E(therious) N(atsu) D(ragneel).

 On a side note. This does not yet explain why Zeref was holding the book of E.N.D. in chapter 413. By holding the book, it would give the impression that E.N.D. is not yet summoned, which imho contradicts the above.

Lets hope END's soul/powers are sealed in the book, which would explain why natsu has never transformed to END, as right now, he is not actually END, just the Shell of END.

CH 416 blatantly told us that Natsu is E.N.D, I think the book contains Natsu's demonic powers, it would make sense, though I'm wondering why we're still discussing this. Natsu is Zerefs strongest demon

This answer contains knowledge from different parts of the series, especially chapter 416, and up to the current chapter 421. Read it at your own risk.

 It has been revealed that Natsu, or another being inside of Natsu which may be dormant, is in fact END. It stands for Etherias Natsu Dragoneel. Crazy connection right? Though after Hiro Mashima tossed that bombshell, he sent the story into another adventure with a disbanded Fairy Tail: guild master gone missing, guild mates scattered across the continent, Natsu just returning from a two year long training by himself in the wilderness (basically pulled a Naruto) and teaming up with a semi-depressed Lucy, who was a reporter by that time, and had been keeping tabs on everyone in the hopes of the guild reforming.

 The only thing I can connect Natsu and END is his Dragon Force, but even that's far-fetched since the other Dragon Slayers can also enter Dragon Force. However, from what we have seen so far, none of the other Dragon Slayers have been able to stomach other Dragon Slayers' powers and combine them with their own, except for Natsu, which is where his END part comes in. That's the only connection that I can come up with so far. Gajeel had done it too, so maybe he has something to do with Zeref's demons as well. It would make sense why there are the three dragons that talk together, about the three dragonslayers meeting and them forging their own path from now on.

 That and when the series first starts jogging in the "Erza Arc", we can see Natsu ate a rock of Etherias (hint hint) which should have killed him (hint hint) but it didn't. Instead, it just gave him a power up and a massive stomachache (hint hint) in the fight against Jellal who was possessed by a demon of Zeref. The story is now at chapter 421, and those stuffs in the first, second and third arcs are starting to make sense. But as there have been a plethora of arcs since then, you kinda need to go back and re-read it.

Anyway, this is just based off of my observations and what I have connected. If you'd like the refute my findings and opinions in a mature rebuttal you may.

Chapter 416 pretty much confirmed that Natsu is E.N.D, but there is always the chance that E.N.D is some sort of clone of Natsu and Zeref was calling the clone Natsu (I'm just looking on the bright side...). Although the guild is now disbanded (Assuming they don't start it up again) I PERSONALLY believe that the ex-guild members can save Natsu.

Well as far as we know, Natsu is Zeref's brother revived with a forbidden curse. I think that we can say that inside Natsu there is something he is not aware of. No matter how badly he is beaten up, he doesn't die and his body stays intact, which shows that he is most likely indeed a demon.
I think Natsu is unaware because E.N.D. (the book) hasn't opened yet and so the etherious power inside Natsu is present and protects him while he himself doesn't have to do a thing. Also I think that as soon as E.N.D. awakens he will take over Natsu's body, and I think that was what Zeref meant by "Will it be you or E.N.D. who kills me?"  So when E.N.D. awakens and takes over Nastu, Natsu could defeat him with his willpower or he could succumb to him, which would probably mean the end of the world they know and the death of all of Natsu's guildmates by his own hands or something.
This is just a guess though.

I made some edits for grammar. I don't follow Fairy Tail, so if I've somehow changed the meaning of something, feel free to make adjustments back to what you intended.


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What is the gender of Armin in Shingeki no Kyojin?
One of my friends read an article which claimed that Armin Arlert of Attack on Titan is female. Can anyone confirm or deny this?
This article included the following statement:

Q: Out of the group of female characters in the 104th Trainee Squad, who did Mikasa get along with the most?
A: Armin

This related article further states the following:

Isayama has revealed that Armin is a female character.  Now this is a huge surprise for Shingeki no Kyojin fans.  Everyone thought that Armin was always a boy but it looks like she was a girl.

Finally, here's another article discussing the possibility of Armin being female.

Armin is a boy.
There are some reasons worth consideration:

His appearance is male. This isn't always telltale, due to traps.
Armin uses distinctly male language in Japanese. (He refers to himself as 僕【ぼく】 (boku), which is a male pronoun, fairly rarely used by females unless they are traps.)
The Shingeki no Kyojin Wiki refers to him as male.
Armin is a boy's name. (One source, but there's many.)
He is voiced by a male in the English dub. Though he is voiced by a female in Japanese, this is common for young or weak boys (Shinji Ikari, Edward Elric, etc.). However, a male voicing a female character is exceedingly rare, and I doubt the mangaka would have allowed it.

In the article you are referring to, the answers to the questions are actually just for humorous purposes, and should not be regarded canonically. For example:

Q: Mike smells all kinds of stuff, how does a titan smell?
A: They smell like a spa-town.

After this article, Armin was later confirmed to be male by the mangaka himself at a public event found in this Japanese video at 3:09 (thanks @OshinoShinobu):

Q: アルミンの性別はどっちですか？
What is Armin's sex?
A: 男です。
Male.

It's 男です！ I don't understand what he says after すみません… is he negating his answer? Makes me wonder if Hange's relatively ambiguous gender is a joke by the author, too?

@GaoWeiwei He says 「あの、すみません、紛らわしいこと・・・」, meaning "Err, sorry, [his gender] is a bit confusing..."

I would like to point that #3 "Wikia page says so" is not a good reference for almost anything UNLESS it cites sources. Wikia (and wikipeida at a lesser extent) are not canon sources.

@Mindwin I am well aware, and that's why it is among other evidentiary sources.

Don't forget, Goku is voiced by an older lady in the Japanese audio as well.

Armin is confirmed to be a boy in story when:

 He is kidnapped while pretending to be Krista/Historia.  While the kidnappers originally think him to be female, they are... shocked... when they find out he is male.

Makes sense, but dont forget there is such a thing as a Double agent. A female who appears male and acts male, but for the sake of (in this case deception) pretends to be someone else who is female could also be the case that also accurately describes this scenario.

@Ryan This proves that Armin identifies as male while some discussions of this question have assumed that the Armin identifies as female but androgynous appearance and Japanese pronoun weirdness resulted in that being lost in translation. You are completely correct; he could be a trans-man but if that is the case I don't really care.  You could argue that about almost everyone from Hange to Captain Jack Sparrow. So, eh, can we do chromosomal analysis of the manga pages?

Armin is a boy because of his physical appearance. Although a woman plays Armin in the Japanese version of Attack of Titan, the voice actor is a guy in the English version.

Armin is male. It was joked that the girl Mikasa got along with best was Armin. This is kind of a joke on the fact that Mikasa doesn't seem to have any female companion that she likes and also because of Armin's more feminine build and behavior as opposed to Eren or any other distinctively male character.
It is common practice in Japanese production that mild, gentle and physically weaker males are voiced by women as well as young boys. Armin is all of these as a 15 year old intellectual who has been thrust into the position of a soldier because he was alone and scared.


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What are OVAs and how are they different from Specials?
I often see that a lot of Anime series have a few extra episodes. Some are explicitly labeled as Specials, others labeled as OVAs. I get Specials, but I don't quite understand the term OVAs.
I googled, and found this: What is the difference between an OVA and an OAV?, but all I understood from it is that:

OVA/OAV stands for Original Video Animation

Now that doesn't explain much, does it? So my question is, how is it different from other extra episodes (Specials)? Are they the same thing and the producers use the terms interchangeably or something else?

There are some OVA's out there that are straight up non-canon. Completely different art styles, completely different plots. Think of them as authorized anthological fan-fic.

Broadly, the two terms could be interchanged, although there are a few points of (almost) difference:

OVAs are generally released for home video (be that VHS, DVD, or whatever), whereas it's possible for a Special to be released as a television broadcast that is just separate from the rest of the show.
OVAs are often shorter than a normal episode of the show, while Specials are often as long or longer, although this definitely doesn't always hold.
Some OVAs are not associated with a show, so they aren't a "special episode" of anything. For example, the series Video Girl Ai was only ever released as a 6 episode straight-to-video OVA.

Some OVAs are not associated with a show You can say they are a show or even a series in its own right.

Yes, that's kind of the point I was making :)

To describe "Special" and OVA, we need to describe what's "normal" anime.
Usually anime (TV series anime) is broad-casted weekly.
It will continue 13 or more weeks.
It's usually free with Television advertisement (and has eye-catch at center of episode).
TV station have their code: no pantsu scene, no violence scene.
The DVD (or BD) will be release later.
Special (aka TV Special) is not weekly. Usually yearly or one shot.
It's have only one episode but it's have longer length (ex 2 hours).
It's still intended for broadcast. Need to meet broadcast code.
OVA is created for selling (by Video or DVD).
It's intended to the small number of viewer without advertisement.
It means more otaku friendly theme.
No need to follow broadcast code. It's OK to have hard violence scene.
But, in recent time, some OVA was broadcasting with censorship.
On the other hand, some TV series is on air with censorship, and selling DVD (or BD) without censorship version.
The boundary became ambiguous.
Other category is anime movie which is intended to show in theater.
Anime movie is between special and OVA.
The anime Lupin the Third has all TV series version, OVA, Anime movie and TV Special.
In this case, special version is yearly release.

"TV station have their code: no pantsu scene, no violence scene." saying "no violence" may be way to generic as if the TV Station's code is not to air any violence, then Anime like Naruto, Bleach, One Piece and Fairy Tail couldn't be aired (due to violence). i know for certain that some shows with violence can't be aired at particular times due to the audience (this shows with violence are aired much later)

TV station doesn't open the detail of code and we guess it's different between morning anime (like precure), evening anime (like naruto) and late night anime. but for example "Case Closed" draw blood as black instead of red, due to the code that they shouldn't show blood.

OVA stands for Original Video Animation, this means these episodes are much like "Beta-tests." Or they can be anything that isn't related to the Anime itself, for example; In the Anime "Clannad" there is an OVA episode where Tomoyo /Spoilers/ and Tomoya have a romantic relationship, however in the actual series this relationship does not exist, but it does within the OVA. The OVA's are separate from the series, and are usually just a little bonus from the producers, however it should be noted that they are non-canonical and should be treated as such. I hope this can help.

this means these episodes are much like "Beta-tests." Maybe, maybe not. Some series are done entirely as OVA.

should just add that not all are non-canonical, the 3rd season of Maria Watches Over Us is entirely OVA and it is still cannon due to the fact that the 4th season makes references to Yumi's Vacation with Sachiko. also to add what @nhahtdh said, not just Maria Watches Over Us but Baka and Test and Full Metal Panic had an entire season as an OVA and these were released long after the original seasons so they aren't "Beta-tests"

OVA is a fickle idea, and changes it purpose from title to title. The one thing that seems to hold in most all of them is that OVA is much closer to what the original writer invisioned. Some series originally release with OVA because the writer can produce a quality high enough for public release. Others release OVA afterwards, when the project gets more funding, so it can be completed as they wanted to originally, but couldn't afford. Take it as you will.

OVAs are not special episodes, as its own name states: Original Video Animation (OVA) they were made for video consumption and had no limitations (censorship) with the intention to expand the market to a more mature audience. There's also ONA (Original Net Animation) which has been conceived to premiere in the Internet.

It's not clear from your answer how OVAs actually differ from specials. Please clarify your answer and provide additional details and sourcing.


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How/when did Van Hohenheim change his name?
In Brotherhood (canon), Hohenheim was originally just known as "23" or "Slave No. 23" but yet after Xerxes his name became Van Hohenheim.
I'm wondering if there is an in-universe canon explanation of how/when Van Hohenheim changed his name from 23/Slave No. 23 and where he got the name from (I'm not talking about the origin of his name from the writers perspective)

Given that Xerxes disappeared after the nationwide transmutation, perhaps Hohenheim just saw it as more fit to go by Van Hohenheim (which is more of a "name" that "slave no. 23") afterwards? Which seems a little weird though given that he gets his name from Father, who essentially becomes his enemy, and given that we see him mention other slaves of Xerxes having "real" names near the end of the manga/Brotherhood.

I do not know if this was covered in Brotherhood, but in the manga the name Van Hohenheim was given to slave 23 by

 the homunculus Dwarf in the Flask (that later become known as Father) when they first met. Also, the naming didn't have any grand significance. The Dwarf in the Flask just didn't want to keep calling him by a number, so it gifted him a name as thanks for being part of his birth. (His blood was used to bring it to life.)

This happened in episode 40, or chapter 74 in the manga.
Fun fact, Hohenheim was first going to be called Theophrastus Bombastus Van Hohenheim, but the name was too long for him to remember, so a shorter version was chosen.
As I understand it (and as confirmed by the comments), Brotherhood did not change or omit this part compared to the manga.

Good answer! And yes, it is covered in Brotherhood.


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How Can so many weapons from Saito's world exist in Halkeginia?
Saito went to Halkeginia from a portal that appeared in front of him in normal world:

At the time of the summoning, he had just picked up his laptop after attempting to get it repaired in Akihabara.
Walking home a portal of some kind opened in front of him; and Saito's
curiosity getting the better of him, he touched it and was sucked
through.

After this, he traveled to Halkeginia and become Louise's familiar.
But this portal only appeared at Saito's world because Louise used The Summoning spell, to summon a familiar (destiny?). At that time, nobody knew that Saito's world even existed.
So, how can be explained all other stuffs from his world that appeared in Halkeginia? Like all those weapons and airplanes used by him:

SIG Sauer P226

M72 LAW

A6M Zero fighter

Mitsubishi-F-2A

Flak 88 anti-aircraft/anti-tank gun

I didn't read their manga/novels, is it better explained there?
(Weapon names and images taken from this Wiki).

I remember there being the setting where Japanese people from WW2 getting lost in Halkeginia. That was the reason why there was a plane for Saito to use at the end of season 2. Since there was one such case, it should not be to surprising to have a few more cases.

People and items cross over all the time.
Siesta is a descendant of a Japanese person who wound up there. She actively uses this in her attempts to win Saito over.
There's a Japanese girl's school uniform he gets a hold of (which he has the Princess put on, I think, since it fits her). There's a naughty magazine, as well. The girl who gave it to him thought it was some powerful, forbidden tome.
Saito tries to use the plane to cross over during an eclipse, but turns back to help Louise. The plane probably came through on a similar link between worlds. I vaguely recall the anime suggesting it was probably the exact same event, which occurred periodically every few decades.
In other words, the worlds are intrinsically linked by their nature, and the summoning spell just created a particular forced link. These crossed over relics are used to connect Saito to his old home, let him use Gandalfr powers on exotic (to the others) weapons, and comedic relief (forbidden tome = dirty magazine).


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Can someone own multiple death notes?
I know from this question that a death note could only belong to one person at a time, but I was wondering if the opposite was true--that one person could own multiple death notes. Could, say, that person go around killing the owners of death notes and stealing them in an effort to do something like own all of the death notes?

yes. Light had two death notes after Rem died for example.

Apparently yes, there are rules about how the Death Note works if someone has more than 1. These rules are stated in How to Use: XXIII

Whenever an individual with ownership of more than two Death Notes loses possession to one of the Death Notes, he will not be able to recognize that Death Note's god of death's appearance or voice anymore. The god of death himself will leave, but all the memory involving that Death Note will remain as long as he maintains ownership of at least one other Death Note.

And in How to Use: XXXII

If someone possesses more than one Death Note, by visualizing the victim, then writing down the name in one of the Death Notes and the cause of death in the other, it will take effect. The order however, is unimportant, if you write down the cause of death in one Death Note and afterwards, write the name in the other, it will take effect.

We also see Light owning 2 Death Notes in Episode 25 - Silence and in Chapter 58 - Feelings Within. while the scenes play out differently in both Light becomes the owner of Rem's Death Note after she has died. in Death Note: The Last Name we however never see this as Rem destroys her Death Note in the equivalent scene.
There is however a limit of 6 Death Notes that a single persona can own. This is because only 6 death Notes can be active as it is stated in How to Use: LII, Point 1

In the event that there are more than 6 Death Notes in the human world, only the first 6 Death Notes that have been delivered to humans will have effect.

One can assume "ownership" will not work unless the Death Note is active, so the 7th Death Note can probably be passed around. But when one of the currently active 6 is removed (destroyed or taken back to the Shinigami Realm), the person currently holding the 7th will become the owner.

Didn't Light own two for a short while when Misa Misa was in L's custody and Light was preping to go into custody.  I know that the Shinigami had ownership during that time too so it is a little jumbled and I don't remember the exact sequence of events.

@kaine i was for sure that Rem still owned Misa's Death Note at the time unless your talking about when Light, Rem and Ryuk was swapping around the Death Notes in which case i'm a bit confused too. i'll edit the first paragraph just in case

I was talking about the swapping.  If I rewatched I could figure it out.

Didn't Light own two note books when Rem died? He obtained one from his father and one from Rem afaik

@PeterRaeves your right, i must have been remembering The Last Name where when Rem was dying from having killed L and Watari she also destroyed her own Death Note


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What did the letter really say?
In episode 25 of the new fairy tail season spoilers, doh

 UL sends Jellal and Meldy a letter.

What did the message actually say? My eye sight is to bad to properly read it, but I had the feeling the translation was off.

"as well as finally trusting that a day will come when you can be forgiven. I means never hiding yourself from love, your true battle is still ahead of you... If we can not defeat Zeref. Wizard kind will again be awash in grief. please live on for me... ...and battle on, this journey of your... will bring happiness to all. That is what I pray" this is how I read it, not sure about some word...

Damn the handwriting is even worse than that of mine.

As well as finally trusting that a day
will come when you can be forgiven.
It means never hiding yourself from love.
Your true battle is still aheardsic of you...
If we can not defeat Zeref,
wizardkind will again be awash in grief.
Please live on, for me...
...and battle on, this journey of yoursic...
will bring happiness to all.
That is what I pray.

It is not proper English. "aheard" is not a word, and "your" should be "yours".


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Can someone explain the term "oranyan"?
I had never heard the word "oranyan" before reading this question. The question made it sound like the term referred to a male tsundere.
I searched this site for more mentions of "oranyan", but only found the linked question. I Googled for more info, but the only results I found aside from this TV Tropes page on tsundere and the question I linked above referred to the mythical founder of the Oyo Empire of Yoruba, which I'm pretty sure has nothing to do with the anime meaning of this term. The TV Tropes page just says "oranyan" is another word for "tsundere" which "is sometimes used to refer to a male tsundere character—incorrectly since it means the complete opposite".
TV Tropes's reputation for accuracy aside, the linguist in me wants to nitpick that statement because of its implicit prescriptivist assumptions about "correct" use of language; for this question, I'm going to ask that answers take the linguist's viewpoint and define "oranyan" as whatever the majority of people think "oranyan" means, and to please explain the situation if no majority definition exists, or if the majority definition differs between Japanese and Western fans.
So, here's what I'm curious about:

What's the etymology of the term "oranyan"?
Is there any basis to TV Tropes's claim that it means the exact opposite of 'male tsundere'?
In the common usage of the term, is there some difference in meaning from 'tsundere' aside from the sex of the character?

I don't know how accurate my answer is because the content described below are taken from discussion and some source.
Source 1 post#422937.

Oranyan is a term used to describe male characters that are rude to everyone, but can be kind to those he loves. The word is derived from "ora" which is supposed to sound like shouting and "nyan" which is equivalent to "meow."

Source 2

Tsukimori Ren in Kin-iro no Corda or Wolfram in Kyou kara maou could be. But is there any other saying? Yes…that is オラニャン[oranyan].
In fact, this was not born in the otaku society, but kogals’ circles. To get to the point, オラニャン is an abbreviation form of オラオラニャンニャン[ora-ora nyan-nyan]. I can’t translate it! オラオラ[ora-ora] sounds like a rude guy’s shouting. Maybe you could hear this in such a delinquent boys’ story like Gokusen, Bebop High-School or something like that. Well, how can I put it…sounds like “Oi! Oi!”?? They would say like 行くぜオラァ！[ikuze, oraa!, let's go, guys!]. オラオラ金出せや！[ora-ora, kane dase ya!, Oi oi, give fucking money, eh?].
Meanwhile, ニャンニャン[nyan-nyan] is actually a cat’s mew-mew. Caught on, haven’t you? Although he is so cheeky and rude in front of everybody else, he would be very sweet to a girl who he loves. Probably he could be still sweet even when others are there. In this case, it might be called as オラデレ[oradere].

Source 3

Contrary to what some may think, there are male tsunderes. Inuyasha, Kyo (Fruits Basket), Shaoran (Cardcaptor Sakura), and Ed (Fullmetal Alchemist) are some examples. They’re sometimes called “Oranyan,” and though not as famous as the female types, they’re certainly there.

Some other character are Len Tsukimori from La Corda d'Oro, Wolfram von Bielefelt from Kyo Kara Maoh!. And if you try to Google like Oranyan anime term, you will see most of the link containing term Male Tsundere (Oranyan).
This justify that the term Oranyan as synonyms of Tsundere for male characters. Since it comes from "ora ora" and "nyan nyan", there's nothing to the claim that it means the opposite of "male tsundere".

A good answer overall, +1 from me. I guess I don't watch enough shoujo since I don't know any of the characters mentioned in the answer, but the two characters from your source do sound just like male tsunderes from their Wikipedia descriptions. Could you possibly edit in at least one other corroborating source?

@Torisuda sorry but i did not get it, what you want me to do.

I'd like another source that gives the same information as your first source, to help confirm the accuracy. I'm asking because I made a big deal in the question about how I wanted a majority definition of "oranyan", so I'd like a little more evidence that this is how most people would understand the word. After making such a big deal about that, I would feel weird accepting an answer that only gives one source.

there are two but one is from discussion so if you don't count then it is one. I will try to find and add another source.

Ah, sorry, I didn't notice the blog link because the two sources ended up in the same quote block. I'm satisfied with the blog link as a primary source and the discussion forum as a corroborating source.

Sorry about that, thanks for your hard work.

It is derived from ora, which is to shout or roar, and Nyan, which is a cats meow. It is the male version of a tsundere, where someone is at first confrontational and off putting, but slowly warms up to them. Just like how Tsundere is derived from tsun tsun (turn away in disgust) and dere dere (to show affection).  It’s an analogy of a lion turning into a kitten.


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What's up with the name "Zerozaki Hitoshiki"?
Inspired by this question asking about the Fire Sisters' boyfriends' ridiculous names, here's another question about the bizarre names that Nisio Isin assigns his characters.
I'm trying to find any hidden meanings in the name "Zerozaki Hitoshiki (零崎 人識)" that relate to his character or part in the story. This character is from the Zaregoto series. The character is a knife-wielding serial killer whom the narrator meets in the second novel and describes as his own mirror image. His name is so ridiculous that even other characters in the book find it ridiculous. I looked up the kanji and the first kanji can be read as "rei", which has a meaning related to "zero". The second kanji is the same kanji that appears in common spellings of the names "Yamazaki" and "Kanzaki". The rest of it just puzzles me. I'm wondering if there are more hidden meanings that relate in some way to his personality or his part in the story.

The 零 kanji has an alternate kun'yomi pronunciation of "ぜろ (zero)." Note that for names, sometimes the on'yomi or kun'yomi for kanji are not enough, because of that, there's what is called 人名用漢字 which are a set of kanji that have alternative readings when used in names. A common example is 田中, which can be pronounced Tanaka, Nakata, Hiroka, Yanaka, and so on.

@ʞɹɐzǝɹ So that's why I so often see names written with apparently weird kanji and annotated with furigana. My knowledge of Japanese is extremely minimal, so this question might be trivial, but I think that 崎 is the same character used in names like "Yamazaki"--could that be part of the joke too?

As @ʞɹɐzǝɹ mentions, the kanji 零 can be read as ぜろ ("zero") and has the meaning "null" or "cipher", as well as "overflow" (as in the word こぼれる). 崎 can be read as さき ("saki") which can become "zaki" under rendaku. It's the same kanji we see in common spellings of the names "Yamazaki" and "Kanzaki" (山崎 and 神崎). I believe this might be to make the word sound more like a real name, like adding Mc- or -son to English words ("Grumpy McSnarlson").
人識 ("Hitoshiki"), the character's given name, is written with the kanji for "person" (hito) and "know" (識) (also seen in the word shiru). Again, I believe the 識 character is just to make the name sound more like a name. The fact that he kills people may lend some significance to the 人 kanji.

I'm hoping people will see this answer, think "Geez, that's awful. I can do better than that!", and post better ones.

Nishio Ishin does a lot  of wordplay in his works. If you take notice his pen name, it's actually a palindrome when romanized. To make the palindromic elements more apparent, it's typically written as "NisiOisiN."

I'm not sure about the Zerozaki part. But looking at just the pronunciation, "shi" in Hitoshiki can also be rendered as 死｛し｝ meaning "death", and as Torisuda mentions, "hito" means person, so together they make "person's death". Furthermore, Hitoshi is an actual name, but Hitoshiki is not and "shiki" can be rendered as 死期｛しき｝ which means "time of death".


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Is it possible to have 2 guild marks?
The What exactly is a guild mark? question made me wonder about allot of things regarding the guild mark.
One of the things would be: Is it possible to have multiple guild marks from either the same, or even other guilds? Or has it been stated that this is not possible somewhere?

i don't remember any mention of it in the manga.

maybe possible. can't tell for sure but evan and hades did have guild mark before forming their own.

@Sp0T didn't Hades and Evan got out from Fairy Tail before they make their own guild?

I don't think it would be possible to have two. They would probably have to have it removed first.

Whether it's possible or not is currently unknown. It has not been revealed in the manga or the anime yet however other guilds will not let any wizard have 2 guild marks at the same time. This will question their devotion to the guild and it will be meaningless to stay in either of them. A guild is a family and you can only have one family.
It is arguable that the guild marks can be hidden under their clothes and nobody would notice. However some guild marks, like Fairy Tail's, is more than just a mark, it is a magic contract too as stated in the link you have given. It has not been shown that other guilds have them but it is possible to corrupt a wizard's magic with 2 different magic contract on their body. Just imagine 2 different natures of magic going on in a wizard's body.

Just saying but the Guild Sabertooth definitely didn't consider everyone as one big family. They were the quite opposite.


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When did Uchiha Madara actually bite Hashirama Senju?
After reading this question, I realized that the time Madara acquired Izanagi, was the same time he got the DNA of Senju Clan from Hashirama. However, after an extensive review on their fight (Episode 626), I can't see where and when Madara bit Hashirama. It said in the wiki that:
"...To use Izanagi to its full potential, users must also have the genetic traits of the Senju, who are also descended from the Sage.."
Now, the question is when and where did Madara bite Hashirama?
How come Madara activated Izanagi (I assume on its full potential) just right after he acquired the flesh/blood from Senju?

I haven't been keeping up with the anime (too many fillers...), so I don't know whether this manga chapter has been covered or not, or if you are even close to it. This was actually shown in one of the manga chapters quite recently.
If you don't mind spoilers, here are links to a few pages from Naruto Chapter 681:
Madara bites Hashirama
Madara uses Hashirama meat
According to Narutopedia:

In the past, Uchiha clan members used this technique during an important battle that they had to win at all costs. However, they soon started to abuse the abilities granted by this technique and as such Izanami was created as a way to punish the abusers of Izanagi.

So, I am guessing that the Uchiha must have performed some experiments. Maybe as long as you have the both trait in body you can use Izanagi immediately, and Madara was aware of this. Since Madara clearly must have bit onto the meat, he must have swallowed some blood, thus having the Senju trait in his body. This is an assumption, though.

Wow. That was the episode I am looking for but I have a follow up question.

First of all, Izanagi has nothing to do with Senju powers. The requirement for Izanagi is that you must be ready to sacrifice one sharingan. If you have more than one, then you can cast it for as much as you have, which is the case with Danzo. The power that is awaken by having both Senju and Uchiha power is Rinnegan. Senju power however, can be used to extend the duration of Izanagi, which is once again, is the case with Danzo.
Now, to the main question, Uchiha Madara bite Senju Hashirama during their fight at the Valley of the End where it was believed Madara was killed by Hashirama. It was actually Madara's Izanagi. Later, when he was nearing his death, Madara awakens his Rinnegan. (Naruto Chapter 681)

Narutopedia states you must have the genetic traits of Sage of 6 Paths, or have both Indra's(Uchiha) and Ashura's(Senju) genes to use Izanagi. Also, Danzo, while having 10 Sharingan's embedded on his right arm, he also had Hashirama's DNA implanted into his arm, thus enabling the use of Izanagi.

Actually, you really don't need Senju's DNA to utilize Izanagi but you need those to fully/completely utilize Izanagi. On Madara's end, you can't use Izanagi for more than 10 secs delay. With that said, he must have Senjus' traits/DNA.

@NaraShikimaru what would happen if you tried to use Izanagi without Senju DNA and what would be the cost for it? Will it still rewrite reality? I didn't know about this bit, I must have skipped it.

@Hououin Kyouma It will still work, but the duration will be shorter than if you have Senju DNA. If you have Senju DNA, you can use it for a longer time, but as to how long, it depends on the degree of compatibility between your body and the Senju cells. The better, the longer you can use it. It was hinted during the fight between Danzo and Sasuke.

Oh, as for how Danzo requires Hashirama DNA to use Izanagi, please do remember that he is not an Uchiha, nor a Senju.

You don't need senju cells for izanagi. Itachi used it on Kabuto. And he has had nothing to do with cell transplanting and whatnot.

Itachi used Izanami, not Izanagi, and the wording of this answer is at best low quality.