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Why do Karen from Yu-Gi-Oh! and Akiza from Code Geass look alike?
Here is Karen from Code Geass and Akiza from Yugioh.

Why do these two have the exact same design? Is there any background story about the character designer?

I'm glad I'm not the only one who can't tell them apart.

There's nothing really beyond the similar appearance which which isn't a new thing as various series have done this, One Piece & Fairy Tail, Parasyte & Yuri!!! On Ice, Hunter X Hunter & One Punch Man (Source)
neither the Yu-Gi-Oh Wikia on Akiza (Last Dot Point) or The Code Geass Wikia on Kallen (7th Dot Point) says anything beyond how similar they are
Akiza's

Akiza bears a striking resemblance to Kallen Kōzuki from Code Geass both sport a crimson theme as well as a similar hairstyle. Personality-wise they are not exact, but similar since they try to isolate themselves from the present society during the story and are hostile to the people they perceive as enemies. They also have possible romantic feelings for the main protagonists of their respective series.

Kallen's

Aki Izayoi from Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's bears a striking resemblance to Kallen; both sport a crimson theme as well as a similar hairstyle. Personality-wise they are not exact, but similar since they try to isolate themselves from the present society during the story and are hostile to the people they perceive as enemies. They also have romantic feelings for the main protagonists of their respective series.

If one was inspired by the other, it would be that Akiza was inspired from Kallen as

Code Geass came out in 2006 by Sunrise

while

Yu-Gi-Oh 5D's came out 2008 by Gallop

but without any further information, i'd say it's just coincidence

Thank you. Great analysis. I don't know why my question was so down voted.

Because nothing under the sun is original, they're just unique in their own ways.
It was probably either a coincidence or an inspiration.

Hiya, while this is possibly the case, it might be better if the answer can be expanded with more info (example: like this answer). Thanks!

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center.

Thank you for the suggestions, but I really can't think of any supporting info to expand my answer. That simple answer on my post is pretty much the only thing that I could think about right now. However, I do know for sure that nothing under the sun is original because those two characters are not the only ones that look similar. I've made over thousands of collages that show characters that look similar or almost identical to other lookalikes in anime, cartoons, and video games, and that's how I know for sure.


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Why did Itachi need to kill every Uchiha to stop the coup?
You'd imagine that killing the most important Uchiha would be enough to stop the coup. Why did he need to kill all of them?
One could argue that he killed them all because even leaving some alive (say, all the weaker male shinobi, and all the women and children) would only postpone a coup until they had regained their strength again.
Okay, sure, but first of all, he doesn't know that for sure yet, and secondly, this means his motivation for killing the Uchiha is not "to stop the coup", he's killing them because he thinks they're inherently evil and will always be a threat to Konoha. But that explanation is inconsistent with him leaving Sasuke alive to restore the clan. So this motivation does not make sense as its inconsistent with his own actions.
In short: If Itachi wanted to just stop the coup, he didn't need to kill the women and children. If Itachi wanted to end the Uchiha threat forever, he wouldn't have let Sasuke live to restore the clan.

I don't think you're wrong to question details of the Uchiha Massacre as iffy. In the first place, it's retold so many times and details change, with some versions making more sense than others. To name a few: the Kakashi: Shadow of the Anbu Black Ops arc, the Itachi light novels, the anime adaptation of the Itachi light novels, etc (and for an example of inconsistency, Itachi killed his "lover" Izumi Uchiha in the light novels, but Tobi killed her in the anime adaptation).
I believe I can answer this particular query regarding why Itachi has to kill everyone, but first, here are some of the problems I found with the Uchiha Massacre which you may also enjoy mulling over.

Itachi's parents saying they're proud of him as he kills them. His father says something like, "You may have chosen a different path, but you're sure of your convictions, so I'm proud of you."

This is gross. I can believe his father not wanting to fight him, but this goes way too far, and it just beggars belief because I don't believe anyone would react this way to their child massacring their own clan (but particularly as Fugaku likely treasures his clan greatly).

Itachi being regarded as a hero for protecting the village.

After the truth comes out, the narrative really tries to sell us on Itachi being a hero. It's repeated again and again. But as you've already noted, Itachi killed non-combatants. He perpetrated an atrocity.

Why doesn't the Third Hokage just meet with Fugaku to try and calm things down?

Though I have done my best to justify this point in this question and answer, it still remains a question we should ask.
To Answer the Question
So the question: Why Itachi had to kill everyone instead of just the combatants.
I will be referencing my answer here, and I will be using the events in the light novels because I think this version of events makes the most sense.
The first thing we should know is that Itachi is not the only actor in play here. The main players we have to consider are Danzo and Tobi. Especially Danzo though.
The light novels make it very clear that for years Danzo has been salivating at the thought of having an Uchiha wipe out their own clan, and that he's been working to make it happen. After the Nine-Tails attacks the village, he works in the shadows to spread rumors that the Uchiha were to blame, which further increases resentment towards them. And he is responsible for relocating them to the edge of the village and he just generally makes the Uchiha feel like the village doesn't trust them. And in Itachi, Danzo sees just the ninja who can bring his long held dream of wiping out the Uchiha to fruition, and he does everything in his power to maneuver Itachi into a position where he has no choice but to kill all the Uchiha to save the village.
As a sidenote, Tobi has also been instigating unrest, by meeting with Yashiro Uchiha and his group of hotblooded youth and riling them up.
Now, onto why Itachi has to kill everyone, not just the combatants. It comes back to a couple of things. First off, the village wiping out the Uchiha would cause major unrest amongst the other clans, as they would wonder if they were next. That's why Danzo wants Itachi to be the one to wipe out the Uchiha. That way it'll look like a lone Uchiha went crazy and that it had nothing to do with the village. So what happens if Itachi starts sparing people and only attacks combatants? It looks like he's not crazy, but rather that the whole thing was a tactical military operation. That's pretty undesirable. Plus, what Danzo really wants is for the whole clan to be wiped out. In order for things to work out, Itachi has to become the villain, and that means he has to act out the part by perpetrating something truly atrocious.
Still, we might wonder why Itachi agrees to this. And that comes down to several factors. First of all, he agrees that there's no other way to stop the coup except by killing the Uchiha. He also realizes that if the Uchiha attack the village, they'll be wiped out anyway, plus they'll take down the whole village with them since it'll be softened up for outside forces. He rationalizes in this manner by saying the Uchiha are done for anyway, so he needs to save the village.
But importantly, there's also the matter of using Sasuke as a bargaining chip. In order to protect Sasuke, Itachi makes an agreement with Danzo and the Third Hokage that Sasuke alone will be spared and that he'll be protected afterwards. With all the Uchiha being marked for execution for their coup, the whole situation puts Itachi at a disadvantage, and that means in order to protect Sasuke, he has to give up on everyone else and do what Danzo wants.
That's the answer. But additionally, there is actual evidence that Itachi despised his clan. We see it in his thoughts when he gets mad at the Uchiha for having no foresight and for coming up with such a stupid coup plan; we also also see it when he throws shuriken at the Uchiha symbol after he's accused of killing Shisui. In that moment, he was fully prepared to fight his accusers, and only stopped because Sasuke showed up. We also see his hate when he deliberately gives Yashiro Uchiha (one of the primary instigators) a painful death.
I don't mean to say Itachi killed everyone because he hated them, but I do believe this internalized hate goes a long way in explaining how Itachi could bring himself to kill all the Uchiha.
Additional Info
The light novels also explains why it wouldn't be effective to just take out the leader of the coup (Fugaku), because that's exactly what Shisui tries to do, but Danzo says it wouldn't work. And that's because the unrest and the coup extends beyond just him. There are a group of hot-headed young hardliners who want the coup to happen (led by Yashiro Uchiha). The whole situation goes far beyond just one person, and manipulating Fugaku (who is actually kind of a moderate, if you can believe it) to keep them in line won't work indefinitely.

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Why do the kingdoms need the 4 heroes, if there are adventurers with levels higher than them?
Supposedly, the kingdoms need the heroes to fight the waves. But there are adventurers with levels higher than them. For example, the shield hero is below level 40 after the two first waves, but the two adventurers he meets later are 52 and 56.
So why do they need the four heroes if there are adventurers stronger than them?

Not writing as an answer because it's been ages and I don't remember the details, but I'm pretty sure there's some mention of the legendary heroes having a particular immunity to the effects of the waves that normal adventurers don't have.

It should be remembered at times the other 3 heroes are called weak and nowhere near as strong as they should be.

It's likely that while some adventurers are higher level, heroes gain level at a fast pace and have a higher final cap in their level and skill.
For example, the difference is if you played an RPG game for a couple of years and got stuck due to lack of OP weapons, then you will always be around that and it is much harder and slower to improve, but if you were given the most OP weapons in the game off spawn, not only would you progress so much faster, you would also be able to beat the stage that you got stuck at because of the insanely OP weapons.
Remember, the 4 weapons are considered some of the strongest.

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How come Mahoraga didn't adapt to Sukuna's pyrokinetic ability?
In this article, you can see how the fight went between Sukuna and Mahoraga. The climax of the fight goes like this:

 Mahoraga is severely injured by this but survives the ordeal. Sukuna knows the only way to beat Mahoraga is to slaughter it with a different technique before it can adapt. He believes the shikigami has not only adapted to dismantle, but to slashing techniques in general. In order to finish the fight, Sukuna decides to unleash the pyrokinetic ability he used to defeat Jogo. He fires an immensely powerful fire arrow at Mahoraga before it can regenerate, creating a giant explosive pillar of fire from the impact that completely annihilates the shikigami.

How come Mahoraga was able to adapt to using Cleave and Dismantle through Sukuna's Domain Expansion: Malevolent Shrine sending an endless barrage of slashing attacks but couldn't adapt to the Pyrokinetic ability (used against Jogo) which incinerates Shikigami with a giant explosion? Does this mean his Fire arrow is more powerful?

Supposedly yes. Please note that by the same technique, he defeated Jogo who was pyrokinetic specialist. Quoting from here "Fire (炎ほのお, Honō?)[10]: Sukuna can create and manipulate flames for long-range attacks by forming an arrow. These abilities exceed Jogo's, an unregistered special-grade curse whose defining trait involves extremely destructive pyrokinetic powers."

So, as of the date this answer is being written, we still do not have any explanations about Sukuna's "fire"/pyrokinetic powers. Sukuna has demonstrated this ability twice in the story, during his fight against Jougo and against Mahoraga.
There could be a couple of different reasons.

Mahoraga was still recovering and adapting to the "Dismantle"(s) launched at it within Sukuna's domain. Sukuna managed to finish off the Shikigami before it could fully adapt. He even comments that he could launch a "Cleave" at Mahoraga, but if Mahoraga's adaptation works for all slashing attacks in general, then it might cause him problems. This compelled Sukuna to use his pyrokinetic abilities. So, the Fire Arrow may not be necessarily stronger; the technique hit Mahoraga while it was still recovering.

The pyrokinesis exhibited by Sukuna could be an "inherited" Cursed Technique exclusive to him. Quite similar to Gojo's "Limitless". This could make it potentially stronger than his regular "Cleave" and "Dismantle" as Sukuna might have had more training and experience using his pyrokinesis and prefers to use it only for tormenting his opponents or as a last resort.

The pyrokinetic abilities of Sukuna may be related to some sort of Binding Vow, which makes the technique extremely powerful (possibly more than Sukuna's Domain Expansion) but can only be used after a specified "cooldown" period.

When faced with Sukuna's slashing attacks within the Malevolent Shrine Domain Expansion, Mahoraga might have been able to adapt because the attacks were primarily physical in nature, involving cutting or slashing. Mahoraga, being a skilled combatant, likely could adjust his strategy and defenses to counter such attacks, even if they were relentless.


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{Spoiler} AOT - When exactly did Eren get Attack and Founding titan from his father?
So in finale Eren says that he directed the titan towards his mother because Bertolt was there and he still was important for things. (So that he survives and Armin takes his power and not some random eldian).
So I understand the context that the time is all at once for Eren / Founding Titan, and not a linear passage which human brain is used to.
So for this logic to work, in Eren's own POV - he has to be actually already in power of both attack and founding titan from his father on the day of attack, before the attack happens.
As per the anime although it comes across as that happens later in the day post the attack, because he doesn't have the key AFAIK when the attack takes place and post the jungle conversation with his father he has the key of the basement thereafter. So this is when gets founding titan and attack titan and this is post initial attack - after the wife/mother is dead.
So two things here,

Even if time is all at once for him and he is literally jumping from one frame to another - therefore when he gets the founding titan he is able to see that memory. But how is he directing that titan to go towards the mother, unless he is travelling in time and can be at any place at any time and it is not dependent on character's own frame reference. For example let's say I have founding titan power, so for me past - present - future is all at once and not in a linear way - but it's my timeline - my POV. Or is it like, I can traverse time and be anywhere in the world, even though me in normal time space haven't gone through that experience. (Am I clear here? In short, am I looking at different time frames based on my POV or I am full on time traveller with independent mode of thinking and travel post founding titan power).

Or the founding titan is a complete master of time who can create own branches of time like sandbox of present and run scenarios at parallel and therefore when Eren gets the power he travels back in time sees everything through in one of the sandboxes and chooses to go ahead with the one where he likes the whole plot. - As it seems he did run sandboxes where he explains this was the best outcome possible and he did consider other possibilities. Even eren spending time with Mikasa in the woods, that scene. If master of time logic is not true which I hope it isn't then he was just spending time with her and erasing her memory like he was doing with multiple others.

My current understanding is founding titan's power allows you to draw memories of everyone who have had the power or will have the power so it's more like memory traversal for founding titan. So more like I can traverse through memory of my past, present and future and all - reincarnations (reincarnations of founding titan). If that's the case confusion still remains.

When did Eren get titans from Grisha. And how is Eren explaining him sending titan towards his mother - please corelate that.

Just a sidenote all the time references that has been shown primarily in the anime - Founding titan's own POV only is referenced and nothing else.
EDIT
Only acceptable explanation in my head is - that eren gets founding titan's capabilities later so now he can travel across his POV, now based on that he redirects titan towards his mother but even then we are not shown Bertolt near that titan who eats eren's mother in episode 1. So when did in Eren's POV this scene even happen because that's not shown to us. He runs towards the house, they are near his mother and then that titan is running towards them. Now only possible answer is Bertolt is standing there in the side lines while Eren is being carried off by Hannes and that's when redirects the Titan towards his mother.

He got his powers the day/week before the wall fell when he ate his dad who had just eaten the Founding Titan and killed the royal family.
I guess that it was when he was older when his head got shot off, not when he first touched Historia that he set his plans in motion. Going back to when the wall first fell as a child, adult Eren was hiding subconsciously telling the Titans what to do.

I believe Grisha transfers the powers of the Attack/Founding Titan to Eren after Wall Maria falls not before. The reason he wasn't in Shiganshina during the fall of Wall Maria was because he was off at the Reiss chapel begging them to act to save those about to die. Failing to convince them he steals the Founding titan and returns to find Eren among the refugees and turn over both titans


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Is Gawain related to Escanor and Merlin?
The Gawain character looks like a fusion of the Merlin and Escanor characters (the strength of Escanor and the magic of Merlin) . The Spanish Nanatsu no Taizai wiki claims she's the daughter of both of them, which I doubt because the English wikia says nothing.
Gawain - Nanatsu no Taizai Spanish wikia
Also, this other article in a prestigious Spanish sports magazine, which uploaded an anime article for some reason, claims she's the daughter of Diane and King Who are the 4 knights of the Apocalypse - Mundo Deportivo
Is Gawain related to Escanor and Merlin? How about to Diane and King?


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How does Mirio Togata manage to carry the energy of Nejire Hado?
Supposedly, the power of Mirio Togata was permeation, but now he's also able to carry the energy of Nejire Hado and punch others with it.
How does Mirio Togata manage to carry the energy of Nejire Hado?

There are 3 possibilities.

Mirio has an ability we aren't familiar with (unlikely)
Nejire can control who her ability is harmful to (unlikely)
It's fiction and doesn't use "hard magic" or set rules 100% of the time. Sometimes writers are liberal with their actions and see how much they can get away with while the reader suspends their disbelief of reality in their made-up world. Push it too far and we question it. This is most likely a case of that.

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How strong is Chi Chi?
How does Chi Chi's strength compare to the rest of the Z-Fighters. Since she managed to train Goten who is immensely strong.
Is she stronger than Mr. Satan?

Chi Chi does not have the ability to use Ki and also cannot fly. Hence, that would automatically make her weaker than the rest of the Z-Fighters. Even in terms of Physical Strength, Chi Chi's power is substantially weaker than even Yamcha.The only fighter she might be comparable to in  terms of Physical strength would be Chiaotzu. She did have a higher power level than him during the martial arts tournament. However, Chiaotzu with his psychic abilities would easily win. Also, Chi Chi was a lot younger at the time of the martial arts tournament and hence must've grown weaker with age.Training Goten doesn't imply Chi Chi is strong. Goku, who is at a Universe busting level of strength, would still train under Master Roshi. Even if Goten is born with massive physical strength, he would require someone to teach him basic Martial Arts which Chi Chi is definitely aware of.If you were to compare Chi Chi with Videl, one can easily conclude Videl is stronger in terms of physical strength and also, the fact that she is aware of using Ki and can also fly. With regard to Satan, it's pretty hard to determine who exactly of the two is stronger. Satan is often underestimated in terms of power when he as a matter of fact, did win all those Tournaments the Z fighters didn't take part in(And only cheated against Android 18). We also see him manage to pull 3 buses just by himself which I highly doubt Chi Chi would be capable to do. At the same time, Chi Chi has way better Martial Arts training in comparison to Mr. Satan.Hence, if the two of them were to fight, I personally believe Chi Chi would most likely win under all circumstances. Mr. Satan is known for underestimating all his opponents heavily and spends half his fight showboating and would easily be caught off guard by Chi Chi. At the same time, Mr. Satan doesn't have the Raw Power to take out Chi Chi in one blow and hence Chi Chi's advantage in technique, might get the better of him.

According to Weekly Jump #31, by the time Chi-chi marries Goku, she has a power level of 130, that would be close to the power level of master Roshi by the time Goku and Tien Shinhan fought, or after Piccolo killed Raditz.
List of power levels
This link Power levels Daizenshuu 7 claims the Daizenshuu 7 states Mr Satan power level is 139, by the time of the Buu Saga (other links claim the same). So Chi-chi and Mr Satan would be about the same, if you take both sources (Daizenshuu 7 and Weekly Jump) as canon. Both sources are probably official (written by someone in the companies which created Dragon Ball), but that doesnt necessarily mean the numbers came from Akira Toriyama's head (the creator of Dragon Ball)

Her PL puts her at 130, which is a little lower than base Roshi at the start of DBZ.
She's still weaker than Yamcha and Krillin even at the end of the original DB as during the 23rd World Martial Arts Tournament when Goku fought Tien, both of them moved so fast that they disappeared with only Krillin and Yamcha being able to see them fight.
Also, Goku at a PL of over 260 after he had killed King Piccolo was trained by Mr. Popo and Kami with part of his training being to dodges lightning which Chi Chi can't do. Scaling to Vidal, her father, it's unlikely Chi Chi is bulletproof to handguns.


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In One Piece, why do the navy call weak executioners to carry out executions?
In One Piece, whenever strong people are executed, the executioners in khaki getups are the ones to do it, even though they are much weaker than the people they execute.
for ex:- At Marineford when Ace was getting executed, the executioners got injured by Crocodile and they still called extra executioners after this. Why didn't Sengoku or anyone else do it? The new executioners weren't even strong enough to stand against Luffy's haki.

For an example :
When Ace was being executed at Marineford, the Fleet Admiral, the 3 Admirals, the Vice-Admirals etc. were placed at strategic locations for the upcoming war with the Whitebeard Pirates.
The Navy knew Whitebeard was gonna make a fantastic entry into the battlefield(not HOW he would enter Marineford). So, it was necessary for all the high-ranking Marines to be ever-ready for war. Naturally, the task of executing Ace was given to the weaker Marines.
This policy is followed in all the Navy executions to be prepared for a fight with the Criminal's NAKAMAS

Nonsense?
This questions begs another: is power scaling in One Piece nonsense? In particular, in the navy?
I believe we can answer this by examining the character of Koby. At the beginning of the series, he is a weakling. Yet, in a very short time, he learns the same superhuman speed technique CP9 was using.
This in turn begs the question of why the rest of the navy doesn't at the very least learn this technique. There are only two possible reasons as to why they don't: the first is that it's kept secret and the second is that they're all just too lazy to do the training. Both of these are nonsensical. The first because the threat of the pirates is so dire that it would be an incredulous thing for the higher-ups to not to be teaching this to everyone. The second is nonsense because these are all men who volunteered to fight pirates. They're dedicated to that cause, and so are the people training them. Granted, there will be a few slackers, but it would be ridiculous if the majority of the marines were too lazy to do training. We should definitely be seeing a lot more navy soldiers using these techniques if Koby can learn it so quickly. Even accounting for Garp being a great teacher or something, and Koby's timetable being accelerated, the other navy soldiers have had years to hone their skills, which should be plenty of time.
And yet, we rarely see marines using these techniques.
So yes, the power scaling in One Piece is nonsense, and that's the reason the executioners are so weak. I would argue the same thing for any series that follows the Sorting Algorithm of Evil trope.
The world is inherently broken. That being said, we can still answer this question with canonical information, which I will do in the following sections.
In General
They call the executioners to execute pirates because that's the executioners' job. The executioners even wear special uniforms, so it's obvious they've been separated from the rest of the marines for this function. It is also important to note that it is not the job of the highest ranking officers to execute captured pirates.
What separates the navy and the pirates (in the navy's mind, at least) is that they carry out justice in a fair and orderly manner. This includes using executioners wearing the proper ceremonial attire and doing things by the book.
The navy wants to project strength and reinforce the idea that they're the good guys in the eyes of the whole world. To do that, it doesn't make sense to have the admirals execute captured pirates. These are the pillars of justice that everyone should look up to. Instead, the dirty job of execution should be left to those specifically appointed to do it.
Executioner Uniform:

Normal Uniform:

Ace's Execution
In terms of strategy during White Beard's attack, it also doesn't make sense to have the admirals execute Ace. Ace is completely subdued, so that's a job that can be done by anyone with the arm strength to swing a halberd. The admirals can instead participate in the battle and defend the scaffold so the execution is not interrupted.
Additionally, it's bad optics for the admirals to do the job instead of the people who are supposed to do it--in other words, by being unable to do things the right way, it would be a sign that the World Government and justice slipped up, which would stain their credibility.

No, there is no such hidden assumption.
I only mean the executioners must be blissfully unaware of the danger of the person  the are executing. As Ace, Roger etc. can easily kill them if it meant their freedom (i.e. under normals circumstances).

by saying new executioners weren't even strong enough to stand against Luffy's haki I meant there are stronger people "available" for marine's dirty work.
Although, I understand the sheer shortage of such talented people. Which is easy to take for granted sometime.

@SuperSaiyan99000 Your hidden assumption is the same as the one in this question: https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/36983/how-did-crocodile-become-a-warlord/37885#37885 and the answer to both questions is that too much power scaling (leveling up with training, etc) makes any story nonsensical. Luffy's haki stops the executioners because the story demands that Ace not die at that moment.  Power/weakness of the characters is simply a casualty of that necessity. And you specifically asked why the navy admirals weren't the ones carrying out the execution. I answered that.

Furthermore, I extrapolated from the existing information in the story. For instance, you believe it is nonsensical that the executioners are so weak. I would agree, actually. Yet, that the executioners are weak is a fact. Therefore, the only way to objectively answer this question is to extrapolate from there. There has to be a reason. And the reason is that the navy does things by the book. There is further evidence of that as well.

Though perhaps my usage of "hidden assumption" was poorly done. After all, I did not actually state what the assumption was. I cannot fault you for being confused. The fault was mine. However, I do not see any error in the assertions I made besides that.

And I maintain that if you're going to ask a question such as this one, you should also be questioning whether the power framework of One Piece makes any sense at all.


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Why were only some Chimera Ants born with immense nen?
During the Chimera Ant arc, why were the queen's elite royal guard members born with immense nen, but all of the lower-ranking Chimera Ants had to get hit by a nen user to get the ability? Especially because the queen herself doesn't have nen.

I believe it was the same reason as to why the ants started to look like different animals: Because the queen consumed said animals beforehand. The guards and Meruem were conceived after the queen had consumed hunters who could use nen, which were Ponzu and Pokkle. The other lower ranked ants had to learn it the way gon and killua did, as they were born before, out of normal humans who couldn't use nen.

Thanks a bunch I really appreciate the help


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Why were the three not recommended as Special Grade sorcerers?
At the end of season 1 of Jujutsu Kaisen, Mei Mei and Aoi Todo recommend Yuji Itadori, Nobara Kugisaki, Megumi Fushiguro, Maki Zen'in, and one other (Toge Inumaki?) to be first-grade Jujutsu sorcerers.
However, the 'main cast,' Yuji, Nobara, and Megumi, had already

killed one special-grade each (Yuji and Nobara killed the two brothers working with Geto) and I believe that the special-grade Megumi killed was stronger than the one that required Yuji to switch with Sukuna earlier in the show. That special-grade was strong enough to (temporarily) kill Yuji). At least, Megumi said he was several grades stronger.

Earlier in the show, it was said (I think by Panda) that any sorcerer would be able to defeat any curse of the same grade. That is, a second-grade sorcerer should, in theory, be able to defeat any second-grade curse. The same would hold true for the other grades.
So if

the three had already killed special-grades,

why were they not recommended as special-grade sorcerers?


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How are Toga and Twice able to say they won’t betray the yakuza to Nemoto?
I think it was episode 74 or 73 of the anime where Shin Nemoto used his confession quirk on Toga and Twice to get them to tell the yakuza the details of their quirks.
However, when he asks if they plan to betray the yakuza, they both say no, even though it was revealed that they were going to in a flashback.
How are they able to say no?

In the flashback in question (Ch 149 / Ep 73) Shigaraki never explicitly expressed intent to betray the Shie Hassaikai (AKA the MHA Yakuza).
Nemoto's quirk Confession forces its target to truthfully answer his questions to the letter. He demonstrates the quirk's power by causing Toga and Twice to reveal the details of their quirks. He then asks the question "does Shigaraki have any plans to betray us?" to which both of them say no. This reassures Overhaul (especially since the League wouldn't have known the Hassaikai had a lie detector quirk they ought to be wary of) that the pair do not know of any plans by Shigaraki to betray them. However Toga and Twice after providing some token help battling the heroes do indeed betray the Hassaikai by helping the heroes defeat Mimic and then skipping out on the alliance. This seems weird given their denial that Shigaraki planned any funny business but its true that Shigaraki never told them to do this, but it might be better to say he didn't need to.
Actually rewinding to the flashback (Ch 149), Shigaraki tells Toga and Twice to join the Hassaikai for a while since their plans seem promising. Both of them are against the idea, Jin hates the Hassaikai for killing Magne and feels responsible for introducing Overhaul to them while Toga finds the idea "unpleasant". Shigaraki brings them around by telling them "I believe in you two", he does not say anything to the effect of "we'll get our revenge", he doesn't have to. He knows that Twice wants to take responsibility for screwing up and Toga dislikes unpleasant things. This is demonstrated in Toga and/or Twice's quote the moment they turn on the Hassaikai (Ch 148) "Shigaraki... I still don't understand what you were thinking at the time. But you said you believed in us. And if that's the case, then for the sake of me being who I am, thinking what I still think... I'm going to do things the way I want". They don't know if Shigaraki has anything planned and they certainly don't have orders so they just follow their hearts and turn on the Hassaikai.
Ultimately Nemoto asked the wrong question, instead of "does Shigaraki plan to betray us?" he should've asked "do you plan to betray us?". He didn't because he fundamentally misunderstands the nature of the League of Villains, unlike the Hassaikai with their rigid chain of command where Overhaul's word is law, the League is nominally led by Shigaraki but aren't expected to follow orders unflinchingly, instead acting on shared understandings and loosely held together by an offbeat camaraderie.

@Gatchwat Ep 73 20:23 “I want you guys to flatter them up close and conquer them” It might be an error with the English subtitles, but that sounds like Shigaraki told Toga and Twice to betray the yakuza to me.

@Daemons so I checked out the episode and the subtitle is indeed that, "I want you guys to flatter them up close and conquer them, I never viewed them as equals", which is pretty sus for them to then state Shigaraki isn't plotting anything. The equivalent line in the manga (ch 148 pg 12) is much shorter "From the beginning they haven't viewed us as equals", which is mainly just Shigaraki saying aloud this was never going to be an equal partnership. I don't know the nuances of the Japanese in question but either way Toga and Twice do express their betrayal is their own call right after.


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Does Cid realise Shadow Garden was completely serious about what they were doing?
In the first couple episodes, when the Seven Shadows tell Cid they’re going to leave to hunt the cult, he thinks they’ve finally realised that he made up the Cult of Diablos (even though he technically didn’t).
Later though, he fights with people claiming to be in the cult, and fights side-by-side with Shadow Garden again. However, he acts like he thinks they’re not following him anymore.
Did he realise they still follow him, or does he still think they’re playing along?

Bold of you to assume he thinks /s

I don't have the chapter on hand, but in some of the most recent chapters Cid still occasionally mentions in thoughts going along with my fantasies. Which would strike me as playing along


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What are notable references in Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan?
Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan, also known as My Deer Friend Nokotan, has a lot of references packed into it.
What are some of the more notable references throughout the show?

This question is a bit too broadly scoped. Instead of asking for everything try to narrow things down to at least an episode.

@кяαzєя Some other questions (like this one) were received well, and are pretty similar.

Again it's the scope. The Eva question does not ask for ALL references, but rather ANY reference. Multiple ppl can contribute answers, but they don't have to cover everything.


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Is Aira actually Acrobatic Silky’s daughter?
In Dan Da Dan, Acrobatic Silky follows Aira because she thinks Aira is her daughter.
This is because when Aira was really young, she saw Acrobatic Silky (who’d just died) and thought she was her mom, and didn’t want to leave her.
Then, her dad found her and pulled her away (didn’t see Acrobatic). It’s soon revealed that Aira’s mom had died before the encounter.
Later, back in present time, after Acrobatic sacrifices herself for Aira, Aira says to Acrobatic something along the lines of,

I was always happy when I was with you

In the flashback, however, Aira didn’t look like Acrobatic’s daughter. Yes, her hair could have been dyed and she was a lot older, but I’ve never seen an anime where colourful hair isn’t natural.
I also got the sense from the flashback that Acrobatic was a single mother, based on how we never saw a spouse, which wouldn't match Aira having a father.
Is Aira actually Acrobatic Silky’s daughter?

Wiki says she has an unnamed mother.

@FumikageTokoyami The wiki also says, “Aira felt sorry for the yokai upon learning from Turbo Granny that she would be forgotten by both the living and the dead once her body crumbled away into nothingness without her aura and ensured she achieved Nirvana by embracing her and acknowledging her as her mother”


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Why are virgins after 30 considered wizards?
I've seen this in some manga I read for a while now, but I've always wondered where it comes from. For example:
in chapter 4 of Tanaka Family Reincarnates. In which the protagonist calls her brother a magician as a way of mocking him, since in his previous life he was over 30 years old and still a virgin.

Or in an anime called:
Cherry Magic! thirty years of virginity can make you a wizard?!
Where the protagonist, after turning 30, becomes able to read people's minds through physical touch.
Among some more mangas, both Japanese and Korean.
Does anyone know the origin of this?? Is it something from Asian culture?

It is an 'urban legend' that when a male virgin turns 30, he can use magic. (Note: in Japanese, different words are used for male/female virgin, and this magician thing applies only to male ones.)
According to this archived site

2001年初め (early) ：自アンにて魔法使い説が認知される - "30-year-old virgin turns to a magician" theory was posted at 自アン
2002/05/14：自アン閉鎖 - 自アン was closed.
2002/08/05：2ch毒男板にて魔法使いスレ誕生 - First appearance of a thread mentioning the magician thing at 2ch.
2002/08/23：スレの杜を始めとするニュースサイトに紹介される - The thread got more publicity due to other news sites picking the thread.

I'm not sure what 自アン is, but seemingly it is an imageboard site like 2ch (currently 5ch). Anyway, over these 20 years, this has become widely known and 魔法使い (maho-tsukai = magician) often refers to 30+ year old virgin in many contexts.

This site mentions Montesquieu's Lettres Persanes as an origin of the legend. It has this in Letter 58.

Un autre vous promet de vous faire coucher avec les esprits aériens, pourvu que vous soyez seulement trente ans sans voir de femmes.
(English trans.)  Another promises you the love of the spirits of the air, if you will see no women for a small trifle of thirty years.

Since nobody can be sure about what the original poster at 自アン had in mind, I guess it's hard to tell if it is originated from Montesquieu.

So is this some kind of Japanese internet joke?

@Aki Yes. It is used (mostly) for making fun of old virgins.


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Could New Order theoretically be transferred One for All style?
New Order, Star and Stripe's (from now on I'll call her Star for quickness) quirk, allows its user to impose "rules" on their environment by touching something, saying its true name (this is important since New Order didn't work on Toumura since he was having an identity crisis and didn't know if he was Toumura, Tenko, or AFO), and what the rule is.
For example, Star could've touched a rock, said "rock", and then said, "the rock will float" and the rock would float. This may be an oversimplification, as there are several conditions, like the perception rule (only applies to living things), the wordplay rule (Star could not impose rules on something she hadn't touched, Toumura explained it as saying, "she cannot say anyone within this specific block of air will die.") and possibly a few other conditions I'm missing.
But would it be technically possible for Star to walk up to someone, say their name (or the name of her quirk), and then say, for example, "New Order will be transferred to XYZ person." Or "XYZ person can now use New Order," or "upon ABC condition or occurrence (for example, Star's death), New Order will be transferred to XYZ person," or does that violate the wordplay rule?


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In Assassination Classroom, wouldn't killing Koro-sensei cause the earth to be destroyed?
As I understand it, the moon was destroyed when a mouse, injected with the same antibodies as Koro-sensei, was killed on the moon.
I am unclear how this could possibly lead to the belief that the world will be destroyed on March 13. Does that imply that Koro-sensei will die on March 13? What is expected to happen, that killing him would prevent?
Wouldn't killing Koro-sensei cause the same problem on Earth as killing the mouse caused on the moon? Wouldn't the solution be to keep Koro-sensei alive or ask him when he is dying to head to outer space?
Why is there a belief that killing him will stop the destruction of the Earth which would be triggered when he dies?
Is there some detail that I am missing that explains why killing him would prevent the Earth from being destroyed on March 13? Could someone summarize the details of the scenario that happens on March 13 that leads to the Earth's destruction?


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Were there any artists that worked on early One Piece episodes that also worked on Seven Deadly Sins?
I’m watching One Piece from the beginning and I’m currently in the Arlong Park arc. Near the end of episode 31, Hatchan has cooked an entire pig for Momoo and it has a strong resemblance to Hawk from The Seven Deadly Sins:

Now, I want to believe this is a coincidence, but part of me wants to know that this artist had a very successful career and worked on both anime. Unfortunately, my efforts to find the list of artists that worked on both shows have proven to be fruitless ventures.

Were there any artists that worked on early One Piece episodes that also worked on Seven Deadly Sins, or is this pure coincidence?

To me, the pig in that scene in One Piece is a pretty generic pig. You can compare with these images of pigs from mangas: pig characters
Also, the Seven Deadly Sins manga was released from 2012 to 2020, while the Arlong Park arc in One Piece was released in 1999 (2000 for the animation). Eiichiro Oda drew that scene without knowing Seven Deadly Sins, and it is hard to imagine that the author of Seven Deadly Sins took inspiration from such a trivial scene.

This would be the best answer, as it rules out the possibility based on timeline. I guess there can be no tribute to the characters of the future if they have not been created yet.

I see https://nanatsu-no-taizai.fandom.com/wiki/Hawk?file=Hawk+Anime+Season+3+Design.png and image share are somewhat different.
While both are pigs, I see Hawk has small nails/hoofs & long ears. There are more differences but I believe you got a bit mixed up - just like me when I read this question :)

Oda often pays tribute to other artists that are relevant at the time of drawing.
Another example of tribute:
One Piece - Naruto tribute
But as pointed out, by Taladris, this cannot be the case as the realted OP chapter was created long before SDS.


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Is there any significance to horse color in the Naruto world?
I'm watching the Naruto spin off titled "Rock Lee and His Ninja Pals" and during episode one, Lee says:

Just think of me as your hero riding in on a black horse!

Tenten then slaps him away and exclaims:

It's a white horse, idiot! Black horses are for the bad guys!

To which Neji follows up with:

Interesting.

Now, I've done some research and Wikipedia makes a similar implication that white horses generally have a positive portrayal:

White horses have a special significance in the mythologies of cultures around the world. They are often associated with the sun chariot, with warrior-heroes, with fertility (in both mare and stallion manifestations), or with an end-of-time saviour, but other interpretations exist as well.

However, I can't find a reputable (to my knowledge) source of information on the common portrayal of black horses. I did find one article that mentions their totems being omens of death:

The black horse totem is an emblem of death and rebirth. Its purpose is to aid you in leaving unnecessary things behind and showing you new opportunities that await. For this, it is required to take a risk and have faith.

Additionally, searches related to horse color within the context of Naruto have yielded no results.
Clarifications
As requested in the comments, the timestamp for when this happens is 6 minutes and 27 seconds in.

Is there any significance to horse color in the Naruto world?
Perhaps we need a tag for the spin off?

Do you perhaps have a timestamp for when in the episode this happens?

@Dimitrimx updated my question with the timestamp :)

Is there any reason to think it's more than the horse equivalent of a black hat vs a white hat?

FYI, there is a tag for Naruto spin off: [tag:naruto-gaiden]

@FumikageTokoyami that is a specific spin-off, unrelated to this one.

@Mary, that's what I'm thinking it is, but I wanted to try and double-check to see if maybe I missed something.

I wonder if it's somehow meant to be correlated to Yin/Yang, white being positive/light whereas Yang is negative/dark


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What makes early One Piece episodes feel so rushed?
I recently took the bold step of starting One Piece from the beginning, and I just reached episode 14 where Kuro and his crew are fighting with Luffy, Zoro, Nami, and Usopp during the attack on Syrup Village.
I feel like the main characters Luffy, Zoro, and Nami, didn't really get thorough introductions, especially compared to Usopp, and this gives a very rushed feel to the early episodes of the show.
The first three episodes introduce one character apiece (Luffy, then Zoro, followed by Nami), and the fourth episode goes a little into Luffy's back story, but not enough in my honest opinion. From here, we meet Captain Buggy and his crew, and episodes 5 through 8 cover the battle between Buggy's crew and Luffy, Zoro, and Nami.
While the Syrup Village arc has done a great job introducing Usopp, I can't help but feel like everything up to this arc are just really rushed.

Does this pacing change in the near future, or does it always seem a bit rushed? Was there a reason for this initial pace?

Related: Is there any particular reason behind why Dressrosa is such a long arc?

I completely disagree. I felt like the first arcs were BORING and LONG, but I see where you're coming from. They combined episodes into one which makes it less time overall. (I am in the marineford arc right now)

The answer from Is there any particular reason behind why Dressrosa is such a long arc? should partially answer the question. Roughly speaking, in the beginning, there are only fewer characters and generally no need for elements incorporated in order to avoid repetition and make things convincing. So the story goes quicker.
Another possible explanation is the "10 episodes cut off" system of Shonen Jump, the magazine where One Piece started (and of course is released even today). Basically, the magazine gathers questionnaires from readers to measure the popularities of the mangas, and unpopularity leads to the ending. In particular, a fresh manga can be cut-off (forced to end, 'uchikiri' in Japanese) in 10 episodes = 10 weeks. This means that a new manga cannot start with long episode so that it can be finished naturally enough in 10 episodes in the worst case.  Today it is a little hard to imagine that One Piece was under such pressure, but considering it is the first series of the author, editors may have had in mind that it could end in 10 episodes.
I don't know how Shonen Jump is nowadays, but the system was notorious for a long time. To my knowledge, Shonen Sunday (famous e.g. for Detective Conan) or Shonen Magazine (e.g. Fairy Tail) is/was more patient.

I think the 10-episode cutoff is a very likely culprit since it's episode 9 that introduces Usopp and starts the Syrup Village arc. Additionally, the Syrup Village arc is 10 episodes, while the Baratie arc is 12, and both felt very well written. Furthermore, I'm now in the middle of the Arlong Park arc (14 episodes), and it feels well written too. So I would gladly concur that the 10-episode cutoff likely had a big hand to play here.

YO! this is how the story goes (quicker).

Also, the universe is just being unveiled for the viewer and the author doesn't want to show that much, only necessary information so there will be more left in the long run. On another note, the One Piece anime follows the manga and there were not that many chapters at start to build on.

This answer only applies to the English dub.
The English dub was heavily edited for the American audience, on of the most famous and obvious edits was Sanji's lollypop as he couldn't be seen smoking.
A less obvious edit is that they combined several episodes together to advance the plot faster, Wikipedia has a comprehensive list of how the original Japanese amination compares to the edited English dub.

I'm not very far myself seeing as I'm on episode 77 but even then, I've met all of the starting crewmates: Nami, Usopp, Zoro, and Sanji. And to put it bluntly: yes, it does change.
We get a whole arc dedicated to Nami that happens right after we meet Sanji, and Zoro's initial back story happens during the Baratie Arc, so don't give up just yet cause it gets a lot better.
And from what I've gathered, it's just like that for the rest of the characters that hold major significance like Brook, Franky, Robin, and Tony Tony Chopper. So it may feel rushed, but it evens out over time.


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What is Toji's "accent"?
I was reading a scanlation of the Evangelion manga and noticed that Toji consistently uses a lot of informal-sounding speech. I chalked this up to poor translation quality — I tend to find this sort of thing distracting — but when I read a licensed translation to English, I encountered a similar form of speech; for example, from ch. 20:

Ikari! Yer not allowed ta look!

Later, Asuka accidentally provokes someone at the arcade. Someone, possibly Suzuhara, tells Toji to talk to the angered man because both have the same "accent". Thus, it seems unlikely that Toji's language is similar to, for example, Shinji's, when he asks Toji "Whadda mean?" after being asked about his exchange with Rei in the same chapter. In other words, it does not sound like Toji's habits fall within the "normal" bounds of variation in how people are supposed to talk.
What is this "accent"? What is Toji's language supposed to correspond to in the Japanese original?

According to this quite old Ask John column, Touji's accent in Japanese is Osaka-ben.

Ask John: What’s the Significance of the Osaka Accent?
Question:
Looking at several anime series, and translated Tokyo TV broadcasts, I am puzzled over the references to the Osaka region. In Cardcaptor Sakura, Kerberos speaks with an “Osaka” accent, and in Battle Athletes Victory, Itchan speaks an Osaka dialect. What makes the Osaka region unique, and how does the rest of Japan view the region? Is it like how California (the land of fruits and nuts) is viewed by the rest of the US?
Answer:
Beside the examples you’ve mentioned, a few other anime characters that speak with an Osaka inflection include Li Kouran of Sakura Taisen, “Kitsune” Konno and Koala Suu of Love Hina, Tasuki of Fushigi Yuugi, Kiiro Iijima of Iczerion, Nicholas Wolfwood of Trigun, Tarta and Tatra of Rayearth, Matsuko and Shige of Tonari no Yamada-kun, Touji Suzuhara of Evangelion, Ten from Urusei Yatsura, Tomoko Hoshina of To Heart, Momiji of Yamamoto Yohko, and Aiko of Ojamajo Doremi.

You can see in the second paragraph that Touji is listed as a character who speaks with an Osaka accent.
Eva wiki and TV Tropes corroborate this. According to the wiki, the accent Touji speaks with in the English manga was supposed to be a New York/Brooklyn accent, which was also used to translate Osaka's accent in the Azumanga Daioh manga. In Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai and many other shows, a Texas or Southern accent was used.

It's Kansai dialect (Kansei-ben), also called Osaka dialect (Osaka-ben). Everything is a bit different, but you can generally grasp what they are saying, so there isn't really any need to have him talk to the guy. In the first place, people with this dialect always speak like that anyway, so if it was like that nobody would be able to understand Touji.
It's like American and British English. With American being the Kansai one. So it's like a British guy asking an American friend to talk to the angry American.


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How a Jonin ensured that they can pass their genins as there should be only 9 graduates?
Kakashi told the group that there is 66 per cent failure rate, that means only 9 of the 27 academy graduates can pass. And it's in the hand of jonin who is instructing a group of 3, whether he/she want to pass his group or not. So what if all jonin want to pass their group, then how the failure rate would be maintained in that case?

Is that an absolute limit, or an observation?  Does it actually mean that only nine can pass, or that (on average) of a class of 27, nine will pass?

The latter one, of a class of 27, nine will pass.

Which episode/chapter is the from? I don't read the manga, but I don't recall this scene every showing in the anime

Naruto season 1 episode 4 at 7:04

The rate is a measurement, not a rule. If the 27 students had passed, they'd all become genin. The 66% rate is just the statistics considering the rate of graduation up to that point.


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What did Nezuko do to help Tanjiro in his battle against the older brother spider?
So in episode 19 of the anime Nezuko is told to wake up and to help Tanjiro. She does something, because some flames appear but it's unclear what happens, what exactly did she do? How did she help Tanjiro exactly?

She uses her Blood Demon Technique - Exploding Blood to ignite her blood that was splattered over Rui's webs. This incinerates the threads that where about to cut Tanjirō and also ignites the blood on Tanjirō's blade which allows him to cut off Rui's head.


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Could Zoro challenge shanks?
Zoro wants to be greatest swordsman.Shanks was mihawk greatest rival.Thereby,it shall be possible Zoro end up having a duel with shanks when luffy will get to meet him.

You're asking us to speculate about future events, and those kinds of questions are off-topic here. Of course he could, because whether he actually will is impossible to say unless it actually happens (or doesn't).

There is a chance but it might happen to be the case that he will have the same answer as mihawk, to not fight a man with one hand , there is also a speculation of mihawk going to where shanks might be after govt started going after him.


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Why does Imu want to hide his/her existence?
Although Gorosei told everyone that no one reigns on the Empty Throne during reverie , Imu is the current holder of the Empty Throne.

i think if it gets public the balance and equilibrium will end and there would be huge fights between the WG and pirates+rebel+other outlawns

Many of the WG, marines(sword), and many if not all the kingdoms,  would join the revolutionaries as well. As they feel the current system is just and honest.


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Is this scene using symbolism?
In the 21st episode of the anime SHUFFLE!, Kaede tells Asa her feeling towards Rin-kun, the male protagonist, and then cries in Asa's shoulders. The scene is as in the picture.
I think it might use the symbolism from the novel, Red Rose, White Rose, by Eileen Chang, considering the following information:

The white rose in the novel is a supportive housewife for the male protagonist, Tong. She does all the household chores for Tong, yet Tong doesn't feel a passional love for her, which is similar to Kaede's situation.
The red rose in the novel is a passional lover for Tong. She is not his legal wife, yet he enjoys being with her more than his wife. Asa hasn't done as much for Rin-kun as Kaede, yet Rin-kun loves her more than other girls.
Even the positions correspond. Kaede is kneeling down to Asa's arms crying, she's the weaker of the two. The white roses are on the lower left of the red roses, overwhelmed by the red roses.

What do you think of this thought? Do you think it right? Does the producer ever say anything about the design of this scene?

I don't think it's a white rose.  It looks more like a plant with bunches of small flowers, like a lilac.

@Mary Maybe, but what flowers look like depends on your point of view. This picture(in the link below) provides various points of view, some of which bear certain similarities with the ones in the anime. (https://www.floraqueen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/shutterstock_1566087013.jpg)

Animation fidelity aside, there are likely red rose buds and white lilacs. in the language of flowers white lilac can mean (youthful) innocence. Red rose buds can mean alot of things from youthful love to chastity. Production notes on the scene is one thing, but soliciting opinions on this particular scene is subject to speculation.


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Why does the quintuplets' father hate Fuutarou?
In the 5th episode of the 2nd season of The Quintessential Quintuplets, the quintuplets' father says he hates Futarou.
Why does he hate Fuutarou? He seems to have met Fuutarou before and know about Fuutarou's dad, so I wonder whether the reason has something to do with Fuutarou's family. Does he have a bad relationship with Fuutarou's dad?

In S02E04, it's revealed that Fuutarou shouted in their phone conversation in S02E03.

At the end of S02E03 (7 goodbyes arc), the quints move out just so they can have Fuutarou as their kateikyoushi. This may be seen as some romantic interest. This is what the quints' dad has to say:

I won't give my daughters to a man like you.

I guess just your usual male protagonist vs dad of romantic interest conflict?

As for Fuutarou's dad and the quints' dad, see these

A - Do Itsuki or Miku (or the other quints?) ask their dad why their tutor Fuutarou is a student in their own school and year level?
B - From here which sorta spoils the manga (which I haven't read)

 The Uesugi dad and the quints' stepdad are old friends

but the above is I guess already hinted at anyway in S01E08 at the start when Fuutarou points out that their dad was the one who got Fuutarou the job (and even S01E01 when Raiha tells Fuutarou that their dad got them the job I guess).

Please stop linking to your own reddit post without proper disclosure. If you want to quote a certain section, please quote that relevant portion and not just have a link to some post where there is a comment without a proper citation. Explain how things are relevant rather than say it is a certain why because some rando on the internet said so.

@кяαzєя ok I actually remember that from another site now. thanks. I'll edit accordingly.


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Is Saitou Kichou an assassin in the manga?
Historically, there is a theory that Saitou Kichou is a spy and assassin sent by her father to assassinate Nobunaga. In the anime Nobunaga-sensei no Osanazuma, she indeed seems unhappy (no smiles at all) and always carries a dagger with her, which supports the theory.
I am wondering whether she's actually assumed to be an assassin in the manga.

I don't know the manga, but having a dagger is just a custom. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiken_(dagger)


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Who's the girl that Sugimoto loves?
At around 11:10 in the 2nd episode of Golden Kamuy, when asked by Ogata his motivation to hunt for tattoos, Sugimoto says he does it for the girl he loves. There are at least two candidates I can think up.

Umeko, the blind widow of Sugimoto's childhood friend Toraji, who is also Sugimoto's childhood friend. Toraji died in war, before which he pleaded Sugimoto to collect the money for his widow's eye surgery. If this is the case, it's kind of weird -- Sugimoto shamelessly admits that he loves his best friend's wife.

I want a good doctor to take a look at Umeko's... At my wife's eyes.

Asirpa. Asirpa thinks that her dad was killed by Noppera-bou, so she wants to collect all the tattoos to avenge his dad. This is revealed at the end of the first episode, where Sugimoto promises to help her.

The government won't want him killed until they've found it.

Finding the gold is a way to avenge your father's death.

However, it has never been said explicitly who's the girl Sugimoto loves. Who's the girl that Sugimoto loves and wants to collect the tattoos for?


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What's with Nino's reaction that make Miku jealous?
At around 13:40 in Episode 6 of 5-toubun no Hanayome ∬, Uesugi said that he needed to go to toilet, then Nino said, 'sure, catch up with us later'. Then Miku gave Nino an unfriendly look.
What makes Miku jealous? I don't find anything improper here that indicates a relationship between Uesugi and Nino. Maybe the lines in Japanese have something to do with it? Or is it due to Japanese culture?

Do you mean Fuutarou and Nino? Uesugi and Nino have spoken to each other only once in the whole anime: in S02E05 when Uesugi asks 'I thought you were really rich?' And Nino explains that the landlord rented them the kimono's.

Anime answer:
I seem to remember there was more to it in the manga, but going on anime only:
I don't think it's about Nino. Miku's just getting jealous (I think it's jealous not envious?) when someone else gets close to Fuutarou. I think it's the same as later on in
S02E07

 When Nino likes the nickname for Fuutarou that Miku comes up with

S02E09

 When those girls get 'too clingy with Fuutarou'

Also I was looking up earlier in the episodes if the chocolate may provide some kinda clue, but I wasn't able to find any.

Manga answer (which allows me to have an anime-only answer actually) :
It's not so obvious in the anime but in the manga, Nino looks at Fuutarou longingly or something.

In the anime:
When Nino looks at Fuutarou longingly, Fuutarou isn't in the scene

I'm asking about that very scene, not other arcs. In that scene, after Nino tells Uesugi to catch up, Miku seems quite jealous.

@Michael I mean this particular scene in the manga I remember there is more to it. I'm not talking about the future arcs. As for anime only, that's my answer. (Also, Do you mean Nino tells Fuutarou instead of Nino tells Uesugi? Uesugi and Nino have spoken to each other only once in the whole anime: in S02E05 when Uesugi asks 'I thought you were really rich?' And Nino explains that the landlord rented them the kimono's.)

They didn't address each other.

@Michael anyway whatever. added manga answer; updated anime answer


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Can wearing wooden sandals in childhood form a lifelong separation between the hallux and the Index toe?
In the anime The Quintessential Quintuplets, the quintuplets have halluces separated from Index toes.
Yotsuba's feet, from Season 1:
Itsuki's feet, from Season 2:
It's said that in the past, Japanese wear wooden sandals and therefore get this kind of separation. However, in the anime, the quintuplets don't wear shoes at home.
At their fancy home, from S1:
In the cottage during vacation, from S2:

My guess is that they wore wooden sandals or the like back in their childhood and formed the separations. But childhood isn't very long, babyhood subtracted when one doesn't wear any shoes. Can wearing wooden sandals in childhood form a lifelong separation between the hallux and the Index toe? How long does it take to form such a separation by wearing wooden sandals and the like?
If the above idea doesn't make sense, how can a modern Japanese form such a separation?

Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat.

Related on Biology.SE: What's the terminology for this kind of deformity?

Partial answer:
Maybe this a false alarm.
At least, this may not apply to Itsuki s1. See S01E04 when Itsuki, Fuutarou and Raiha are taking a photo.

S1 and S2 obviously had different animators, so this may be an animation adaptation thing.


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Why does this kind of places often appear in anime?
In many anime, there are places where you can get an overview of (part of) the town, just like in the pictures below.

From Koi to Uso

From The Quintessential Quintuplets

From Shuffle!

Where I live and in places around, there are no such places at all. Why are these kinds of places so common in anime?

Is this maybe like why anime always has rooftops or something? P.S. in where

Japan is quite mountainous (from the top of my head around 70%), so I would expect it to be depicted in their media more often, as chances are the authors grew up with such a landscape.

It's potentially a combination of (a) it makes a good setting for certain types of scenes, and (b) there happen to be places that look like it close to the animation studios, so it's easy to scout them.

Because you live on flat land and Japan is very mountainous.

I don't really know how easy you can find such places, but "Western greater Tokyo" is one area where you can find those places.
For example this lists parks with similar views in Kawasaki city, city to the west/south of Tokyo.
Generally, the greater Tokyo area is flat although Japan is covered mostly by mountains as commented. Even then, the western part of Tokyo (not Tokyo-Tokyo full of skyscrapers, here Tokyo means an area defined by government) was originally hills and developed after the war.
There is this joke song made by the heroine of Whisper of the Heart:

Concrete roads, everywhere
Cutting down the trees, filling in the valley
West Tokyo, Mount Tama
My hometown is concrete roads

The 'western part of Tokyo' mentioned above basically corresponds to Tama area mentioned in the lyrics. Thus the area is hills made habitable, hence places like what you see are easy enough to find (probably). FYI the movie has some similar views (you can see the real pictures for example in this blog).


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Why are monsters and the like in anime usually adorable girls?
In many anime nowadays, the dragons, monsters, devil, semi-human or orcs are usually adorable girls maybe with thicc figures. Say, in Dropkick on My Devil, the devil from the hell is like an innocent little girl. In the good old days, things were different. The vampires in Blood: The Last Vampire are closer to what people would expect of a monster, but this kind of appearance of a monster seems quite rare today.
Why are monsters and the like in anime usually adorable girls nowadays?

the devil from the hell in Dropkick on My Devil

a vampire in Blood: The Last Vampire (bottom right)

You are conflating different genres.
2018, Goblin Slayer
Goblin:

1988, Kyuuketsuki Miyu
Vampire:

Some of this is due to the influence of Japanese folklore. Japan has many folk tales and urban legends regarding a spirit or monstrous creature that takes the form of an attractive young woman or a crying child in order to lure people in, which then turns into a hangered old woman with monstrous features, before either attacking the person or fleeing suddenly.
Think the ghost in the library from the original Ghostbusters.

I think it continues the trend of moe anthropomorphism, even into creating a new genre called "monster musume".

answer of Aki Tanaka ♦


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How did Ariko corner Toni Anji to a place where avalanches happen easily?
In the 3rd episode of Golden Kamuy 4, Ariko made noises by breaking branches and the like to lead Toni to a place where avalanches happen easily so that he can trigger one to bury Toni.

But I don't get it. Ariko is chasing Toni from behind. So, if Ariko made some noises, then the noise could only come from behind of Toni. Toni could just keep going straight without changing direction. Actually, if you keep going straight, your enemy would need more time to chase up with you. I don't get it why noises from behind could corner Toni to a place that is planned by Ariko.


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Where can I read the English translated version of some niche light novels?
I find some niche anime stories quite interesting, namely, Nanana's Buried Treasure and Dantalian no Shoka, but I can't find a website where I can read the whole light novels of them. The ones I found all stop abruptly at the middle.
Where can I read the English translated version of those niche light novels?

Note that this community doesn't support piracy, so only legal sources will be allowed. Questionable sources will be deleted without prejudice.

For really niche light novels, there's a good chance an English translation doesn't exist; your only recourse would be to hire a translator yourself, or use OCR plus a machine translation.

What worked for Spice and Wolf was creating a small, hidden community of people pitching in money and then paying an actual translator. The rate at the time was $500 per volume. We got a full translation of Spice and Wolf back in 2013 that way. The official translation only came to that same point three years later.

Baka Tsuki is the only good site I know that has several Light Novel translations. They seem to have some incomplete chapters of Dantalion no Shoka.
It is afaik (semi-)legal, in the sense that they stop translating & hosting chapters of licensed LNs. Their About page says Works will be deleted upon request by copyright holders, and I remember having some series go MIA due to licensing a few years back when I used to be a frequent visitor.
Note that the site itself has fan translations, so it's not officially licensed and the TL quality can vary between series (but has been mostly excellent in my experience).


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What's the first time bending anime?
In some anime, the time expands of the stories do not match with the change of the characters' ages and the like. For example, in Detective Conan, there has been one thousand and more episodes, and it's indicated in the anime that almost all of the cases happened in different days and that several summer/winter vacations has passed. Counting the days past through these episodes, it should already be the time for Mouri Ran to attend university, yet she's still attending high school. Obviously, the author did some time bending here.
What's the first time bending anime?

time bending here refers to floating timeline?

One of the earlier time bending anime I can think of is Perfect Blue (1997)

@FumikageTokoyami i haven't seen perfect blue yet but that's a movie. how can a movie be floating timeline?

@BCLC Floating timeline may apply for long-running series -> where characters doesn't age unless there is a timeskip but in cases where narration is non-linear/looped which gives an impression that time is bending from character/audience POV, then Perfect Blue is perfect (pun intended) example.

@FumikageTokoyami oh wow thanks so time bend really means a different thing from floating timeline?

@FumikageTokoyami sundowner says what you're thinking of 'non-linear timeline' ?

I'm not sure it is the answer in the sense of being first, but it is commonly called Sazae-san Spacetime.
Sazae-san is originally a newspaper cartoon which started in 1946(!). The TV series started in 1969 according to the Wikipedia. I have little idea when exactly it settles on the current format, but anyway it is still aired every Sunday in 2022. For example of the time-bending, Katsuo (the picture in the first link above) is still a primary school pupil after 50+ years...

FYI. The time in the anime was not completely static originally. Sazae-san (Katsuo's elder sister) did not have a baby (Tara-chan) in the first episodes (of manga, at least).

sundowner, time bending here refers to floating timeline? or not?

@BCLC Not sure if I understand it correctly, but I guess yes in the sense that things happen in the 'continuous present' mostly.

Fumikage Tokoyami says Perfect Blue, a MOVIE is time bending. Do you agree? I can't believe it. I thought floating timeline is for like comedy series or something like The Simpsons. Perfect Blue is afaik neither comedy nor series.

@BCLC I don't know the movie, but I guess it is a different kind of thing. To me, what Fumikage Toyokami suggests is simply non-linear timeline which seems likely from Wikipedia description. Another example I've seen myself is your name. Here, Detective conan or Sazae-san, it is about more like "static time" rather than the timeline in the story is somewhat intertwined.


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How did Uesugi find out the truth in the past?
At around 8:20 in Episode 4 of The Quintessential Quintuplets, Ichika asked Uesugi,

Hey, don't you want to find out if girls truly wear nothing under their yukatas?

Uesugi said,

I already know.

Uesugi was concentrated on study and had no interest in love or the like. Therefore, no girl would ever tell him that and his sister is not old enough to wear one. How did he find out the truth?

How wouldn't Fuutarou find out in studies or just through general knowledge?!

He's an imouto.

@Ibrahim I wonder what you meant by "He's an imouto" since "imouto" means "younger sister"?


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Is this supposed to be a hint that Uesugi is socially inept?
At about 19:48 of the 1st episode of 5-toubun no Hanayome ∬, after Uesugi found out the culprit, he put the test paper on Ichika's head.

Is it socially acceptable to put something over/on other's head in Japan?
I think this might show a sense of superiority in most cultures. At least in where I live (not Japan), it's generally badly offensive to do this except the case of (grand)parents patting their children. As this post says:

Any touching in Japan is very rare among adults, bordering on creepy and/or extremely rude, but teenagers often do it to show their affection, especially friends who are the same gender. If you're both adults I think it's creepy for him to touch your head and you should probably avoid him, but if you're teenagers it's likely to be a sign that he likes you and/or considers you to be a close friend.

Since Uesugi didn't intend to show his love nor feel closed to the quints, there is no good reason for him to do so.
Is this supposed to be a hint that Uesugi is socially inept?

you're spoiling that ichika is the culprit? :| P.S. Uesugi is not in this scene. This is a scene between Fuutarou and Ichika.

@BCLC He who haven't watched this episode would exit, once he sees the description '1st episode of 5-toubun no Hanayome ∬'.

Lol but they'd see the image right away? Why don't you at least say in the title it's about S02E01?

@BCLC The line in the picture is gloomed. Readers would know what's happening unless they look at it carefully.

Re

it's badly offensive to do this except the case of (grand)parents patting their children

This is exactly what Fuutarou is doing. Fuutarou is being like a 'parent' here in that Fuutarou is the kateikyoushi after all.
It's playful. They're already pretty close friends at this point in the series. It's like calling 1 of your close friends 'airhead' or something.
Edit 1:
This might be a different story if Fuutarou did this may be in, say, S01E06 or something during their overnight tutorial. Even if they were being playful with Fuutarou (eg checking if Fuutarou's heart is racing), I don't think Fuutarou would feel close enough to them to be playful. But if ever Fuutarou were similarly playful, I don't think it would be socially inept.
Edit 2:
Wait actually Fuutarou does do something similar in S01E06.
(The ff spoils only s1. But I'm marking as spoiler to preserve the spoilerous nature of the identity of the 'culprit' in S02E01.)

 Fuutarou pats Ichika on the head. Of course here it's rewardingly instead of punishingly like in S02E01.

 But notice Fuutarou is still in like a 'parent' role here as Ichika's kateikyoushi even while acknowledging Ichika as the onee-san of the quints besides being the literal 1st born.

 cf S01E01

 where Ichika is the like 'parent' when Ichika and Fuutarou 1st meet re how Ichika introduces hself as 'Ichika onee-san'.

Fuutarou patted Ichika's head because earlier Ichika told him to pat other's head if he/she had achieved something. Ichika asked him and he said so.


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Why did the nurses think Uesugi was the bastard son?
At about 3:05 in the 1st episode of 5-toubun no Hanayome ∬, Uesugi said that the nurses thought he was the hospital director's bastard son.

Then Nino confirmed that her father paid for the expenses.

Two (sub)questions here.

Is the quints' father the hospital director? If he is, is this explicit in the manga? (The anime doesn't seem to say anything directly about this.) Or is it just that Maruo paid the expenses, and he had some relation to the director, so the nurses thought he's licking the director's boots by paying his son's expenses?

Why did the nurse describe the director's son as bastard? Is it often the case in Japan to say bad things about your manager behind his/her back? Or is it just Maruo was bad at social, so the nurse disliked him?

I can probably answer this after I read the manga, but in the meantime your best bet r/5toubunnohanayome or the discord or MAL since no one around here really answers TQQ. Btw Michael watch Kaguya-sama. It's a lot like TQQ in very subtle ways. Hint: Pay attention to the imouto's. Then you can overanalyse Kaguya just like TQQ

I can probably answer this better after I read the manga properly, but there's this part I happened to see in the manga that was cut from S02E06:
When Itsuki
(S02E06 spoiler)

 goes to visit their visit the quints' mom's grave without the 4 older quints,

there's this part in the manga version of that
(Vol7 spoiler)

 In Ch57, well at least in my translation Nino says

 Itsuki is visiting the grave of 'her' (Itsuki's) mother.

 Not sure what was up that weird wording by Nino...it's probably explained in the original Japanese, but Fuutarou does have this weird imagination that somehow the quints have 5 separate dead mothers who are all fathered or step-fathered by Maruo. And then the quints somehow are the same age (at least rounded to year if not rounded to month).

 So idk maybe Maruo has some kind of reputation for being a playboy, not just among the nurses but even with Fuutarou...or oh wait...maybe that reputation from the nurses is what led Fuutarou to think this...oh ok I guess false alarm. I was thinking 3rd variable.

But anyway
1 -

Why did the nurses think Uesugi was the bastard son?

Right so my 2nd guess is as I said

 Maruo has some kind of reputation for being a playboy

But more realistically my 1st guess is they're probably conjecturing why Maruo's footing the bill for a non-relative.
As for the sub-questions
1.1.

Is the quints' father the hospital director? If he is, is this explicit in the manga? (The anime doesn't seem to say anything directly about this.) Or is it just that Maruo paid the expenses, and he had some relation to the director, so the nurses thought he's licking the director's boots by paying his son's expenses?

Ok manga spoilers

 Idk. Lol. But it says in fandom

 Quote:

 Maruo Nakano (中野なかの マルオ, Nakano Maruo?) is the step-father of the Nakano Quintuplets and husband of the late Rena Nakano. He runs a large hospital and he is also a doctor.

 So I guess yes.

1.2.

Why did the nurse describe the director's son as bastard? Is it often the case in Japan to say bad things about your manager behind his/her back? Or is it just Maruo was bad at social, so the nurse disliked him?

Technically, the word 'bastard' was uses by Fuutarou not the nurse. The nurse could've just said 'illegitimate child' and then Fuutarou changed to 'bastard'. Of course it's possible they both said 'illegitimate child' but then your particular subtitles changed to 'bastard'.
But if you're asking or would then ask why Fuutarou was assumed illegitimate, then well...because they knew so far that Maruo had only 5 kids I guess?


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What's bad about gaining weight?
At around 4:40 in the 1st episode of The Quintessential Quintuplets, Uesugi said that eating too much would make Itsuki gain weight, and then Itsuki get pissed.
Isn't gaining weight as a teenage very normal? That's how your body develops. Why was Itsuki annoyed?

Another example about gaining weight is from Lucky Start. At around 9:30 in Episode 22, Konata said to Kagami, 'you will gain weight'. Then Kagami got sad.

What's so bad about gaining weight in Japan?

This isn't really an anime-oriented trope, or question.  It comes up in anime because it comes up in society as a body image issue.  Gaining weight may be undesirable for any number of social pressure reasons, but there are some subversions to this in some cases.  In the general, this is just typical teenager behavior.

Well gain weight really just means get fat but...
Translation? In the manga Fuutarou says actually 'fat', not just weight. But eh that's just my manga's translation.

Let's see the Japanese...

It says '太るぞ (ふとるぞ)' and then Itsuki says 'ふとっ...' (I think it's the small っ not the large つ.)

P.S. I think Uesugi likes extra thicc girls, but I don't know if Fuutarou likes extra thicc girls.


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Why are daughters usually in charge of household chores after their moms have passed away or left the families in anime?
In many anime, after the moms have passed away or left the families, it's often the daughters who are in charge of the household chores, like cooking and cleaning. Their dads just look like good-for-nothings, who just eat, drink, watch TV and seem to never do any housework. For example, Mouri Ran from Case Closed, Uesugi Raiha from 5-toubun no Hanayome and Kagami Kasumi from Tsugumomo.
Why are daughters usually in charge of household chores after their moms have passed away or left the families in anime?

don't forget kei shirogane from Kaguya-sama

'good-for-nothings' hey don't be like that. they're probably grieving and so on, so they're struggling. same as the kids. don't judge them.

Men not doing any housework is a pretty common issue even if the mom is there.

The reasoning can also be partly due to https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/63927/why-are-most-women-in-anime-housewives-instead-of-being-independent/63929#63929 although I might write a separate answer but you have to wait for some days (been busy lately)

Hey Michael, what do you think of this? Why do anime mothers often get the short end of the stick?

I think it is just the case women/girls do cooking/chores in most parts of the world.
The following may partially answer the question, even if not directly.

There is a saying "Men should not enter the kitchen", which seems to be originally by a Chinese philosopher Mencius. In Japan, this was understood as "Men should not bother such trivial things as cooking".
In the post war Japan, generally speaking, there was a complete division of labor: Men go to work until late and women do all the housework.
It is still the case that Japanese workers tend to work extra hours, and have no time for household jobs.

Because of these, there are some truths that girls are left to do the chores. But in reality of course, fathers would do the job if the child is young. Today I guess most single fathers do the household job regardless of children's age. And there are some cooking mangas about such fathers (e.g., this).

At the same time, there is a social problem around young carers. Poor families have no choice but to make children do the things parents (or other adults) are supposed to do.

sundowner, i posted an answer about how I conjecture it's about not sex but age. are you familiar with the situations of Mouri Ran from Case Closed or Kagami Kasumi from Tsugumomo ? I mean are they like Uesugi Raiha from 5-toubun no Hanayome or Kei Shirogane from Kaguya-sama : youngest in a family of 3 including a single parent? If so and if their older siblings and single parents are male, then I'd say sex is absolutely a coincidence.

Update: There's a related question Why do anime mothers often get the short end of the stick? My answer is Moms die, so imouto's 'step-up' to take their mothers' places.

I'm not familiar with the other shows, but as for the imouto's Raiha Uesugi from The Quintessential Quintuplets and Kei Shirogane from Kaguya-sama (image here) :
I don't think it's about sex. I think it's just about age.
They're the youngest in a family of the 3:

The oldest in the family is a single parent is working full time.

The 2nd oldest in the family is their older sibling who works part-time on top of being a top student, probably to either maintain a scholarship in 2ndary school or to obtain a university scholarship. The youngest has the most free time of the 3.

Perhaps you could say what's up with the other series: what's their family like? Are they structured similarly with TQQ and Kaguya-sama: single parent with 2 children?


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What's so good about being called by her first name?
In Episode 3 of 5-toubun no Hanayome ∬, when Kintarou called Nino by her first name, she blushed.

This blog says

Unlike many western cultures, in Japan people generally don’t call one-another by their first name. Doing so can be a mark of disrespect, unless you’re very close to the other person and in the right sort of casual environment, so you’ve read. Mental note then: first names are best avoided.

Since Kintarou wasn't in a relationship with Nino or something, it might be better for him to address Nino by her last name and using her first name was impolite. Then, why was Nino blushing?
By the way, is it rude for Uesugi to call the quintuplets by their first names?

I think you should put in the title of your post, not just the 1st line, that you're talking about S02E03. Or eh...it's already tagged TQQ so maybe no need? idk

1
There's definitely something up with changing from last name to 1st name, but it's not necessarily about being rude. It's usually about being closer.

in Japan people generally don’t call one-another by their first name. Doing so can be a mark of disrespect, unless you’re very close to the other person

Right so, if you're around the same age and have no prior established relationship then usually you don't use 1st name when you 1st meet the person. In such case, using 1st name would be rude. Here, they're not meeting for the 1st time. And in the specific case of Nino and 'Kintarou' (I'm just going to say 'Kintarou' without quotes to mean 'Fuutarou under the disguise of imaginary relative "Kintarou"') using 1st name would imply they've gotten closer/friendlier or that Kintarou is more comfortable with Nino or something.
Also notes:

Note 1.1. Kintarou to Nino: Kintarou, unlike Fuutarou, hasn't exactly met any of the quints, so Kintarou doesn't quite have a reason like 'I would call you by last name, but since you're siblings, I guess I'll have to use 1st name'

Note 1.1.1. I don't think Kintarou has even addressed Nino by any name prior to this scene, at least in the anime. (Coincidentally, I don't think Nino has addressed Fuutarou by any name prior to this episode, at least in the anime, except in the 1st opening. I think Nino usually just addresses Fuutarou as 'anta'/'anata' and even refers to Fuutarou as just aitsu/soitsu/koitsu. The 1st time I think is just in this episode where Nino calls Fuutarou and says 'Moshi moshi Uesugi?')

Note 1.2. Nino to Kintarou: I don't think it's told what Kintarou's last name is clamed to be, but it's probably Uesugi i.e. Kintarou and Fuutarou are paternal relatives, probably 1st cousins. So, I don't think Nino would address Kintarou as Uesugi-kun (and a fortiori Uesugi-san).

Note 1.3. Kintarou to Nino again: In particular, notice that Kintarou doesn't use a honorific eg Nino-san:

In high school, among boys groups, they never use san and kun each other since they can talk casually. (...) But when they talk with girl students, they use san. ESPECIALLY when they call the girl’s first name, they use san not to be regarded as so intimate with each other.

I'm not sure if it's really expected in Japanese for Kintarou to not use honorific, but if it isn't, then I figure Nino can have the same reaction for an address of either 'Nino-san' or 'Nino' and then the use of 'Nino' instead of 'Nino-san' is a slip-up. This may be part of the bigger slip-up that Fuutarou gives away that Kintarou somehow knows that Nino is good at cooking.
2
Re Fuutarou to quints: I suspect Fuutarou would've liked to call them all by last name and without honorifics the way in Kaguya-sama Miyuki Shirogane calls others by last name and without honorifics (Shinomiya, Fujiwara, Ishigami, Iino, etc). (It may or may not relate to Miyuki's lack of keigo or whatever. See here from 3:50 - 4:10.)

For honorifics: They're Fuutarou's tutees and are of the same age, so Fuutarou doesn't really need to call them with honorifics.

For last name: But since they all have the same last name, Fuutarou just goes with 1st name.

"But when they talk with girl students, they use san" - This isn't true. At least for my school. We always omit honorific when we talk casually. We'd use honorific when only if we're in class and have to pick someone (e.g. picking buddy of P.E., etc - in other words, only if we're in front of teacher). Perhaps this culture have been changed recently, or it was just for my school.

@Skye-AT Tell that to Zyunko in the other post. But I think the bottom line is with regards to appearing intimate. Wait in your school...what age? Like the whole kindergarten to seniour high?

Elementary school to senior high. When we're in kindergarten we don't even know when or how to use honorifics. Everyone uses -chan or -kun because adults call us -chan -kun, so we just mimic it.

I'm not sure of the particular context, but regarding 1, you should be correct. It sounds like they are close - or more concretely, like they are steadies to each other.
Regarding the second, I guess, of course, that they have the same surname is a factor. Another thing is that calling by first name is not exactly rude (among teens), it is an element indicating the bluntness (?) of the character. I'm not sure if blunt is a right word, but basically, it shows Fuutaro is not particularly friendly or outgoing guy.

No way Nino would ever address Uesugi as あなた. あなた, when used by a female, usually means honey, husband and the like. Generally, girls and women wouldn't use such a misleading address for man other than their spouses.

@Michael or omae or whatever. anta is different from anata right?


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Is academic performance in high school related to IQ in Japanese's eyes?
I thought it was common sense that a student's academic performance is just a reflection of how much time and effort he/she has put into study. Yet Uesugi seems to think that the difficulty the quintuplets have in understanding/solving the question is due to their IQs. Is it common in Japan to relate one's academic performance to his/her IQ? If a student in Japan performs badly in academic, will his/her teachers think he/she has a low IQ?
At around 12:44 of Episode 6 of 5-toubun no Hanayome ∬:

How cruel it is that our IQs must differ so!

I’m voting to close this question because  this is not directly related to anime or manga and is a Japanese cultural question with a weak quintuplets wrapper.

Not sure about the original Japanese but assuming this were really said in an English context, I believe it's just an expression (at least this is how I'll give the principle of charity I guess). Of course there's all this Carol Dweck stuff of fixed mindset vs growth mindsets aaaaand:

IQ is largely a pseudoscientific swindle by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The learning myth: Why I'll never tell my son he's smart by Salman Khan

Josh Waitzkin interview:

Interviewer:

In general, do you see any disadvantages to being labeled a child prodigy?

Josh Waitzkin:

Yes, there are huge disadvantages if you buy into the label. The most perilous danger, in the language of Carol Dweck, is that we internalize an entity theory of intelligence. The moment we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability as opposed to resilience and hard work, we will be brittle in the face of adversity. For that reason, it is incredibly important for parents to make their feedback process related as opposed to praising or criticizing talent. Think about it-if you tell a kid that she is a winner, which a lot of well-intentioned parents do, then she learns that her winning is because of something ingrained in her. But if we win because we are a winner, then when we lose it must make us a loser.

But it's not like 'IQ' is a complete swindle in a heuristic sense: Fuutarou's been studying hard much earlier than they have, so Fuutarou has

better study habits and

is able to pick up new topics with less difficulty because e has a solid foundation of the prerequisites. Eg If you didn't study geometry so well, then you may struggle with trigonometry.

In this specific case...they were most likely studying English or Japanese (Fuutarou talks about 'author'), neither of which are high in prerequisites compared to maths or science, so maybe it's not this.

So, 'IQ' here then could refer to either

Fuutarou's good study habits of, say, not going to a hanabi festival without completing homework

Fuutarou's good foundation in, say, geometry

Finally, additionally, Fuutarou just likes studying while the quints don't really, so 'IQ' here then could refer to 'desire to learn'.


text:
Why are there red strings around the MCs' body parts in some anime?
In some romance anime, there are red strings around the MCs' body parts, say hands. Why?

Koi to Uso

The Quintessential Quintuplets

This is based on a common East Asian belief known as the "Red Thread of Fate", or "Red String of Fate". It is said that soulmates are bound together by an invisible red string, with one end tied around the male's finger, and the other end tied around the female's finger; and that those soulmates are destined to meet, no matter what.
Look closely at the second Koi to Uso screenshot and you'll see that the strings are indeed tied around their little fingers. The red strings in Quintessential Quintuplets don't appear to be tied to anyone, which likely symbolises the fact that we know the protagonist is destined to marry one of the quintuplets, but we don't know which one.


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Is this intended to be a sign that Uesugi is socially awkward?
At around 11:30 in Episode 6 of 5-toubun no Hanayome ∬, Ichika offers to buy books for Uesugi. Uesugi just waits outside the store while Ichika is paying the check, then, when Ichika is done paying and go home with Uesugi, it's Ichika who carry the books on their way back home even though her hand's hurt. All the work here is done by Ichika alone and yet for Uesugi.
Is it the etiquette in Japan not to wait in line while your friend is paying in a store? You know, Uesugi could have been talking with Ichika while she's queueing and paying the money. Is this intended to be a sign that Uesugi is socially awkward?
Uesugi waiting outside:

Ichika carrying the bag and Uesugi putting both his hands in the pocket in a leisurely manner:

There are 2 Uesugi's. You might want to use 1st names. You wouldn't call any of the quints Nakano would you?

Great question. It doesn't go like this at all in the manga.

Manga answer:
From Ch58:

Fuutarou just waits inside the store but is asked to do so by Ichika.

Anime answer:
Ichika probably told Fuutarou to just wait outside. Idk. Wait... I think I get it: Maybe it's about privacy.
From an earlier scene in S02E06:

It's actually clearer I think in Ch58:

Ichika probably didn't want Fuutarou to see how much cash or savings or whatever Ichika/the quints still had. It doesn't matter whether Fuutarou waits inside or still in the store. In fact to really ensure privacy, waiting outside is probably better.

For both cases:
You might say Fuutarou should insist 'I'll go with you or something', but I think that suggests some kind of intimacy. Besides Ichika is the 1 paying, so I guess Ichika gets to decide.
Or maybe... AU CONTRAIRE it shows how socially sharp Fuutarou is! Fuutarou maybe should insist, but Fuutarou might realise 'Oh, Ichika probably doesn't want me to see how much cash they have left' or something. Yeah! Remember in the previous episode S02E05

Ichika tells them they're running out of savings.
Wow that was a fun exercise. It turns out not only is Fuutarou not socially awkward but actually that Fuutarou is pretty socially sharp!