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What did they use for their toast?
In episode 17 of Kill la Kill, Kiryūin Satsuki brings out a toast to their success with what looks like a cup of sake. But, considering it is a school and they are between the ages of 16 and 19, they shouldn't be allowed to drink this yet, right? So what did they toast with?

Do you realize that they have just returned victorious from a war in which they established control over all Japan? Who, exactly, do you think is going to stop them from drinking alcohol?

This is likely to be a Sakazuki, which are  small to medium-sized ceremonial cups during a celebration, most commonly used at weddings and other special occasions such as tea ceremonies. The Yakuza are know for their particular initiation ceremony where the initiate exchanges Sakazuki with the Oyabun (Boss) as a vow of loyalty.

As for the underage drinking, the legal drinking and smoking age is 20 in Japan. Typically it's socially acceptable to drink a little for celebrations.

So you are saying that was sake?

Yes, it's probably sake.

If not it's a soft drink like like Pocari Sweat.

I heard that was water.
I thought that was sake, too.
That is called Mizu-Sakazuki (Hai).
It means final water in life.
Breaking cup means that, too.
Before battle against strong enemy (Kiryuin's mother), they did that.
The scene was talked about in Japan, too.

Oh wow, did not even know that existed. I think that fits the plot a bit better then original sakazuki. " The ceremonial drinking of water(mizu sakazuki) was customary among soldiers immediately prior to battle.This old samurai custom was a means of praying to the gods for good luck..."

This is true as far as I know, but can you add some references for that?

episode 22 or 23, Sakazuki stopped her mate to break their cups.that was not sake.


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Why is gold important to Amestris' economy?
I'm not too well versed in the laws of Amestris or its political climate, but the law only prohibits material transmutation to gold, besides human transmutation. I suppose transmutation to silver or other highly valued materials are still allowed, such as petrol, which is sometimes more valuable than gold in the real world. This leads me to believe that the only reason why it only prohibits gold is because the currency is backed by it.
Which leads me to the question, why couldn't they just use fiat currency instead? Why is gold so important to the Amestris economy when other precious metals and resources are allowed to be transmuted?

Quite simply put, this is a world in which almost anything can be made by putting thought and understanding into it aka alchemy. Alchemy was essentially founded when Amestris was founded, and only existed in Xerxes prior to that. Therefore modern alchemy has been around for approximately 400 years by the time the manga/show began.
The technology at this time was also much less advanced than ours. It would have been difficult to produce bank notes or other such fiat currency that would be difficult to reproduce. An alchemist could even produce all of the necessary components in his own home, and it would be much more difficult enforcing the ban on many specific components.
On the other hand, gold is large and heavy. It is also very rare, with only a tiny fraction of the gold on earth available in the crust. Suddenly having a large supply coming through without any regulations down the supply line would be downright suspicious. Manufacturing gold in amounts large enough to disrupt the economy would surely take notice, and thanks to its weight, would surely be much easier to trace.
Of course, this is all assuming that Amestris was designed to withstand the test of time. Really, the homunculi only needed a (relatively) short-term solution that would keep the populace happy until it was time to murder everyone.

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Can Anpanman die if he loses his entire head?
In the first episode, Anpanman gives part of his face to the dog Cheezu to eat. Afterwards Anpanman loses a lot of strength, but later regains it by having Jam Ojisan bake him a new head. It made me wonder, what would happen if Anpanman lost his entire head? Would he die? Is it even possible? If yes, how?

I promise I won't tell Baikinman.

No, Anpanman does not die if his entire head comes off. When getting a new head made by Uncle Jam, his damaged head comes off before the new one is put on. Although having no head means he is unable to fight, it doesn't kill him. On top of this, I remember watching a scene where, instead of taking only part of his head off to feed the hungry, he takes off his whole head and survived. It is not fully explained how.

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Why are there so many perverted virgins in anime?
In non-hentai anime, nudity and ecchi scenes are everywhere—dramatically more than American broadcast TV and even more than non-porn American movies and cable TV. Yet, at the same time, sex is almost nonexistent and nearly all non-adult anime characters (and many unmarried adults) are virgins—dramatically more than in American movies and broadcast TV (and cable all the more so).
How is this discrepancy—that anime is so perverted and yet so prudish—to be explained?

If you look at the entirety of anime and manga, ecchi isn't particularly more common than in American media. But a lot of what we fans see is late-night anime aimed at a young, male audience who's into that sort of thing. It's as if someone from Japan watched only shows from HBO and concluded that all American TV is full of boobies and dismemberment.

As Torisuda notes, anime contains all manner of genres, but only a small subset of these are exported based on the make-up of the overseas demographics, which has historically been adult males. There is plenty of shoujo anime, children's anime, nichijo series, series focusing on traditional games and arts (such as go, shogi, mahjong, karuta, Japanese calligraphy), the classic World Masterpiece Theatre series, etc. which do not contain any ecchi content.

I guess so. I am (or at least was) a big watcher of fansubbed anime, but I guess my perspective could be skewed because I primarily watch non-shoujo teen or adult drama, comedy, daily life, and sometimes romance, which tend to have significant overlap with ecchi.

Which anime series have been fansubbed has also largely been chosen by fansubbers based on the English-speaking fan demographics, so even though it is a wider selection of all the anime that's been produced than the series which have been licensed, it is still skewed toward those demographics. Not as many fansubbers have been interested in translating anime from the 60s and 70s, series aimed at children, or 4-koma gag manga-adapted series.

Currently, nearly 50% of Japanese adults are not sexually active. This has been reported in international news such as the Washington Post, the Telegraph, the Guardian, the Daily Mail, and Japan's own English-language news source, the Japan Times. Anime characters are a reflection of the real situation. Not all of the adults who are not currently sexually active are virgins: some are, while others are people who do not plan to become sexually active again.
Japan is a don't-ask,-don't-tell society: what you want to do in the privacy of your own bedroom (watch hentai, use body pillow dolls, any matter of fetishes, etc.) is not considered any big deal, and mentioning that you felt up a stranger's breast in a hostess club can be done in front of your colleagues without anyone raising an eyebrow, so it is not a "prudish" society at all. However, the Japanese overwhelmingly want you to keep your sexuality and sexual activities to yourself: do whatever you like and that will generally be respected, but PDA (public display of affection) or coming out and sharing about it to others is not socially respected (i.e. don't bother other people with it). Many young Japanese believe, likely as an influence from the Western nations, that it makes sense to test-drive a potential spouse before marrying (sleep together and/or live together), but it is simply the case that not as many Japanese are even dating and getting married.
Another cultural factor that may contribute, which you can see in quite a lot of manga and anime, is that a major format of Japanese romance is to like someone who you are not friends with for a long time, and finally "confess" your feelings in a sudden love letter, on St. Valentine's Day, or on graduation day, in which the recipient must abruptly decide whether or not he/she has romantic interest in the other person -- who might not have been on the recipient's radar whatsoever. This can result in either being turned down on the spot ("I don't even know you"), a willingness to try to go on a couple dates ("Maybe I could get interested in you"), or the first-choice being the recipient is overjoyed ("I secretly pined away for you for years too!"). A lot of romantic feelings and sexual desire are never confessed, but some that are get rejected due to the format in which the potential couple does not get to know each other through friendship or casual dating before a major DTR (defining the relationship) event takes place, or reciprocal feelings are confessed right after the graduation ceremony and the respective parties part ways to go to different schools for high school or university, so the mutual interest doesn't lead anywhere.
Ecchi content in anime is responding to a market that may not have an outlet for sexual release in a real-life relationship; on the flip side, characters who are virgins are easy for certain demographics to relate to, so if the virginal character ended up getting laid, the viewer wouldn't feel like a kindred spirit. In terms of storytelling, delaying steps toward the culmination of a relationship keeps viewers coming back for more episodes, such as rationing out the hand-holding, kissing, etc. (although this is perhaps not as often done regarding sex between characters in mainstream Western TV shows for adults, a good example is Sheldon and Amy in The Big Bang Theory). While delayed gratification is a normal plot device, in modern Japan, another type of love triangle has emerged in bishoujo harem and bishounen reverse harem anime: a lot of love interests are available to the protagonist, but he or she ends up not choosing between them and doesn't end up with anyone. This purportedly allows the view to favor any one of the potential suitors and imagine the post-episode happily-ever-after that they prefer without their favorite ship getting rejected in canon.
Legally, what is considered porn or not porn differs by country. I once turned on a Japanese TV during prime time (while kids are awake) and found myself looking at a topless woman in a live-action TV drama series. In manga and anime, non-pornographic depictions of nudity should not include the details of female nipples or any genitalia (and they usually do not include any body hair), so the bodies look Barbie doll-ish or the genital area is censored with a white spot (nothing is drawn there).
Not all nudity in manga and anime is considered sensual or sexual. Just as the Japanese public baths (onsen and sento) do not innately bear any association of nudity with sex among the general population, nudity can be included in illustrations that are not intending to have any sexual connotations. Historically, the Japanese were surprised by the foreigners who arrived on their shores and balked at the public baths, since the Japanese didn't view them as related to sexual interest. In fact, nudity can in some contexts connote purity, as in the final episode of Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon, in which the protagonist fights her final battle in the nude, her pure heart able to

 reach and connect to the villain's and set her free from being possessed by evil.

Neither the villain, nor any of the onlooking supporting characters, particularly pay attention to her nudity during and after the battle; even when she is subsequently hugged by her boyfriend, there is no sensuality present in the depiction.

Though even with the discouragement of PDA, why would anime designed for private consumption, as you mention, not include sex even where it would make sense?

Additionally, most of what I refer to (ecchi) is clearly sexual in nature.

@JustinOlbrantz What seijitsu is basically saying (assuming I understood the answer correctly) is that the ecchi part is for titillating the viewer, but the lack of explicit sex is a reflection of reality. Essentially, the character being a virgin helps the viewer put him- or herself in the character's shoes, while experiencing a fantasy of being in a sexual situation.

@Torisuda, excellent answer! Justin Olbrantz, I've added a paragraph to hopefully explain more carefully.

I suppose that is rather Japanese - working hard to make the main character's life resemble the viewers'. Like the dating sims and old-style JRPGs.

@JustinOlbrantz I think more than being Japanese, it's just about writing; you want your target viewers to identify with the characters so they'll be more involved in the story.

Yes and no. Subjectively I get the impression the level of similarity to the viewer is more pronounced in Japan. Objectively you have things in Japan that are uncommon or non-existent in the west, so as the consensus-building segments in news that indicate for example that everything thinks the weather is terrible. Japan is a more conformist and collectivist society than western society in general.

I think that this is not really that anime-specific, It can be seen in lots of American shows also. I can't say that I see much of a difference myself, perhaps there are particular genres (either american or japanese) that do, but for the most part I think it's about equal. Perhaps barring more recent shows as I believe american TV has become more open about sex.
In the context of a story, usually traits are added if they're essential to the plot. Because of this, we usually have two polar opposites - Pure Virgin & Promiscuous. Some stories need some conflict with exes, and there's usually an episode of intimacy included here - just like with American TV. Most of the time however, one's experience isn't really mentioned and it's assumed by the viewer that they are virgins from their appearance/demeanour.
In ecchi shows, being a virgin is often an appeal point - viewers like innocent females moreso than promiscuous ones. This is seen in Western culture too - see Slut-Shaming and the porn industry's value on virginity videos. For an example in Eastern culture, see the many idol groups who prohibit relationships in order to keep their appeal to their fans.
Another point to mention is that anime generally has a younger cast than western shows. Many western shows are based around an adult cast at work, wheras the majority of anime shows are focused on school-life. Obviously adult characters would have had more time to experience intimate relationships than school characters (especially as they could be in single-sex schools)
Along with a school setting, comes teenage angst, fluctuating hormones and an increased interest in the opposite sex. Because of this, a common character is one who has found their first love / wants to experiment with the opposite sex. This is a theme that resonates strongly with the male teenage target audience which is an important majority of anime fans.
That being said, my exposure to American shows is limited. But coming from a background with much exposure to British media - I think it's not too indifferent from the shows here. Maybe it's America who are the odd ones out?

Torisuda did have a point: America is extremely prudish in regards to nudity, given that TV can get away with at least fragments of sex scenes. I have to wonder whether the latter is a matter of working around the censors, as opposed to the more formal former prohibition. Interestingly, while I don't know much in that regard, I have heard of British culture being very prudish.

But as far as slut-shaming, many of the girls in ecchi series (the ones that pursue to protagonist in a sexually-aggressive way) would be classified as sluts in America even though they're virgins.

I dunno about overall prudishness in american tv - I've seen some Game of Thrones and Spartacus and everything is flopping around.

Those are the exceptions that prove the rule, really :P I haven't seen Spartacus but GoT is by FAR the American show with the most sex and nudity I've ever seen. It's actually been criticized by the more traditional people in America for its gratuitous sex and violence.

You might say GoT is the American live-action equivalent of an ecchi adventure anime.

At least from a European (more particular, German) point of view, the US is overly sensitive to nudity (but also teenage sex). We consider many American nudity thingys ridiculous, such as Nipplegate or not being naked in front of your own children or parents beyond a certain age. However, Japanese culture is similarly distant at least regarding sex and relationships (perhaps less so regarding nudity). That being said, I find the degree of cliché and over-the-topness of the aspect in question in Anime en par with other aspects.

@ToshinouKyouko Game of Thrones and Spartacus started on pay channels where there's a lot more freedom. The regular cable channels are also moving in this direction, but more slowly, and network TV is still fairly conservative as far as actually showing nudity, although they're much more free about discussing sexual topics than they used to be. I get the impression British TV is pretty similar to American TV when it comes to sex from my small exposure to Doctor Who, Torchwood, and Sherlock


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Is there somewhere I can buy or bid on the whole Ragnarok Into the Abyss manga series?
I remember that this is a manga with 7 chapters or books about the servers of the former Ragnarok online (if I'm not mistaken: Chaos, Iris, Loki, Fenris, Fenrir etc.).
Do you have any suggestions about where I can buy, bid on, or otherwise obtain this manga series?

In what country/language are you looking to get them from? The series is on indefinite hiatus.

anything that is english would do.. thanks for asking :)

Tokyopop, the original NA publisher went out of business, but you can find copies usually second-hand on ebay or Australian copies from Madman Entertainment.

Gee Thanks for your suggestion . I want to finish reading this :)

The series is currently on on indefinite hiatus. In total there should be 10 volumes. The NA publisher Tokyopop went out of business, but you can probably still get the English version thru Madman Entertainment (UK/AU) or Chuang Yi (Singapore). You might also be able to find used copies on Ebay and other auction sites.


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Is there a way for Naruto to get the Rinnegan?
Madara was able to get the Rinnegan by mixing Hashirama's meat with his own (i.e. mixing the Indra and Asura chakras) to get the Sage's power. If Naruto did the same by mixing Sasuke's meat with his own, would he get the Rinnegan? Or, if Sasuke mixed Naruto's meat with his own, would he get Rinnegan in both of his eyes?

Rinnegan is the ultimate form of sharingan, so without sharingan implanting meat will not work, he would probably get the gedodama or some other abilities of the sage of six path but not the rinnegan. sasuke on the other hand has the sharingan and can evolve it using naruto's chakra

https://anime.stackexchange.com/questions/48995/would-naruto-awaken-rinnegan-if-he-take-sharingan-from-sasuke/48997#48997

I guess, if you combine Ashura's and Indra's chakra, you will obtain the ultimate dojutsu (Rinnegan). Since Naruto is a rebirth of Ashura and if he can implant Sasuke's chakra (since  Sasuke is a rebirth of Indra), Naruto probably will obtain the rinnegan.

Naruto could obtain the Rinnegan by means of transplanting. The only option would be taking the eyes from uchiha madara whom already awaken the Rinnegan. On the other hand he could not awaken a Rinnegan by just mixing uchiha cell to his body. The best option would be like what Danzo did, with his uzumaki chakra he might able to handle the sharingan's chakra drainage issue. For sasuke part he may awaken the Rinnegan using the same technique Madara used. But all this is a speculation answer, by means in theory sake based on the whole manga series. Only Kishi Sensei could tell otherwise.

the most likely idea is naruto needs sasuke's eyes because naruto doesn't have any chakra coils in his eyes like a person with a doujutsu does which would mean that naruto would need indra's eyes meaning taking sasuke's sharingan.

I'm sure there's two ways for one to achieve the Rinnegan. One, obviously through the means of transplantation from someone who doesn't want a Rinnegan (which is freaking NOBODY), or the Indra Ashura reincarnation process. For an Indra reincarnate to achieve Rinnegan, they must have Sharingan, take chakra from the reincarnation of the current Ashura reincarnate; thus reforming Hagoromo's chakra, and a Rinnegan awakens. If Naruto, who possesses no Visual Jutsu, took Sasuke's chakra, I'd assume he'd achieve Rikudou Senjutsu? But maybe, just MAYBE, if he took a Sharingan, then Sasuke's chakra, he just MAYBE could awaken a Rinnegan. Not completely certain.

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In the final phase of the Hunter Exam, why does Killua act the way he does?
I've just watched episode 20 of Hunter X Hunter, in which it is revealed that:

 During the final phase of the Hunter Exam, Killua kills Bodoro as soon as the fight between Bodoro and Leorio starts.

Why would Killua act in this way?

 He knows that both interfering in other fights and killing other applicants is against the rules.

So I don't understand why he did what he did.

He was spooked by his brother's appearance (and threat) that he is a killer, not a hunter

There are a few factors in play, but the most prevalent reason is Illumi's control over Killua. It's possible you underestimate just how much of an influence Illumi exerts—shown both in this episode, and elaborated on in episode 94.
Suffice it to say, Illumi basically raised Killua to be a killer, and thus has had years and years of exposure to Killua to manipulate how he thinks and behaves. Through his aura and manipulative skills (and other methods, revealed in episode 94), he was essentially able to convince Killua that he was not worthy of love or friendship, and that all he was meant to  be was a perfectly honed killing machine.

Essentially, this reversal of psychology drove Killua into an unstable state, unearthing his urge to kill and forcing him to act upon it again. At that point, he had been driven to believe he was just a killer, had failed to protect Gon, and he'd never be a Hunter—why would he care what happened anymore?
(As a side note, it also ensured both that he wouldn't have to fight Leorio, and that Leorio would become a Hunter. So bonus points to Killua for that.)

Answered by Killua itself :)

He did it because it was against the rules. He became disqualified on purpose.
Killua has been influenced by his family since the moment he was born, being taught to believe that he could do nothing other than kill. If Illumi told him he wasn't worthy of a friend and shouldn't be a hunter just yet, Killua would purposely fail the exam.

Illumi had basically told him he would end up wanting to kill Gon if he stayed with him.
In the movie, Phantom Rogue, Killua can't even move when faced with the prospect of fighting even a doll of his brother. It just shows how much influence Illumi has over Killua.

It's been shown multiple times that during the earlier years of hxh, Killua had little to no hesitation about killing and, although it's said he's sick of killing, I think he stopped killing later on more because Gon said so, rather than he thought it was morally wrong. Therefore, exiting the final exam in such a dramatic way is not so shocking by his standards.
Killua's got a huge amount of bloodlust underneath the exterior, as it becomes apparent when he goes into 'assassination mode'. Killing would be a way of venting anger and frustration.
I guess a part of Killua would want to cut off all chances of becoming a hunter as soon as possible because that is what his brother would have wanted. If he continued to fight in the tournament, a person might randomly forfeit to let him win. Unlikely, but still possible.
And finally, a tinsy, winsy part of him might have wanted to help Leorio.


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What makes an Ultra Ball different from the basic Poké Ball?

The Ultra Ball (Japanese: ハイパーボール Hyper Ball) has a 100% higher chance to catch a Pokémon than a regular Poké Ball, and a 33% higher chance than a Great Ball. It has a catch multiplier of 2.0.

What is the factor that makes Poké Balls such as the Ultra Ball and many others different from regular Poké Balls?

The technology that goes into improving the catch rate? Anyway, the numbers in your quote most likely comes from the game.

While I want to know myself, I voted to close. I don't think the reason as to why they can catch pokemon better was never explained, not in the games, manga, nor even in the anime. Heck I don't even think the mechanism is explained at all (could be wrong on that one though).

As my own speculation, I'd say it has something to do with the closing mechanism. As we can see in the manga, the shutter can be damaged, preventing the pokeballs from opening and trapping the pokemon inside until it's repaired. The shutter is key to catching/trapping a pokemon in the ball. It might thus be the case that the ultra ball has a more advanced/stronger lock than the pokeball, making it harder for the pokemon to open the lock and escape from the ball. With the masterball having the perfect lock, as not even Mewtwo could open that ball after being caught by Red at almost full power.

Hmm .. I suppose I have to improve the question . But @PeterRaeves your comment should be posted as an answer . Its good :D

This should not be closed. Just because we think there likely is not an answer within canon, doesn't mean we can say for sure whether or not that is the case. The answer could be in an interview that we have not encountered; it is pure speculation of us to suggest there is no canon answer.

My answer is based on canon facts, but, as far as I know, I don't think the mechanism was ever explained. The wiki on the Poke Ball mechanism agrees that the mechanism is unknown so far.

As my own speculation, I'd say it might have something to do with the closing mechanism. As we can see in chapter 38, Giovanni damaged Red's Poke Balls' shutters during his gym fight, preventing the Poke Balls from opening and trapping Gyarados and Venusaur inside until the balls were repaired. The shutter must be key to catching/trapping a Pokemon in the ball. It might thus be the case that Ultra Ball has a more advanced or stronger lock than a regular Poke Ball, making it harder for the Pokemon to open the lock and escape from the ball. With the Master Ball having the perfect lock, as not even Mewtwo could escape after being caught by Red, in chapter 35, while still being at almost full power.

As we can see, the Poke Balls are empty inside. The only thing it seemingly does is shrink the Pokemon. There is no inducing gas or anything inside to weaken the Pokemon. Pokemon do undergo a change in character when being caught though. We have seen the most bad-ass Pokemon turn into loyal servants/friends after being caught. But this might be due to the Pokemon's honour submitting to its defeat, or it might be that the Poke Ball actually does something to the Pokemon during the bounce process. We don't really know the correct answer to this so far. Again, Mewtwo could be seen as a good example, as he didn't start rampaging after being released from his ball, but he came to respect his trainer Blaine.

This video explains how Pokeballs work in the best way I've seen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvCZNEsld54

In its current form, this is effectively a link-only answer, which is discouraged on Stack Exchange. (Links can disappear over time, and in that case, the value of the post will be lost.) Could you perhaps summarize in your post the key points from the video that you thought were important?


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How are Death Billiards and Death Parade related?
I'm watching Death Parade right now and I just heard about Death Billiards, which seems to be a predecessor work for Death Parade. A one-shot of sorts, or so it seems. I'd like to know without spoiling the rest of D.P. how the two works are related, and if it's recommended to watch D.B. before D.P.
Update: After seeing Death Billiards, I'd say it's best to watch it after episode 2 of Death Parade, but before episode 7. D.B. is pretty much like the first episode of D.P., but with different bar customers.

If you have watched Death Parade, then it will spoil Death Billiards for you.

@nhahtdh On the contrary, it won't spoil Death Billards as stated in the answer below. Even if you've watched all the current episodes of Death Parade and then watched Death Billards, it'd really be no different than from thinking that Death Billards was another episode of Death Parade.

@FatalSleep: Not really. The answer below says that it is just another game episode, and some of the surprises have been revealed in Death Parade. If you have watched Death Billiards first, then you would need to rewatch it several times to get all the small details. All of them (for better or worse) are explained outright in Death Parade.

That's true, however it wouldn't necessarily change the value of the show any. I watched Parade then Billards as well and found it to still be quite interesting. While the trick overall is spoiled, it doesn't necessarily mean that that takes everything away from the characters and the situation.

Death Billiards was an OVA, and indeed a 'once-off' type of show.
It's very similar to the current series and you could probably drop it in as a longer episode.
Some of the surprises will have already been revealed in Death Parade, but it should still be entertaining as it's mostly focusing on the billiards, rather than what goes on behind the bar.
It's the same location and such, just billiards instead of darts or another game. It's not necessary viewing for Death Parade either as there aren't any plot points that haven't been covered by the first few episodes.

It probably makes the most sense to watch Death Billiards before Death Parade because it is a pilot episode and the TV series makes a passing reference to the bar customers from the movie. Chronologically speaking, the story of Death Billiards takes place sometime after episode 5 and before episode 10 of Death Parade.

 If you take note of the roulette board in Death Billiards, it actually featured Chavvot. This roulette board was only switched in from the beginning of episode 5 of Death Parade at Nona's request. In the first four episodes of Death Parade (and in episode 6 at Ginti's bar), the roulette board only had a generic symbol on it.

 The old woman who died and arrived at Quindecim in episode 10 of Death Parade was revealed to be the wife of the old man in Death Billiards, as shown on her set of cards and in her flashback. Also, during a flashback of the old man in Death Billiards, it was hinted that he passed away before his wife. Therefore, Death Billiards should occur before episode 10 of Death Parade.

@nhahtdh made a good argument that we could further restrict the occurrence of the events in Death Billiards to that before episode 8

 if we take Chiyuki's mentality into consideration. She couldn't have been as relaxed as was shown at the end of Death Billiards if she had just sat through the trial of the two killers in episodes 8 and 9.

If you want to watch Death Billiards in between the Death Parade episodes, you should watch it after episode 6 and before episode 7 (or 8, the next best choice) because the only billiards game in Death Parade is played in episode 7, which lasted only about 90 seconds and commenced without any explanation to the rules of the game, so it would be a nice continuity to finish the movie first and then jump back to watch episode 7.

TL;DR: Watch Death Billiards either before episode 1 or in-between episodes 6 and 7 of Death Parade.


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Is episode 12.5 in Durarara a filler?
I am following the anime through EpisodeCalendar and there is no episode 12.5. Is this episode a filler or part of the original story? (That is, would I miss any part of the story if I skipped this episode?)

What would you do if I said it's a filler and you should watch it? :>

Durarara episode 12.5, "Justice Is Slow But Sure" isn't a recap episode. It and episode 25
are DVD only episodes that actually have some semblence of plot to them (as much plot as you get with Durarara). It's not related to any of the
main plotlines, though, especially the:

overarching yellow scarves/dollars that's part of the later half of the first season.

So it's kind of a side story. You can treat them as OVAs.

authors: Дина Фролова


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What are all the marriages and child relationships following the final chapter?
In the last chapter of Naruto, some characters got married, and some of them had kids. What is the entire husband-wife-kids set?

Having just started watching the original Naruto episodes again, episode 42, 00:05:14 -> 00:05:19 shows a very infatuated looking TenTen staring at Rock Lee training.
This, in addition to other hints in the '31 points' answer as well as clues about Hanabi not being the mother from the new Boruto series, my best guess is, until confirmed, that Rock Lee and TenTen are together.

Naruto and Hinata - Bolt (Boruto) and Himawari
Sasuke and Sakura - Salad (Sarada)
Shikamaru and Temari - Shikadai
Chouji and Karui - Chouchou
Ino and Sai - Inojin
Kurenai and Asuma - Mirai Sarutobi
Kiba is shown with Tamaki, but we don't even know if there's anything going on between them.
Rock Lee is shown training with a kid that looks like him, and Tenten is shown right after that, so maybe that's their kid, or maybe some kid who emulated Lee like he had emulated Guy before.
Here's an image that summarises all the characters seen in the 700th chapter, including the pairings and their children:

Click to enlarge. Source: reddit

The girl Kiba is with is the granddaughter of the cat master shown in some anime episodes in part one. Tamaki

@JNat   The latest Boruto manga suggests a little change in sasuke-sakura pair. Could you please edit your answer?

@SeasonalShot If you mean chapter 700+1, it's still not confirmed. I'll edit it if it gets confirmed :)

Ok. I guess that's appropriate.

I found a good picture showing all the relationships. Here it is.

This is yet another picture depicting the family tree.

As for the kid training with Rock Lee, I think that Rock Lee’s wife and baby mama is going to end up being Hanabi Hyuuga.
Here are my reasons:

Hanabi is about to play a much bigger role in the anime – the final movie is about her getting kidnapped and a bunch of Konoha shinobi having to go on a rescue mission.  She even has a super cute new character design to match her new significance.  HOWEVER… the movie is supposed to come between chapter 699 and the full-color epilogue, and we were given NOTHING about Hanabi in that epilogue.  So that would either mean that she went from suddenly super relevant to irrelevant in a few chapters… OR that Kishimoto-sensei left Hanabi’s fate open-ended for a reason.
Speaking of the full-color epilogue, take a good look at Lee’s nameless protégé (presumably son – and son according to Narutopedia Wiki).  Focus on his eyes for a second, and tell me they don’t look more like Neji’s than they do Lee’s.
Hanabi and Lee are both taijutsu experts, and that means they automatically have something in common.  The fact that Hyuugas always focus heavily on taijutsu matches the image of Lee’s son studying taijutsu intently with his father.
We already know that Naruto and Hinata end up together and have children.  If Lee and Hanabi ended up together, this would mean that Naruto and Lee’s children are first cousins.  That could be a considered a nod to the relationship between Kakashi and Gai (Naruto and Lee’s senseis).
Hyuugas have always married their cousins to keep their bloodline pure.  Since Hinata ended up with Naruto, this would have meant that Hanabi would have been the match for Neji.  However, as we know, Neji dies.  It seems fitting that Neji’s male teammate would step up to fill that role.

your 5th point conflicts with itself, "Hyuugas have always married their cousins to keep their bloodline pure" that would mean Lee is struck out as a candidate, being a team mate of a branch family member doesn't make Hanabi x Lee magically as pure as Hanabi x any branch family member, this is also enforced that Hinata probably was only allowed to marry Naruto because either he is the Hokage (which Lee is not) or that because Hinata is not going to be the next head so her offspring is of no concern to the head family (they end up as a new branch family) while Hanabi is to be the next head


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What is Alluka's (Nanika's) gender?
In the anime Hunter x Hunter, Alluka Zoldyck is considered as a girl by Killua, shown when they leave their estate and were accompanied by four butlers. Killua shouted to Gotoh and said that he needs a female butler to join them because Alluka is a girl.
However, I am confused because Milluki address Alluka as a brother, in the episode when he wished to Nanika to kill the tourist photographer. He clearly told the the tourist that he was just taking his brothers for a walk. In addition, the Hunter Wiki acknowledged Alluka as a male.
What is Alluka's actual gender?

Actually, the Hunter x Hunter wiki addresses this, and is quite accurate in its assessment, though the references cite the wrong volumes (but correct chapters).

There is considerable confusion about Alluka's gender. Two of Alluka's brothers, Illumi and Milluki, refer to Alluka as their brother. But Killua, the closest brother of Alluka, specifically states that Alluka is a "girl" and refers to Alluka as his sister multiple times. This inconsistency can be explained by Killua's intimate and understanding bond with Alluka, hence he would know and care that Alluka is mentally female, versus Illumi's cold and dehumanizing attitude towards Alluka. While Alluka is most likely biologically male, Killua's interactions show that Alluka's psyche may be female.

Everyone (except Killua) addresses Alluka by her biological gender, which appears to be male. While she is quite small, she shows no female development.
However, she is very sensitive, gentle, and reserved, and has a very feminine side. Being that Killua is the only one who dares to actually interact with Alluka as a person, he would be the best one to understand that she probably is more feminine inside.
This does seem a bit odd to me; even if someone I knew were closer to "she" in his head, unless they specifically asked, I'd probably still say "he". But perhaps either Alluka did ask this of Killua, or Killua just took it upon himself because he knew Alluka so well.
Unfortunately, since it's never explicitly stated, this is somewhat assumption, but realistically it's the only explanation that makes sense since Killua is the only one to refer to Alluka as female.

Wow, i need to count but I'm starting to think that Hunter x Hunter has more genetically male characters who look female than female ones who look female.

You're correct at some point @kaine, not to mention how Illumi looks like. haha

Has it ever been stated in canon that Alluka is in fact anatomically male, or is it merely Killua's words against the rest of his family's words? Just because the others assume Alluka is biologically male doesn't mean that is true. If it has not been stated as fact in canon (i.e., more concretely than their assessment, which is in competition with Killua's assessment), then Alluka being biologically female (known by Killua, but unknown to everyone else who keep their distance from her) rather than it being about mental gender identity would be another possibility.

@seijitsu No, it is not explicitly stated. However I disagree for two reasons. One is that everyone except Killua seems to agree on the male thing (there's never any argument or discrepancy). And the other is that I'm pretty sure their mother would have known when she gave birth what the gender was.

I was pretty sure that it was commented in one of the episodes that even though Alluka is considered a sibling of the others, that they don't know where Alluka/Nanika came from, so I took that to mean that Alluka was not necessarily birthed by their mother but perhaps suddenly, mysteriously showed up in the family.

@seijitsu I'm pretty sure they only said that she "isn't human, but something else," referring to the fact that her nen conceals Nanika. If you could find a source though, that'd be cool.

This is insane ... it's obvious that the Zoldyck family just refer to their kids as sons...either because they don't want daughters, or its just a family thing.  Killua, having left the family and his assassins way, just refers to them normally.

Alluka is male. He just dresses like a girl.
From Alluka article on Hunter x Hunter Wiki (emphasis mine):

There is conflicting information regarding Alluka's gender.
The official data book lists Alluka's gender as male, and two of Alluka's brothers, Illumi and Milluki, refer to Alluka as their brother.
However, Killua, the person closest to Alluka, specifically states that Alluka is a girl and refers to Alluka as his sister multiple times. While Alluka may have been designated male at birth, Killua's interactions show that Alluka may identify as female.
This inconsistency may be due to Killua's intimate and understanding bond with Alluka, hence he would know and care that Alluka identifies as female, versus Illumi and Milluki's cold and dehumanizing attitude toward Alluka.

In the episode showing Alluka in his childhood, we can see that he used to dress like a boy. He ended up looking like a girl, because he played with doll too much that his parent decided to dress him up like a girl.

I've always played with two theories:

It could be the case that the family refer to Alluka as male to distance themselves from her, denying the fact that she's female to dehumanize her, or to further disassociate her from the family in some way.
Or it could very well be that, as Alluka's exact origin is unknown, she isn't strictly human and doesn't possess what we would call a conventional gender, but rather, her gender is simply non-existent, like a Nen beast.

Personally, I favor the latter, or a mix of the two. These are all just speculation, of course, but it's interesting to think about nonetheless.

He is physically a male, and mentally female. It is the reason why Killua referred to him as "she". This is stated in the databooks and also by the canon writers. So in other words, Alluka is transgendered. Though, I believe people have the right to think of him as whatever they like, male or female.

Here is my assumption: When Alluka was born, her mother didn't take care of her, she let the butlers to take care of her (like bathing her, etc), and because their mother always thought that all her children must be male, so she thinks that Alluka is male too, especially because she is cold to her and never bathe her, so she doesn't know that Alluka is actually female, and the butlers are too afraid to tell their mother that Alluka is female. While Killua is the one who really cares for her, and knows her the most.
So even thought in the birth-biodata and everywhere, Alluka is stated as a male, but Killua knows the truth, and so the butlers who ever took Alluka to bath also have known that.
It's just my hypothesis after watching the anime. I think if this hypothesis is true, this story will be a very nice scene, because then it will be stated that "Even the writer of the story doesn't know about Alluka's gender, but her brother knows it because of how he always set an eye on her."

authors: Вениамин Володарский


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What are the original memes mentioned in Steins;Gate?
As I understand it, the memes used in the fansubbed version of Steins;Gate were adapted for English audience. The Japanese audience would not know the "Yo Dawg" meme, for instance, since it is an English based meme. They would have their own set of memes, which they could have used in the original dialogue. Of course, it could be that their lines weren't memes at all.
What are the original Japanese memes that were mentioned throughout the series, if there are any, and what's their context?

Does the Japanese meme on which El psy congroo is based count as a valid answer?

Only if you can explain what meme it is and its meaning.

The big one is John Titor.  John Titor was a real internet meme/prank, and the details they mention about John Titor are largely accurate.  I don't believe they made a lot of actual specific internet meme references.  Though the message board they use is almost certainly supposed to be 2Chan - the Japanese version of 4Chan.  It is also possible that they did make a meme reference that I did not know of, so it went by me though.  But yes, I think they just stuck to more general culture references to internet and anime culture.

This question's suitability is under discussion, but as no one seems to have presented a reasonable argument for its closure, I've voted to reopen it.

Now that the original visual novel has been officially translated to English, it includes a glossary with many Japan-only internet memes that are used in the dialog.  Surely some of these made it into the anime, but I wouldn't know for sure.

Some of the phrases are explained at the Steins;Gate wiki's Real-Life References and Glossary.
Regarding the phrase「エル・プサイ・コングルゥ」(El Psy Congroo), according to Anime News Network, FutureGadgetLab is the anime's official Twitter account. According to a tweet by FutureGadgetLab, Okabe Rintarou (lab member #1) explains it as 「お前の胸の中にあるもの。それが答えだ。俺の中ではKONGROOが正しい。『俺の中では』な。《001》」, which you could translate as "It's something that's in your heart. That's my answer. When it's inside me, KONGROO is right. 'When it's inside myself,' y'know." So either the author is being intentionally obtuse (i.e., writing in character), or there is not a specific meaning for it, or the author of the tweet (whoever at the company was assigned to manage the Twitter feed by posting as the various lab members) didn't know what the meaning is. next_tales's answer given at Yahoo Japan's 知恵袋 (chiebukuro, bag full of wisdom) website also says that there is a notation stating that the phrase has no meaning in the 『ＳＴＥＩＮＳ；ＧＡＴＥ─シュタインズゲート─ 円環連鎖のウロボロス』 (Closed Chain of Ouroboros) novel. It does not seem like Japanese fans know the meaning and it is not a general meme in Japanese society. According to the ネット王子 (Netto Ouji, Net Prince) website, the phrase has no meaning but as a result of its use in this series, it has become an internet meme used by Japanese people in their online communications. So to boil that all down, 「エル・プサイ・コングルゥ」 wasn't a preexisting meme used by Steins;Gate, but it became a real meme as a result of Steins;Gate. (Though it is not a meme, the use of Dr. Pepper in Steins;Gate likewise pushed the soda into popularity in Japan  [I can actually find it in a vending machine here in Hokkaido now, all thanks to Hououin Kyouma, but see these links: 1 2 3]).
I'd love to hear further answers to this thread's question.

I can answer this particular meme.
Fansub: "Yo, I heard you like fail, so we put some fail in your fail, so you can facepalm while you facepalm."
Original: "Dame da koitsu, hayaku nantoka shinai to"
..which translates to something along the lines of "This guy is hopeless, I have to do something about him quickly."
This is a reference to the 2006 anime Death Note.
Specifically from episode 12 around half way into the episode. This saying turned into a meme back in those days, just like the "Keikaku means plan" thing did in the English speaking world.

Concerning 'El Psy Kongroo', while its meaning hasn't been clarified in the anime or by the production team, I think it probably originated from the Danish phrase 'pest eller kolera', which means 'a choice between two undesirable options'. Recall that in the anime, Okabe Rintarou had to make a choice between the α and the β worldlines, a choice between letting one of Mayuri or Christina dies. The writers of the anime probably remembered the Danish phrase, replaced each word by a Greek/Latin sounding one, and rearranged the word order from PEK to EPK to obtain 'El Psy Kongroo'.

There's references to 2chan if I remember correctly, which weirdly enough they just called image boards in the dub instead of 4chan as you'd expect. Also there were tons of cross culture references to star wars and other movies. Also memes (is it really?) of "all your base belong to us" which I don't know if it is a Japanese meme as well.


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What manga chapter does the Hunter x Hunter 2011 anime end on?
The Hunter x Hunter anime has concluded after 148 episodes.

However, the manga continues on after this, focusing on new characters and events. If I want to pick up the manga from where the anime left off, what chapter or volume should I start at?

According to the Hunter x Hunter wiki, the corresponding manga chapter for episode 148 is chapter 338 and 339. Some specific plot points to consider:

Gon's friends Killua and Alluka have already departed Gon from the previous episode, 147. This happens in chapter 338.
Gon climbs up the World Tree and meets Ging. This happens in chapter 338.
Ging explains where the Chimera Ants are from, that they're not from this world. This happens in chapter 338.
In chapter 339, in the Zoldyck's estate, Canary and Amane makes a grave for Gotoh.
At the very end of chapter 339, in East Gorteau, Komugi and Meruem are shown holding hands. This corresponds to the end of episode 148.

http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Chapter_338
http://hunterxhunter.wikia.com/wiki/Chapter_339

My guess is 338 "Up in a tree" based on the previews for 148, although who knows they might include a little of 339 although I doubt it.
The reason I state this, is that in the preview of 148, and at the end of 147, the plot is left at the point where Gon is traveling to the World's Tree to meet Ging. This is exactly what happens in 338 of the manga, hence the name "Up in a Tree"


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How many nations are there in the Naruto universe?
How many total countries are present in the Naruto universe, including small or less significant ones? Are there only the five nations which participated in the war?

There are for sure more than the big five nations. I never watched a single episode of Naruto, but I will try to provide an answer here. You only ask for the nations, but I will add a list of the villages too.

This map is made by xShadowRebirthx. This is not a official map and also some places could be differ from the original! Click on the image to enlarge the map.
The countries in Naruto operate as separate political entities and are presumably all monarchies, ruled by feudal lords who stand equally in rank with the hidden villages' leaders.
The great five countries
Five of the countries are considered to be the most powerful and influential of them all.

Land of Earth

The country is mostly comprised of desolate, rocky areas. The border
  of the Land of Earth runs along a rocky mountain range, blocking
  communication with other countries. The wind blowing from the north
  passes over these mountains, carrying small rocks from the Land of
  Earth to the surrounding countries.

Land of Fire

The Land of Fire is appropriately oriented towards the element of
  fire, typically having very bright and warm weather. While not the
  physically largest country, it has the largest hidden village.

Land of Lightning

In the centre of the country are vast mountain ranges, whose many
  thunderstorms are said to give the country its name. From these
  mountain ranges, many rivers flow to the sea, creating a very crooked
  coastline that displays an impressive oceanic beauty. There are many
  hot springs located within the country.

Land of Water

The country's weather is typically cool and the islands are usually
  covered by mist. The islands themselves also feature many lakes. The
  nation is oriented towards the element of water.

Land of Wind

The country covers a vast realm, but that realm is largely composed of
  deserts. Because there is very little rainfall throughout the year,
  the people of the country live in villages built on one of the
  desert's many oases. Despite the country's extremely harsh
  environment, it has a large population.

So there are all countries listed, here are four more of the bigger ones

Land of Iron
Land of Snow
Land of Sound
Land of Sky

Minor countries

I also found some other wich I could not assign to a catagory. These are the Land of Grass, Land of Rain, Land of Read Beans, Land of Rice Fields, Land of the Waterfall, Land of Udon and Land of Waves.
Shinobi Villages/Hidden Villages
Shinobi villages, or also called hidden villages, are ninja villages that serve as the military force for their country.

In summary, there are the 5 big nations, the 4 smaller one which make 9 nations. There are 28 minor countries (or 7 more if you count the not categorized countries) and 31 hidden villages.
Most of the information are from the Narutopedia. Other information from the frozen site narutoarikiri. A cached version is available here.

with Minor countries i think most can be prefixed with "Land of " though i don't know if this is a set fast rule on all Minor countries isn't aren't suffixed with " Island"

@Memor-X yea your right. I did not wrote that because it would not readable anymore. And I also did not want to write them in a list because you have to scroll so long. I have put them into a table now and I also found some more :3

There is definitvely more than 5 countries. You can find all the countries on this site:
(from Waybackmachine)

The website is frozen (will this site up again?). Therefore it is not an answer! You should edit it. It is also not a good idea to provide links without the actual answer here. You should answer here and than link to the source.

I managed to save the answer or well the link anyways. If a site is frozen then their will most likely be a cached version of it complete on Wayback Machine.

@Izumi-reiLuLu This is also only a temporary solution. The answer should be provided on this site. It is only a question of time and also this site could be break, moved or the cache gets updated or whatever.

@Gerret- In short I think this answer should probably be deleted anyways. It only relies on a link (which is frozen and doesn't work and also who's to say waybackmachine will stay open forever too).

@Izumi-reiLuLu Yes I think so! I write at the moment a answer and provide a long lasting source (hopefully)

-1 for the perfect example as to why we want people to explain what's in the links, in case if the site does go down

First there are the 5 villages:

Leaf
Sand
Stone
Mist
Cloud

Then the hidden villages:

Waterfall (Kakuzu)
Steam (Hidan)
Rain (Pain and Konan)

Don't forget hidden Sound and Grass. Then the Uzumaki village and hidden Frost village.
Also in the Naruto manga (I forgot what book but the one with Edo Haku and and Edo Sasori), it says that the main hidden villages asked hidden Frost and Steam to move to a safer place, so it was somewhat involving them. Then when Sasuke revived Orochimaru they went to the battle field with Karin Jugo and Suigetsu (and the past hokages), this doesn't count as hidden Sound.

There are alot more than these you listed here...


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What is the name of the last song in the staff credits at the end of episode 25?
Well, I know it's called Great Escape and it's the ending song of the 2nd cour of Shingeki no Kyojin. However, the one played at the end of episode 25 was an edited version.
Where can I find this edited version of the song?

Found it! It's track #10 on cinema staff's latest album, Drums,Bass,2(to)Guitars (released 2 Apr 2014). I haven't listened to it myself (the sample is too short to be able to tell the difference between the regular version and the ep25 version), but according to the product description, this is what you're looking for:

「great escape」はTVアニメ「進撃の巨人」の最終回のみで使用された特別バージョンで収録。
This album includes the special version of "great escape" that was used only in the last episode of the TV anime "Shingeki no Kyojin".

How can confirm it if I can't listen to it in there?

@HashiramaSenju Buy the album? Not ideal, I'll grant, and it would've been nice if that song was available as a single, but dem's the breaks.

Oh, this might be it, actually - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7cnKZb9AI8


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How did the Female Titan manage to get out of her titan form and escape while surrounded by a horde of titans?
In episode 20 of the anime, when Annie, as the Female Titan, falls into Erwin's trap and is restrained, she calls over a horde of titans to devour her titan body. Her titan body is shown to be torn apart and eaten as the titans surround her.
She is next seen in her human form, hiding herself among other people in the squad. When her cover was blown, she turns into her titan form for the second time and eliminates the League of Legends, as seen in episode 21.
How did Annie Leonhart manage to get out of her titan form and escape from the scene, all while surrounded by a horde of titans?

It's unclear what you're referring to. Please provide a episode, chapter, image, video clip as reference.

@Krazer updated

Just wondering but are we referring to episode 20 when she escapes?

@MiharuDante yes

You may have missed this, but it was actually explained near the end of the episode.
Whilst riding on horseback

Zoe: Erwin, why did you order Levi to resupply? There's no time to waste.
Erwin: The female-form Titan was eaten. But did you see the person inside get eaten? I didn't.
Zoe: You can't mean...
Erwin: Ah, yes. If your original hypothesis was correct, they can still move to a degree after regaining human form. If they'd prepared 3D Maneuver Gear in advance...

Major spoiler for those who have not finished watching Attack on Titans
After this we see (unbeknownst to the audience yet), Annie zooming through the trees using already prepared 3D Maneuver Gear
Then we head back to Erwin talking again...

Erwin: The person inside the female-form titan is wearing our uniform right now... The enemy is now camouflaged as one of the troops.

Annie was able to escape her titan form because you can still move to a degree even after regaining human form, which would explain why she was able to escape before getting eaten herself.

so, nobody noticed how she get out of titan's body?

@NARKOX- Well If you remember there was a lot of steam so in saying so yes, they did not see her.


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Why Didn't Anna Enter The Shaman Fight?
According to the Shaman King Wiki, Anna's Furyoku level at the start of the series was 3 times Yoh's at the end. She would have made a good addition to Yoh's team. Why did she not enter?

She herself claims that she is going to be the wife of the Shaman King, and that would not be possible if she entered, right? That reasoning would be typical for her. And I personally think that she's got a strong sense of what a woman must and mustn't do(even though I don't agree with her) and that also is why she didn't enter. Hope this is enough. :)


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Are Devil Fruit users weak to salt?
The weakness of Zombie of Thriller Bark is salt.

When salt is thrown into a zombie's mouth, the shadow moving the corpse is detached and the zombie is purified. Because salt is a property of sea water and since the shadow was attached due to a Devil Fruit power, the shadow is naturally released.

If Brook nullified Moriah's Devil Fruit power with salt, does this mean no Devil Fruit user can eat salt?

Note that salt is traditionally linked to mystical purification, probably due to it's use as a preservative; this is true for both western and eastern cultures.  Salt-in-mouth is I believe one of the usual ways to keep (at least some) undead from rising, with zombies having their mouths sewn shut to keep it there.

No, this is just the special weakness of that particular Devil Fruit.
I mean, Luffy eats everything, nearly everywhere. And in the most dishes there is salt, or how do you cook you spaghetti?
Another instance to prove my opinion is that Luffy had gone underwater several times and had nearly drowned. In the process, he also "ate" salt, but it had no effect, like losing his Devil Fruit power.

you have a point here for your second prove... I thought they have some kind of special diet or something

i thought about this too, but if you know Luffy and how he eats everthing, he would have died a long time ago xD

This answer is correct but ignores why.  In (some) haitian traditions a zombie is created by walking near the bed of another sleeping individual, trapping their soul by blowing it over a bottle, and walking back to your home backwards with the bottle.  Without their soul, they wither and die.  You open the bottle over the grave and they return to life as your slave. The zombie thinks it is alive but has no free will.  Iff, however, it tastes any amount of salt, it will remember it is dead and go back to its grave against orders.  This story is the inspiration for one piece zombies.

wow thx, give this man an award. great explanation.

Note: Salt is generally used to symbolize purification so it was used to express the release of the curse of this Devil Fruit.
1.Luffy loves fun and the meat doesn't spoil.
  They would need salt to preserve there meat as pirates especially on the first less   developed ship.

Ace and Luffy would have died by food.
What better way to killed two famous pirates who love food than by poisoning their food?
Somebody would have warned Luffy in chapter 1 like about swimming.
Each fruit has it's own individual weakness and strengths. Like fire < water, fire > smoke
Luffy touched a Seastone that had to have salt on it.
Luffy has fallen in water and most likely seawater at least once.

So I conclude that salt does not effect all Devil Fruit users.

I don't remember which episode it was, but Sanji especially collected salt for the ship kitchen. So I don't think it is the issue. Salt harm is zombie specific, not devil-fruit eaters. Not everything connected to the sea is bad :)

The curse will only take effect on sea water, not on something taken/extracted from the sea (which naturally includes salt). Remember in Water 7 episode, where Sanji was challenged by an old man to find the secret ingredient of his fried rice? And the secret spice is actually the SALT, which was visible remain after the cataclysm of Aqua Laguna.
And so it was, Sanji applied the new SALT to his cooking, and all Luffy's crew were astonished by the new flavour.

If it were to be true then Luffy would also be unable to eat fish and I think they would contain a fair amount of salt. So yeah, salt should be fine in a Devil Fruit user's diet

Could you clarify the bit about "they would contain a fair amount of salt"?

@Maroon Fish would contain a fair amount of salt, or be salty anyways. The fish that live in the ocean anyways


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Does Haki also eliminate Devil Fruit users' weakness against water?
If Luffy covers his arm with Haki and puts it in the water, will he lose his power or does the Haki cancel the effect of the water?
I thought about it because of this image.

When Luffy used his "Red Hawk" against Hody, the water had no effect on his power. Is this because of the Haki he used for Red Hawk (which was not well drawn in the anime) or is there another reason?

Luffy would lose his power, because Haki does not seem to negate the power of the sea at all. In chapter 603, we could see how Luffy put his hand into the ocean without coating it in Haki. He said to be powerless in the ocean, yet he was able to draw Sanji back to the boat. This would make it seem that due to his training during the time-skip, he has become able to withstand the power of the sea for a short while.

Then, in chapter 605, we could see how Luffy put his hand back into the ocean, but this time he coated it in Haki. Despite being fully coated, he still lost his power at the same rate. Luffy got a lot stronger during the time-skip and it might even be that, since he has more power to drain, it might take a bit longer, but it is safe to say that coating yourself in Haki does not negate the effects of the sea.

but earlier we saw when he touches the water, he instantly lost his power. And now after the timeskip he can resist the water just because he is stronger. i believe he can resist because of his haki, but in fact his haki is not that strong jet. So as a matter of fact, the water still drains his power...

@BBallBoy Yes, the water still drains his power. Isn't that what I wrote?

yeah but i mean, his haki is still not fully trained. so the water still drains his power but not immediately. so i think, if someone has a very powerful haki, like maybe vergo. he could totally resist the water.

@BBallBoy Do you have any proof that Haki has any influence on this? Because we have seen Luffy put his hand in the water at other times without Haki and he still didn't lose any of his strength. The effect of the sea was the same regardless of HAki

@BBallBoy I updated the answer according to my comment.

It's not the water that drains them. It's the stagnant non-running water. This is why they can shower and drink water but not take a bath. So if they could vibrate their Haki in a manner which causes the water around them to FLOW like a running water, then in theory they could nullify the effects of the water.

No, it's the salt that makes the difference. Look at Gecko Moria arc

thats actually not true. oda himself says otherwise in an interview, a question was asked which was "Odacchi! Here's a question for you! Crocodile can't fight water because he's "sand," right? Then how does he bathe?! Does he at all?! That's filthy!! Do you bathe, Odacchi? oda's response was  First of all, let's discuss the problem of Devil Fruit users bathing themselves. People who have eaten a Devil Fruit are "hated" by the sea, and cannot swim. The "sea" here can refer to anything from rivers, pools and baths to any kind of standing water. On a worldwide level, they are all the "sea."

Your answer does not contradict mine, but we recall Brook defeating the monsters using salt


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Why do anime production studios keep the rights to anime which they don't plan on continuing?
There are a lot of anime that have a first season, but no second season, even though there is enough material to produce another season. There are also a few anime which are dubbed, but only up to a certain point in the series.
So, why do anime companies keep the rights to these anime, instead of passing them on to another company?
For example, here are a few anime which didn't get more seasons:

Mayo Chiki (1 season) - Big cliffhanger
Rosario Vampire (2 seasons) - Another cliffhanger
High School of the Dead (1 season)
The World God Only Knows (3 seasons) - Missed out a lot of content

And some which are dubbed only to a certain point in the series:

Detective Conan (130 episodes) - Stopped due to low ratings
The Familiar of Zero (1 season) - Dubbed no further due to low ratings

There are many more examples. Why are the studios behind these series and dubs reluctant to release the rights to others to continue the series?

For Mayo Chiki, Rosario Vampire, HOTD, TWGOK, that's all available in Japan. For shows with low rating, there is no point in continuing to produce more, for both the company holding the rights and other companies.

OK but high school of the dead was popular in western areas.

HoTD's manga author is on a long hiatus. He only returned once with one chapter (?) then back to hiatus. I don't read the series, so I can only guess that there is no material for another season or the ending would not be meaningful. (And anime are usually made in Japan before they are dubbed in the West, the decision to continue making another season in most cases depends on whether the series can make money in Japan)

Which anime companies are you talking about? The ones that produce the anime in Japan, or the ones the produce the translated versions outside of Japan?

@nhahtdh Also, anime is (to some cynical extent) advertising. If the series is on hiatus and they're not publishing anything new, there's less to advertise -- just DVDs and merch. It would be a bad investnemtn to produce more anime at that point.

Essentially, it all comes down to money.
A lot of series are discontinued simply because the series aren't making enough money - whether that be for the English publishers in the West, or the original publishers in Japan.
Selling the rights of an anime means that they cannot continue to receive any recurring income from the series - even if it isn't that significant. Ongoing income could include licensing the rights to stream the show as part of a package deal to streaming services. For example, a studio licenses a bundle of three shows to CrunchyRoll, when CrunchyRoll really just wants one. [On a side note, this is why there's a load of random movies on Netflix]. Also, if there are new platforms on which to sell their media - such as new online stores or new video systems - studios effectively get another burst of sales, especially if it's digital (much less cost to put the items up for sale).
There isn't a lot of incentive for other companies to buy studio's productions that have proven to be loss-making, especially as the price and the long processes to secure the deal would often be hard to justify. It's a much wiser decision for companies to focus on works that have a solid following.
Every season, the popularity of a show drops as less and less people keep up to date/interested. If a show is profitable in the first season, it doesn't necessarily mean that it can manage with reduced sales the next time round. On the other hand, if the main show is still profitable, they don't really have much reason to sell it either.
It isn't strictly true that shows will never change hands though.
Take Yuru Yuri for example: the third season is going to be animated by TYO Animations, even though the first 2 were animated by Dogakobo. Anime companies tend to be fairly tight-lipped about internal processes and exchanges, so I'm afraid it's quite hard to get more information on why they swapped studios, or the process they had to go through to do it.
There have been several Western examples of "license rescues", which, whilst not explicitly the same as the bare rights (but similar to your dubbing question), allow publication of a discontinued series to continue to be translated. This is quite rare unfortunately - Viz Media explains that they tend to be hard sells. Western companies are similarly tight-lipped, although luckily less so that their Japanese counterparts
Further reading

Anime News Network on U.S. licensing

Although this is an old question being revived, I'm here to clear up a bit of things.
The studios of anime are usually just hired staff. They don't run or own series. Unless its an original project E.G: Trigger's "Kill La Kill".
There are things called production committees composed of lead producers & company members that are filling in spots for companies such as: Kodansha, Kyoani and etc.
A Producer comes a long to get an animation adaption of a series. Usually places like SQUARE Enix, a large multi-media company, have a production office where they find series associated with themselves to be animated. Such as popular manga, being printed by SQUARE ENIX. Which then they take to financiers, people with resources, producers & studios.
The heads & most important are those choosing to make the series continue or not, whether for financial reasons or just no-longer wanting to work on the project.
For example "SNAFU 2" was animated by a totally new company. That decision was done by the Production Committee. Not the animation studio. Though, remember animation studios can be part of the production committee either on top or usually the bottom. Mostly they are on top due to original productions, they own. Changes in the studio can happen due to large schedules, or disliking their work on the first project.
However, a director or art director, may be associated with the animation studio. Which will lead in the anime`s directing overall or just an art direction such as the production studio: SHAFT. SHAFT, though Aniplex is the head-producer of "Nisekoi" a few producers & Chief director are from SHAFT. Because, Aniplex adores their style.
This weaves back & forth. A Director maybe from one studio but still direct for other series, with different studios.
Just check all the cast & staff. Or at the end of an anime's opening you may see who is producing the series. Though, it is undisclosed many times.


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Why does Kirei want Rin's heart?
In episode 20 of UBW (or episode 8, UBW 2nd season), Kirei announced that he would take Rin's heart. I suppose that he wanted to use it as some sort of vessel for the grail.
But what about Illya's heart that Gilgamesh had taken earlier? Why did he take Rin's if he already had Illya's, which I guess is better?
Perhaps he was not allied with Gilgamesh anymore? Or perhaps, he just wanted to kill Rin for the laughs and giggles?

He want Rin to be the Vessel of Holy Grail . A candidate vessel of Holy Grail .

@オレンジ and what does he want to do with Illya's then?

Illya is mostly the candidate of Holy Grail as Vessel because Illya came from the Family of Ilyasiel whom created the Holy Grail , that's why he want Illya but the plan change .

@オレンジ The plan changed? How? He still has her Illya's heart. What caused him to prefer Rin's over Illya's?

Holy Grail Vessel needs a Living Human means not dead .

In episode 20 of UBW (or episode 8, UBW 2nd season), Kirei announced that he would take Rin's heart.

First, that was episode 19. Second, he says complete opposite thing. He says

 "The vessel has no need for a heart." This implies that he wants her body except her heart.

In episode 20, we see what he meant, when

 Gilgamesh pushes Illiya's heart inside Shinji, turning him into vessel and using him as way to "anchor" the grail to this world.

The reason for this is that

 Grail needs two components, first it needs the core. In Fifth grail war that is either Illiya's or Sakura's heart. And it needs a vessel to anchor it to real world. Vessel can be any body with enough magic circuits. Normally, Illiya herself works as both core and vessel, but for some reason Gilgamesh didn't want that, so he only took the core. And at the time, Rin is only actual mage nearby, making her best option for a vessel. But when in episode 20 she regroups with Saber and Shirou, he could no longer get to her, so he went with next best option : Shinji. Even though his magic circuits are pretty bad, he is still a magus.

Seriously, it may be a spoiler, given that the status of Gil/Kotomine's alliance is pretty uncertain in the anime (if you do not have complementary information).
However, taking it from cues mostly from the anime:

In episode 19, he comments, as he asks Lancer to kill Rin: "The vessel has no need for a heart."

So, that suggests that whatever part he envisioned for Rin, it would not need Rin's heart. I guess you can take it from there.
Going from that, I believe that the intended meaning of "I will take this heart." is that he is taking Rin's heart out, but not necessarily to make any use of it.


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How did Issei steal Vali's power?
I don't remember hearing that the Red Dragon could steal others' power and even use it. How did Issei steal Vali's power? Can the White Dragon steal others' power too?

I know this was explained just don't remember when.

Issei was able to use Vali's White Dragon Emperor power, Divine Divide, because Issei took one of the jewels in Vali's armor during their fight in Volume 4 and put it on his own. This allowed him to gain access to Vali's predecessors (past Hakuryukou) and their powers.

 I picked up the thing lying at my feet—a jewel of the [Vanishing Dragon]. Earlier, when I hit him, his armor was damaged and this thing flew out. His body’s armor seems to have restored the destroyed section including the jewel, though.
 ...
 I smashed the Sekiryuutei jewel that was on the back of my right hand into pieces, and drove into it the [Vanishing Dragon] jewel that I picked up before! —Your power of vanishing! I’ll transplant it into my Sacred Gear!

He managed to activate it right after he transplanted it into his Sacred Gear.

 A hit to Vali’s abdomen with my right fist! In my mind, Buchou’s breasts shook!
 [Divide!!]
 At the same time I activated the Hakuryuukou power I had just transplanted and felt the aura covering Vali decrease sharply.

As for the predecessors (refer to my first paragraph), one of the past Hakuryuukou indeed came to him later and helped him during his fight in Volume 10 of the novel.

try adding

 within the spoilers

I edited to remove the previous conflicting information, though I'm not quite sure about the "predecessor" part. Does it refer to previous owners of Divine Divide, or something else?


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What happens to Ichika after the fated summer ends?
In the final episode,

 Ichika is shown at the end of the finished movie wearing the clothes Nanami brought from Bolivia, so it is inferred that she somehow returned to Earth after being abducted by the unmanned probes from the Federation search party.

So my question is not about this particular part of the ending.
Is there any official material (manga, OVA, ONA, etc.) that tells how it came to that ending?

 How did she return to Earth?

@KousakaKirino I felt like a cake was baked, filled and frosted in front of me, and then lights blank out for a moment, and a plate with crumbs and a fork with some frosting on it is now in front of me, and someone asks if the cake was delicious. In the voice of the old spice guy.

Towards the end of the OVA, there's a short scene (~10 seconds) of Ichika and her sister on their spaceship, with Ichika looking at her sister and crying tears of joy while Kaito narrates something or the other. Other than that, there isn't much side material for this show - a 2-volume LN and a 3-volume manga (none of which I've read); the interested Japanese-reading person could probably have a look through that in short order.

Happy ending!!!
They have already told you about the ova, in chapter 12. The students were told that the movie was shot by former students and Ichica has the poncho of Bolivia. I think she came back a year after arriving, because they were in the first year and practically canceled the movie, as everything was recorded in the summer, they had to wait the following year (second year) and if they were already alumni, they would have spent at least three years (second, third and present year). Also,
... In the manga ....

At the end of the last episode, Kaito's sister returns and brings a Bolivian sweater for Ichika, but Kaito tells her she had to return to her own country as her transfer had ended. We then see Remon at MIB headquarters with the plans for the interstellar ship and Rinon is there with her.
If you watch till the end of the credits, one year later, some students are watching the old class members' student film and it shows Ichika wearing the Bolivian sweater with some revealing dialog.

We are given an OVA where you can see Kaito and his friends 2 years after the ending of the series. At the end of the OVA, you see Ichika crying tears of joy while she is looking into space. We can see that she is on a spaceship with her sister.
If we compare the ending of the series, where Remon-senpai build that ship and we can see Ichika in that sweater (or whatever) Kaito's sister brought from Bolivia after she left, with the information we get from the OVA, we can see that over 2 years had been gone till she came back
If you listen closely towards the ending of the show, one of the students said, that the movie was made by a graduated one this year. So, Kaito is now out of school, which means he ended 3rd class (2 years from 1st class till 3rd class). So, Ichika returned before he ended class (because of the movie, being published on the last day of school) but stayed about 2 years away, and now Earth's technology is at the point where she can stay and we have a happily ever after.

Ichika said that the earth was forbidden to be visited unless they had interstellar travel. In the end, we clearly see Remon with the schematics of Ichika's ship. This means that they must've made contact with aliens, joined the federation, and she could live with Kaito.


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Is Replica part of Yuma Kuga's Black Trigger?
Replica can use the powers of Yuma Kuga's Black Trigger. He also seamlessly wraps himself over Yuma's left arm when he activates the Black Trigger.
Also, the Trion soldiers Replica creates (like the Rabbit he gated in to help Osamu in episode 31 "Osamu Mikumo's Determination") can also use Kuga's trigger powers.
Is Replica part of the Black Trigger, or is he an independent component which shares the power?

Episode 35 is not yet out. Do you come from the future? :P

@nhahtdh its 31. title on.

@nhahtdh Also, completely off-topic: Replica spawned a friggin Rabbit. And to boot he disabled the cube-converting function "to save Trion" - implying he already cloned that ability too... >.>

No

 When Replica is largly destroyed, sent to another dimension, and does not come back for a little while,

Kuma still has his black trigger.  As a damaged trigger body is completely repaired when the user's Trion returns, the above could be reversed merely by having Kuma use his black trigger. Also Replica is frequently summoned without the use of the black trigger. While this is not all outright stated and so could easily be overruled by writers later, having the autonomous Trion soldier and the black trigger be part of the same thing is contradictory to the way triggers behave.

 Note: this does not contradict the idea that Replica could be part of Kuma's original trigger which is always active.

Yeah the question made sense before the "Crossroads of Fate" arc. Lolz.

Replica is an "autonomous Trion soldier", which implies that Replica is made entirely from Trion. Since he can split into smaller Trion soldiers, it would imply that his state is not solid but more like liquid. This would explain how he merges with Yuma's Black Trigger mode armor - he probably dissipates into Triton particles smaller than can be seen with naked eyes and integrates with Yuma's armor.
When Yuma is in combat mode, he shares Trion with Replica, allowing Replica to perform trigger functions. Since triggers are small computers that really just perform complex calculations using Trion and then output the result, we can assume Replica has his own trigger, which is used as a node for Yuma's Black Trigger.
This is all speculations on my part, though.

I have rewritten this part of your answer since it doesn't quite make sense to me: since we also see him when Yuma is not in combat form (black suit) but whenever Yuma needs him, it would mean he dissipates into trion smaller then can be seen until he is needed and hides on Yuma's body. I do some guesswork based on what I can scrap from the wiki and rewrite that part.


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Can Death Note be used to indirectly kill more than one person by killing the driver of a train/bus/plane?
If you state "Jack Hare" will die at precisely 15:00 12/03/14 without stating the location, and you write this without knowing where they will be at the time, and the person goes to work as per normal, can this be used to kill more than one person?

It's possible that the plane will crash, and all of the passengers would survive.

Rule X states:

Suicide is a valid cause of death. Basically, all humans are thought to possess the possibility to commit suicide. It is, therefore, not something unbelievable to think of.
Whether the cause of the individual's death is either a suicide or accident, if the death leads to the death of more than the intended, the person will simply die of a heart attack. This is to ensure that other lives are not influenced.

Rule XXVI states:

If you just write, "die of accident" for the cause of death, the victim will die from a natural accident after 6 minutes and 40 seconds from the time of writing it.
Even though only one name is written in the Death Note, if it influences and causes other humans that are not written in it to die, the victim's cause of death will be a heart attack.

It is clear that the Death Note cannot be used to indirectly kill other humans.
However, according to Rule XLII it is possible to shorten other lifespans.

The use of the Death Note in the human world sometimes affects other humans' lives or shortens their original life span, even though their names are not actually written in the Death Note itself. In these cases, no matter the cause, the god of death sees only the original lifespan and not the shortened lifespan.


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Do Death Note users with Shinigami Eyes see in a red tint?
In several occasions, for example, when Mikami used his Shinigami Eyes to see everyone's name in the final episode, he saw in a red tint. Is this only done for dramatic effect, or do they generally see in a red tint?

It looks like they do see in a different colour. The first time Misa meets Light we can see her look at him differently, but from the manga it is hard to deduce what the actual colour is. From chapter 28 it does seem that users with Shinigami Eyes do see in a different colour as shown in the pictures below. Another moment when this happens is when Chief Yagami looks at Mello through the Shinigami Eyes. At that time, he also sees him in a different colour, so it is safe to say that people with the Shinigami Eyes look at the world differently than we do, but the actual colour could be any colour, since the manga is just black and white.

In chapter 28, we can see this colour page and it would make it seem that users with the Shinigami Eyes, see the world not in red, but in reverse. Although it is not completely sure who made this colour page. It might just be fan-art.


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How do LN publishers assign the illustrator for a light novel?
It all begins when my friend asked me, "Would Saekano be as popular if the illustrator weren't Misaki Kurehito?"
As we may have known, a light novel's illustrations are the main 'bait' to catch the attention of new buyers, but I still haven't figured out how those LN publishers usually assign the illustrator to work on a light novel.
Thus my question:
How do LN publishers assign the illustrator for a light novel?

Welcome to the Manga and Anime SE. Could you clarify your question a bit more. As of now, it is not completely clear what you are asking.

I'm sure they'll first look at which artist currently has nothing to do. Wouldn't want to occupy one that produces blockbusters like One Piece or Bleach when they're still pretty busy.

I'd hope that they'd also consult with the author to get some idea of what style they want, but I wouldn't know.

Possibly based on who the Author propose to be the illustrator based on the pool of illustrators available to the company.

According to the Japanese Wikipedia, for the earliest light novels, artists were selected by the publishing company EITHER for their work in 油絵 (abura-e = oil painting) and 水彩画 (suisaiga = watercolor) OR for their work in manga-style art, such as PC games. In 1987, the 少女文学 (shoujo bungaku = girl's literature) or 少女小説 (shoujo shosetsu = girl's novels) genre began, and for the first time shoujo manga style was used, which helped set the trend of manga-style art as the standard for light novels from the 1990s.
According to 『ライトノベル「超」入門』 (Raito Noberu "Chou" Nyuumon = Ultra-Initiation to Light Novels) by 新城カズマ (Shinjou Kazuma）pages 105-116, the increasing demand for anime-style artists available for light novel illustrations grew so large that it was necessary to develop a system for the industry to produce a large number of illustrations in a short time period (this time demand was partly off-set by the introduction of illustration software, allowing artists to complete illustrations in a shorter time frame).
Currently, it is standard practice that each artist is associated with a particular publisher. This means that they can switch between manga and light novel magazines, but they only switch between magazines all owned by the same publisher. For example, Obana Miho is a mangaka under 株式会社集英社 (Kabushikigaisha Shuueisha), so her earlier works like 『こどものおもちゃ』 (Kodomo no Omocha = Children's Toy) and  『パートナー』 (Partner) were published in Shuueisha's 「りぼん」(Ribon) magazine, her 『ハニービター』 (Honey Bitter) is published in its 「Cookie」magazine, and her 『あるようでない男』(Aru You de Nai Otoko = Not That Kind of Guy) was published as a one-shot in its 『りぼんオリジナル』 (Ribon Original) magazine and then serialized in its 「コーラス」 (Chorus) magazine.  Her novelizations of 『この手をはなさない』 (Kono Te wo Hanasanai = I Won't Let Go of This Hand) and 『こどものおもちゃ ガールズ バトルコメディ』(Kodomo no Omocha Girl's Battle Comedy) were published under Shuueisha's コバルト文庫 (Cobalt Bunko = Cobalt Library) line of light novels.
Thus, to select the artist for a light novel, any of the artists associated with that publishing house are fair game; it partly depends on how busy they are on other projects, what connotations their art is associated with, and their fanbase.
However, there are some rare exceptions to the rule. Takeuchi Naoko was associated with 株式会社講談社 (Kabushikigaisha Koudansha), which published her 『美少女戦士セーラームーン』 Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon = Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon) in 「なかよし」 (Nakayoshi) magazine and Codename ha Sailor V in its 「るんるん」 (RunRun) magazine. She illustrated all the light novels authored by Koizumi Marie up through the  『マーメイド・ぱにっく』 (Mermaid Panic) series: 『ま・り・あ 』(Maria), 『あたしのわがままを聞いて…』 (Atashi no Wagamama wo Kiite… = Listen to My Selfishness...), and 『絶対、彼を奪ってみせる! 』(Zettai, Kare wo Ubatte Miseru! = I'm Definitely Gonna Steal Him!). However, after Kodansha lost some pages of her 『PQ Angels』 manga manuscript before it made it into print in late 1997/early 1998, Takeuchi abadoned that series and was recruited by rival company Shuueisha, which published her Punch series in its 「Young You」 magazine in 1998. After Takeuchi left Kodansha, illustrations for Koizumi Marie's novels were assigned to Ogura Masora whose style is shoujo but otherwise not particularly-related to Takeuchi's. After publishing many Koizumi/Ogura novels, Koizumi's work was consistently illustrated by Kitagawa Miyuki, who is best known for her manga series 『あのこに1000%』 (Ano Ko ni 1000% = That Girl Goes to 1000%) and 『東京ジュリエット』 (Tokyo Juliet), then by Takada Tami, and Koizumi's most recent novels have been illustrated by a variety of artists. Five years after Takeuchi's departure from Kodansha, Takeuchi returned to Kodansha to publish her 『ラブ・ウィッチ』(Love Witch) manga.
Some light novel authors have the talent and skills to illustrate their own light novels (or, as the case may be, get accused of plagiarism for re-working other's artwork).  Some light novels are self-published online and have no ties to publishing companies, so they are completely free to choose their illustrator.
『このライトノベルがすごい!』 (Kono Raito Noberu ga Sugoi! = This Light Novel is Amazing!) published annually in November and 『ライトノベル・データブック』 (Light Novel・Data Book)  explain the history of light novels and project an overview of upcoming trends in the industry.


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When did Shinobu enter Araragi's shadow in Tsubasa Cat?
At the beginning of Tsubasa Cat in Bakemonogatari, Mayoi tells Araragi that she saw Shinobu at Mister Doughnut. Araragi doesn't seem to be all that worried though, as Shinobu can't be too far away from him.
When Black Hanekawa is about to kill Araragi, he calls Shinobu for help, where she appears from his shadow and attacks Black Hanekawa. At the end of the last episode, when Araragi is riding on the bike with Senjōgahara, he notes that Shinobu now lives in his shadow.
Between when Mayoi told Araragi where she saw Shinobu and when Shinobu attacked Black Hanekawa, Araragi didn't see Shinobu or even came across her. I am wondering: When did she start to live in his shadow? From the way things played out, she must have been living there the entire time while he was looking for her.

I think knowing this will also answer http://anime.stackexchange.com/q/19338/7579 since we could determine why Shinobu wasn't in his shadow in Mayoi's absence.

Araragi did go check out Mister Doughnut store Mayoi was talking about, about five minutes into Tsubasa Cat Part 4.

He didn't find her, but this seems like the most plausible time for her to sneak into his shadow without him knowing.
In case of the alternate timeline, Araragi didn't know about that Mister Doughnut, didn't go there and didn't get Shinobu into his shadow.

This is how you save the world. Just drop by at Mister Donuts.


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Is the last scene in The Last: Naruto the Movie the end of Naruto?
At the end of The Last: Naruto the Movie, after Naruto and Hinata got married and Hinata gave birth to two kids, is that the end of Naruto? Will they create a sequel to the story?

last episode which episode

There's currently an on-going manga about a future story titled Naruto Gaiden: The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring.
At the end of The Last: Naruto the Movie, there is an announcement for the next movie called Boruto: Naruto the Movie. (Thanks to Ankit Sharma for pointing this out)

"other media", have you forgot to mention Boruto: Naruto the Movie

You're right, it totally slipped my mind, Editted it

Would like to add that Gaiden and the Boruto Movie are apart of the much larger Naruto Project or otherwise titled Naruto's New Era Opening Project (the icon shown seems to depict Minato, Naruto and Boruto), and the Wiki says and that the 29th of July a "secret" will be revealed


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If a Death Note user specifies, along with the actual target, the name of a person whose face the user doesn't know, will that person live?
It has been confirmed by L that if a person's name is written in the Death Note, and they are written to die in a form that specifies another person's name, (like "L Lawliet will die after he deletes all his evidence on Light Yagi and goes to Misa Amani's apartment") then all of them would die of a heart attack.
This is due to Rule XI

[...] once the victim's name has been written, the individual's death can never be avoided.

The rule above may appear to trump Rule X

Whether the cause of the individual's death is either a suicide or accident, if the death leads to the death of more than the intended, the person will simply die of a heart attack. [...]

However, it does not. "The victim" is automatically anyone whose name is written in the Death Note.
Suppose somebody uses a Death Note to kill someone and specifies another person's name in the description. Will that person — who is specified, but not intended to be killed — live, if the Death Note user does not know their face?

Possibly covered by the answers in this? The idea is that as long as the name appears, the usual rules for killing people are applied, and so the face must be known.

The person would live in many cases. That rule indeed says that if multiple people are specified, that they all would end up having a heart attack, but it does not circumvent all the other existing rules. You would still need to have the person's face in mind while writing and the name should be the person's real name and not a nickname. The only thing that rule says is that all other details regarding the first person's death are just ignored.
For example if you write

Person A stabbed to the heart. Person A would hug person B and would then kill person C. Person D would become jealous and would stab person A.

the Death Note would read it as

Person A stabbed to the heart. Person A would hug Person B and would then kiss Person C. Person D would become jealous and would stab Person A.

or

Person A
  Person B
  Person C
  Person D

So unless you had the specific person's face in mind while writing the name or unless the name was fake, the person would die from a heart attack.

According to How to Use: I

This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.

Therefore, answer for this question is
That people, who Deathnote user does not know their face, will live.