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Were there any significant differences between Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and the original series?
For the most part, the story between Space Battleship Yamato 2199 and the original TV series from the mid-70's seemed to follow the same course. It's been decades since I've seen the original series, are there any major differences in the retelling of the story between the two?
Obviously, the animation has been much improved in 2199, and most of the characters seem pretty similar to their 1970's counterparts.

The question is deceptively simple, deserving a thorough answer. Read on...
Yamato 2199 is neither a slavish remake of the original, nor a "reboot" or "re-imagining" in the vein of typical TV and cinematic returns of older shows. Instead, it might be best described as a careful, even loving, reconstruction of the series for the modern era. Even the music is composed by Akira Miyagawa, the son of the original composer Hiroshi Miyagawa -- that gives an idea of the sense of continuity embraced by the series. (And, interestingly, the younger Miyagawa recreated the scores note-for-note by ear from recordings because the original sheet music has been lost.)
I'll try to avoid any significant spoilers...
The familiar characters are all present, with many new ones added and minor characters re-defined and in many cases fleshed-out in much greater detail.
There is really no significant gender-bending. One fighter pilot character who was basically mashed-up out of two different ones during the original two series due to haphazard editing and re-writes from the TV series to the movies, (though in different ways in Japan and in the American re-release) has been retconned into two different individuals, one of them female. That's about the extent of it.
There is also a retcon/rework among the Garmillan/Gamilas/Gamilon cast of Talan/Masterson into two individual, related characters which eliminates the occasional who's-who debate there.
There is a subtle re-work of the characterizations of Kodai (Wildstar) and Shima (Venture) that balances their natures more. Shima is more aggressive, Kodai more introspective from the start. It allows both characters to play out a wider range of motivations and reactions, altogether for the better -- they are multi-dimensional characters now, less cartoonish.
Yuki (Nova) is much more complicated of a character than before. The romance that blossoms between her and Kodai gets off to a far rockier start, but the characters' discoveries of each other also play out to greater effect than a simple boy-gets-girl tale.
Mamoru Kodai's (Alex Wildstar's) martyr role is still there, still a deep emotional motivation for his brother, and is taken several steps beyond into a greater significance as well.
Captain Okita (Avatar) is still the steadfast, introspective ship's captain, still motivated by deep sadness and a sense of loss tinged with unfailing hope and determination. His bold tactical skill plays out even better than before; he is authentically the ship's "Old Man" captain in every way.
Interestingly, a few characters from the Comet Empire story arc make an appearance here. Should the new series progress, there are a few anchors for it placed already.
Entirely new characters, many female, have been added on both sides of the conflict to add depth and to dig out of the male-dominated rut of the original shonen anime style of the original series. There are also an additional Iscandaran, female as all others have been -- Isacandar is still a dying race.
The Garmillans (as the latest translation goes) are treated to much greater detail. They're not the cardboard-cutout bad guys save for Dessler/Desslok as before. They still maintain their WWII-era Nazi overtones, though it's rendered in a richer, multidimensional style. There are reasons behind their motives, political and otherwise. In fact, the Garmillan subplots delve into internal power struggles, questions of honor and of right and wrong, and conflicts that drive the main story. Dessler's pride and hubris are explored more deeply -- and we even see (extremely) fleeting moments of doubt an self-examination in him -- making him every bit as intriguing as ever, and with new insight. Other Garmillans become interesting characters in their own right. There are still a few fawning lackeys and boastful idiots among them, but they server the plot well.
This time around, the Earth forces aren't 100% in the right. Earth's political factions exist, and have contributed to the Garmillan conflict. There are shades of gray this time, even among the Yamato's crew, which add some very good subplots of self-examination and redemption.
Over-arching themes abound, and are more complex. The dualities of right/wrong, oppression/resistance, twin worlds Garmillas/Iscandar, even Yuki's (Nova's) mistaken identity for a certain Iscandaran are woven through the story in ways that add depth and introspection that was barely hinted at in the original series.
There is also a deep, underlying and very Japanese theme of the question of the use of great military power. The spectre of WWII runs deep in the new series, and is examined thoughtfully. The dates of the Yamato's launch and return revolve around the date of the Pearl Harbor anniversary. The Yamato launches, secretly armed with an adaptation of peaceful Iscandaran technology (the Wave Motion engine) turned into the most powerful weapon in the galaxy -- the Wave Motion Gun. How the crew of the Yamato use that power leads to both ruthless self-examination by the Captain and crew, and by Starsha of Iscandar. The honor -- or lack thereof -- versus necessity and bravery of covert attacks by both Earth and Garmillas are replayed and examined with much soul-searching by characters on both sides. Combatants from both sides meet, sometimes unexpectedly, and must come to terms with their own motivations, and even similarities. These scenes play out in an amazingly unblinking philosophical tone.
There is a clear attempt to ground the story in better science than before, without diminishing the original concepts. In some cases, the early theories that the original played on have simply progressed, and the new story takes the advantage. There is a cleaner presentation of how the new Yamato is truly a new ship built inside the hulk of the old -- though throughout we see details of the old ship retained (such as a WWII-era builder's plate on the interior armor skirt of a gun turret) that have been retained, lending a realistic sense of history and shipbuilders' tradition.
Instances of deus ex machina that made for pivotal plot points in the original are carefully played out with all the sense of wonder as before -- but -- by the end, they all have an explanation, scientific and spiritual. The way these critical scenes are handled is often startlingly philosophical and cinematically masterful. The story telling technique banishes any underlying weakness in the original plots and instead injects a sense of wonder that re-captures the impact of the original for a modern audience. This alone makes the series well worth watching.
Certain pivotal scenes play out nearly exactly as the originals or are improved upon, if it's possible. For instance, the death of Captain Okita (Avatar) is scripted and timed virtually frame-for-frame to the original -- the impact simply can't be improved upon. Others, such as the Yamato's blast-off from Earth are both tightened and given added detail. The Rainbow Galaxy battle is fleshed out with even greater detail of the Garmillan carrier plane launches -- depicting them intentionally with all the details of a real deck launch, with deck crew signals, catapult operations, and signal lights for the pilots -- all to drive home how the "enemy" isn't so different from "us".
If there is any complaint to be made at all, it's probably that the gratuitous fanservice could have been cut back. But -- the originals weren't without it, and there is a sort of tradition for it to stand on. And in some instances, it's used to good effect to break up dramatic tension where any other form of comic relief would have come off weak or forced. In other words, humans will be humans... despite life-or-death circumstances. So, even the fanservice manages to nudge its way into the duality thread that runs so deeply through the story. I'll give it a pass this time...
All in all, Yamato 2199 succeeds brilliantly as a modern update that does not diminish the original, yet stands on its own as a definitive interpretation. This is truly a worthy Space Battleship Yamato series that earns it's right to carry the name. In fact, it goes so far and does so well that it virtually defines how a remake should be done with respect to any movie or series, anime or otherwise. It is that good, startlingly so, even.

Wow, nice write-up about Yamato

Is there any way to find out if a '2202' is in the making?

The 2nd "season" has been officially announced as going to happen.

Cool! Another complaint could be that apparently there are no English subtitles available with English audio, only with Japanese audio.


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Are some translated anime needlessly subbed twice?
Scenario:
A streaming site has streaming rights to an anime and then a different company picks up the title for DVD/Bluray viewing.
Question:
Does the second company have to re-subtitle the show even though that work has been done already by the streaming company?
Because I assume the subtitles belong to the company who made them - Do companies sell them on maybe?

Hmm, I'd expect it to be handled similarly to how books are handled. You either translate it yourself and pay a fee to the owner of the original, or you resell an already translated version and pay a fee to both the original owner, and the original translator. Maybe...

Some of it may depend on the region/country which the original translation was created and where the second company's region is. In the U.S., translations are derivative works, which are copyrighted separately themselves but cannot be produced without the consent of the original work's copyright holder.
And because the reason for doing the translation and distribution (be it streaming or physical media) is to localize for a region's consumers, there's usually no reason to need a new translation but it ultimately depends on the original copyright holder. Sometimes, simulcast streams have translations that were done under a heavier time constraint, even if the scripts are shared to the translators before the original airing of episodes. There's less supervision in some of these cases and the original copyright holder (e.g. the Japanese Studio) may not have the same control they'll have if they work directly with an editor or a script director for the licensor (e.g. the streaming company or distributor). At the same time, the original license holder may ask that another translation be used instead of the licensor creating their own new translation, though I'm not sure how often that ends up happening.
I don't have any numbers or citations to give you an idea of how many streamed translations end up being re-used by other distributors, but they would either pay a licensing fee to the translation's copyright holder (be it the streaming company or a translation service), or they could just buy it. The original copyright holder, though, would most definitely have some say about this when the license to distribute is hashed out. If the original copyright holder is OK with reusing another translation, then that's probably what usually ends up happening. Otherwise, the studio may demand a new translation with more direct input.
Note that translations, even on physical media getting reused isn't uncommon, especially with distributors for different regions but the same language (U.K., U.S., Australia, etc). Also note that some studios get new translations made for the same property on newer releases (e.g. ADV's Neon Genesis Evangelion's perfect collection vs platinum collection).

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Who was the first cosplayer?
Who was considered as the first cosplayer ever? Or, who popularized cosplaying anime? Was cosplaying started in Japan as well or it started elsewhere?

The Costume Fandom: All Dressed Up with Some Place to Go! written by By Dr. John L. Flynn says that it goes as far back as:

At the First World Science Fiction Convention in New York in 1939, a 22-year-old Forrest J Ackerman and his friend Myrtle R. Jones appeared in the first SF costumes among the 185 attendees. The future editor of Famous Monsters of Filmland was dressed as a rugged looking star pilot, and his female companion was adorned in a gown recreated from the classic 1933 film Things to Come. Both of them created quite a stir among the somber gathering of writers, artists and fen plural of fan), and injected a fanciful, imaginary quality into the convention's overly serious nature.

According to the Cosplay wikipedia page,

The term was coined by Nobuyuki Takahashi of the Japanese studio Studio Hard while attending the 1984 Los Angeles Science Fiction Worldcon. He was impressed by the hall and the costumed fans and reported on both in Japanese science fiction magazines.

However, the act of "cosplaying" was around before the term was coined by Nov Takahashi:

It is said that the first cos-play ever performed at a fan event in Japan was that of a young woman portraying Tezuka Osamu's character Umi no Toriton (Triton of the Sea) back in 1978. But contrary to popular belief this performance seems to have taken place not at the Comic Market but at the "Ashicon" science fiction convention, and was performed by none other than the then 20-year-old Kotani Mari, now renowned as a critic and author of science fiction.

With this as an additional source(Japanese).

Very informative. :)

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Was the ending of Mawaru Penguindrum completely incoherent?
The ending of Mawaru Penguindrum had a lot of ambiguous symbolism.
My first impression was that the writer had no idea how to resolve the fundamental questions of the plot, and thus had to throw out completely unresolvable symbolism in order to fake an ending.
A few of my driving questions throughout the series were as follows:

A recurring motif of the show is that the main character would get possessed by a penguin hat, and pull one or two characters into a kind of alternate reality where they were handcuffed.  To what degree was this a hallucination?  Likewise, Penguins 1, 2, and 3, plus the additional penguin, were important characters who were not visible to most people in the show.  To what degree were they hallucinations, and to what degree were they paranormal?
Were there any forces in the story that were godlike, in that they were both powerful and capable of passing judgement on mortals?  In particular, at the end of the show, it seems that two boys sacrificed their mortal lives for the sake of two girls.  Was this a sacrifice made to a god or other cosmic power?

Welcome to Anime & Manga Stack Exchange. You've raised a number of really good questions which are certainly welcome on this site, but we tend to prefer if you only ask one or two things in each question. It makes the questions easier to answer completely. If you could go back and simplify what you're asking to one (or at most a few closely related) question(s), you're a lot more likely to get good complete answers. You're welcome to split it up into multiple questions or ask more later if you're still wondering about things after your first question.

Also, the title of your question should reflect what you are asking. (You aren't asking if the ending was incoherent, you're probably asking why or how it is incoherent).

FYI I reverted your edits. It's generally frowned upon to edit new information into your question after there's already an accepted answer. In this case, I thought the information would be better included in comments or in a separate answer. The information you added was interesting, but in my opinion it wasn't integral to the question you were asking and it made it harder to tell what was being asked. That information is still available if you view the edit history so feel free to try to incorporate it in some other way.

The place that Himari goes to (with her two brothers) is called the Crystal World. It's a fantasy world that they get transported to by the Princess of Crystal, the entity that possesses Himari through the hat. Not sure if it can be considered a hallucination (if it is, it's definitely shared between its occupants), but it's probably not in the physical world, perhaps in a "dream" world?
The three penguins were assigned by the Princess of the Crystal to Himari, Shoma and Kanba to help find the Penguindrum. They're not hallucinations since they physically interact with the real world. The reason why only the 3 who were assigned penguins could see them isn't explained.
As for B, I don't think you can look at any of this as "godlike" or "cosmic power". This is purely fantasy so it doesn't make sense to apply the series in a real-world like setting. These powers are fantastic beyond explanation and the entire series is heavily laden with symbolism.

The Princess of the Crystal wants the Penguindrum and in return, Himari can be saved. At the end of the series, it's revealed that the Penguindrum was actually the apple that Kanba and Shoma shared while in cages when they were little (the "fruit of fate"). So the two boys give up their "fate" to the Princess of the Crystal, thus giving up their entire existence, resulting in a Himari that is alive and well in a world where the two boys never existed. The sacrifice was giving up their fate to the Princess of the Crystal, who isn't a god or cosmic power, but turns out is part of Momoka Oginome's soul, Ringo's older sister and the original owner of the diary (she died from that terrorist attack). Her soul was split into two and became the two penguin hats, one of them being the one that Himari was given.

! My spoiler fails. That's a great summary, but the Princess of the Crystal was apparently as powerful as a demigoddess!  As for the nature of the Penguindrum, it seems to be a crossover between symbol and literal fiction.>! The apple shared between the two children in the cages had a heart-shaped mark, and obviously symbolized the sacrifice made for love.  To be able to give up "sacrifices made for love" apparently means that the characters could operate on symbols that were so meaningful that they could alter literal reality.  This is the kind of power that TVTropes calls Reality Warping.

! I am trying to make a hidden spoiler. The apple shared between the two children in the cages had a heart-shaped mark, and obviously symbolized the sacrifice made for love. To be able to give up "sacrifices made for love" apparently means that the characters could operate on symbols that were so meaningful that they could alter literal reality. This is the kind of power that TVTropes calls Reality Warping.

@Rick: Spoiler tag is not supported in comment.


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What are the numbers in the background in Sae's room?
In the 4th season of Hidamari Sketch, Honeycomb, there's scenes where there's a bunch of numbers (and an HK with a "honeycomb" symbol) in the background. Do these numbers have any significance? Are they related to production cuts (sometimes shown in "flash card" style during Bakemonogatari, another Studio Shaft production)?
Examples:
Episode 1:

Bottom right corner: HK 01105
Episode 5:

Bottom right corner: HK 05274
Episode 6:

Bottom right corner: HK 06333
Episode 10:

Bottom right corner: HK 10133
Episode 12:

Bottom right corner: HK 12074
Not sure if I missed any, but it looks like a 2 digit episode number and 3 digits of something else. Also, not sure if previous seasons of Hidamari Sketch has these, been a while since I've seen them. What do the other strings of numbers, that don't seem to change, mean?

This has been bothering me for as long as I can remember watching the show... (along with the other numbers on the board)

x365 had 36500xxy, where 'xx' is the episode number and 'y' being 'a' or 'b' indicating which half it was.

It's the "cut number." Just like in film, any time the perspective shifts is considered a new "cut" which equates to a numbered frame on the storyboard.
Using the first episode example, the first time the number is shown it reads 091B (cuts that have some obvious close connection might be grouped together as A and B of the same number, though I'm not sure why this particular cut is a B):
091B

These are my guesses for the numbers of the following cuts. Only someone with access to the storyboard could say for sure, but this is probably close enough:
092

093

094

094B Since it's just a close up of the last cut they probably wouldn't bother drawing it again (storyboard drawings would be rough anyway) so they'd just leave a note next to cut 094 to zoom in and add detail, hence cut 094B.

095

096

097

098

099

100

101

102

103

104

105

As you can see, 14 cuts later we see the board again, and it has incremented exactly as expected.
Edit: I think I may have misinterpreted the question. Not sure about the unchanging numbers, but there seems to be at least one theory that the numbers before the X are an encrypted "hidamarisketch" with two digits per letter. If you can break the encryption you might be able to figure out the rest.
The full thing for reference:
963958208
975195648
926748230
8X☆☆☆9428
947295039

No, you answered it. I figured it was something like the production cut numbers but didn't have any evidence for it. Did you get any of those numbers from scans of the story boards or was it just from the cuts between the two with the numbers in the background? As for the static numbers, it's not a 1-to-1 letter/2digit mapping, the repeated letters (like "i" and "a") aren't consistent.

No scans of the storyboard exist that I know of. I just watched the episode and took a screen shot every time the perspective shifted.


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Why does censorship level differ between manga and anime?
I have noticed that anime adapted from a manga heavily tone down the level of violence and "fanservice" (sometimes skipping them entirely). Why is the censorship level different between manga and anime? I assume they are bound by the same censorship laws, or is this not true?

There's a Manga Censorship panel at Comic con that talks a bit about habits in Manga, of note:

Fujimoto also pointed out the particular demographic stratification of manga into shonen, shojo, seinen and josei (boys, girls, men and women) genres, resulting in a product range that spans all ages. Each of the various manga magazines published in Japan is targeted to one of these specific demographics, resulting in about a 50-50 split between manga aimed at those under 18 and manga aimed at adults.

Additionally, where money made from manga is primarily sales as opposed to something like an anime TV series where there's both a considerable investment from the studio, sponsors, and in most cases licensing for products (like figures, T-shirts, etc.), the panel also noted that:

Kanemitsu opened by saying that, despite the most idealistic wishes of progressive thinkers, Japanese publishers may not necessarily be fighting at full force against censorship. Other disconnects also exist between the definitions of obscenity and child pornography in Japan versus the United States, and also how the different cultures conduct business.

In anime, sponsorship and how much a TV studio has to play in anime productions is a much greater influence than the stores that sell manga has over mangaka and editors. Cowboy Bebop was originally taken off the air mid-way when it first aired because TV Tokyo said it was too violent. There were purportedly studio and sponsorship pressure on GAINAX during the original run of Evangelion.
Then you have late-night and satellite TV anime series which show nudity and violence, or OVAs which, as long as properly labeled, can be borderline pornography. The former has lax studio pressure and the sponsors already know their demographic. The later is not much different from how manga is sold and distributed, at a store where titles that would normally be censored are labeled appropriately or are in their own sections.
As quoted above, because of the way manga is distributed, there's a 50/50 split between manga produced for under 18 and those for adults. So you have a lot more content that's risque or violent in manga because of the split. A few decades ago when most of the distribution of anime were straight to video, a lot more shows contained nudity and violence, even ones that weren't necessarily aimed at adults. But because of the distribution method, the animation studios themselves had a lot more control over what they could write and animate. Around the mid-to-late 90's, TV studios started airing more and more shows, and they had their own guidelines on what they would and wouldn't air so even the incidental nudity and blood were taken completely out if animation studios wanted to produce a TV show that aired on a national station during the day. Note that when a show that aired on TV, that needed to be censored so the stations would air them, makes it onto physical media like DVD's and Bluray's, those white/black washes, glares, steam, etc. are all removed and are uncensored.


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Why is Ichigo always in Shikai mode?
Other shinigami are always in normal mode, and then when needed, transform into Shikai or Bankai modes. But as soon as Ichigo leaned Bankai mode he never went back to normal mode. Or maybe he is always in normal mode and he always skips Shikai and goes straight into Bankai mode? Why is he different?

According to the Bleach Wiki,

Yoruichi Shihōin has stated that his Zanpakutō is a full-time released form type because of Ichigo's vast but uncontrollable spiritual energy upon generation of it, implying that it is simply a type of Zanpakutō that, without proper control of his spiritual energy, once in Shikai form, remains in said state.

The wiki either has overly creative interpretation of what she says or cites wrong place in manga. When she trained Ichigo she pointed out the fact that he has always released sword, but without offering any explanation for it whatsoever.

I thought it was that since each Zanpaktou is unique, that some had a permanent shikai mode.  It was referenced(I think) during Ichigo's training.  (Idk which)

was referenced by Urahara, if i recall correctly...

The two characters with constantly released shikai are Ichigo and Zaraki. Both have trait of excessive energy and Zaraki says so openly as explanation for released state of his sword. Which doesn't necessarily mean he is correct about it - he is not into technical side of things.
Since both  of them are quite unconventional characters in setting and their abilities are not fully explored, there was no conclusive reason given for it so far.

zaraki kenpachi's zanpaktou is not a constantly released shikai type, as he has never even used shikai, not (yet) knowing the name of his sword

@Vogel612 that's old and common theory, based on Zaraki saying it that he is not maintaining seal on his sword (chapter 109). With recent developments it might get disproved, but so far there was nothing to counter it. As per answer - both are unconventional characters, so mulling how technicalities of imaginary rules apply to them might be tad moot point. :)

it is a Darn good thing Kenpachi was wrong as his real Zanpaktou is Epic.

Not true. Information available at this time from the manga has it that Zaraki has a shikai and that he didn't have a constant release shikai. Byakuya Kuchiki even said that there may have been no such thing as a permanent release. Unconfirmed though for Ichigo, so his may be true (constant release shikai).

Ichigo is always in his Shikai released state. He has been ever since he learned Zangetsu's name.
It is unclear and was never explained.
It's also worth noting that Zangetsu doesn't have a command for awakening.

It is not explained why Ichigo's sword is always in it's released state but many assume it is due to his massive spiritual pressure. although with new information some are considering that it is due to his quincy lineage.
And unlike what Rarst's answer says, Kenpachi Zaraki's sword is not always in its released state. Kenpachi does not have a released state at this point in time is due to the fact that he has never spoken with his zanpakuto. That is just how his swords unreleased state looks just as all soul reaper's have different shaped unreleased zanpakuto. They are all katanas but of different size and shape.

would you please refrain from commenting in answers? i know you can't comment on everyones answers yet, but what you said is not helpful...

@Vogel612 I modified the answer to make it a rectification, instead of a response to the other answer.

Ichigo is always in shikai mode due to his inability to completely control his massive reiatsu.  It is the same with Zaraki, when he openly states that his isn't in its sealed form and that he doesn't even know the name of his zanpakuto, when Ichigo asked him why Zaraki's looked different from everybody else's.

but then again my memory might be a little slow on the zaraki thing its been awhile since I've either watched or read the manga for Bleach

Ichigo cannot seal his sword for a few reasons
1. His seal state was destroyed by byakua
2. He dosent know how
3. His spiritual pressure most probably stops him from doing so
and kempatchi has already stated his sword does not have a sealed state due to his sirritual pressure. It maybe not a full shikai state but it isnt a sealed state possibly closer to how umichicas acts as he can partialy release his shikai

Maybe have some sources to confirm it ?

It is not known whether or not Ichigo can reseal his Zanpakuto. However, Zaraki Kenpachi is a different story. Zaraki openly states he never put a seal on his Zanpakuto, opening a new level of discussion. It implies that when Shinigami receive their Zanpakuto they unconsiously put a seal on it which puts it in the common katana state. I could go on typing for days but the short answer is... Tite Kubo probably thinks Ichigo's Shikai looks better that his sealed state.

Can you clarify what you mean by "sealed"?

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When does the Cowboy Bebop Manga take place within the Anime?
I know that the Cowboy Bebop manga was written and produced by someone other than Shinichiro Watanabe (although the English credits say: Cooperation: Shinichiro Watanabe / Sunrise); the manga Cowboy Bebop, shortly after the TV series ended, and that for all intents and purposes, they are the same canon as the TV series and movie; and the manga Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star, which was written alongside the original TV series airing. The chapters themselves are pretty similar to an episode of the TV series, so are there specific time frames, or episodes that these chapters are reported to take place? Or is it ambiguous and can safely sit somewhere in the middle of the series (after all the cast have been introduced and are together, before the cast start separating)? Is "Shooting Star" on a completely different timeline?

Which manga is it? Cowboy Bebop or Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star?

@JNat Sorry, should have clarified, not the Shooting Star manga which was written alongside the TV series airing.

Should I edit my answer then to exclude Shooting Star? Or leave it like that and you change your question to fit them both (so it would better concentrate the information, while also preventing a second one from popping up)?

@JNat I'll edit my question to include both

There are actually two mangas for Cowboy Bebop:

Cowboy Bebop: Shooting Star
This one is supposed to be an alternative telling of the anime series' story. This one has elements of the story as told in the anime and some entirely new elements.
Being 'a new take' on the anime, I guess this one is supposed to replace its timeline.
Source 1 and 2
Cowboy Bebop
This one features side-stories, which are supposed to be separate from the anime story.
According to Anime News Network, this one is supposed to take place before the ending of the series (but they do not cite any references). It could fit somewhat like the movie does.
Source


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Where does the One Outs anime diverge from the manga?
Today I just finished watching One Outs and I was interested on picking up the manga, but I would like to know if the adaptation is faithful to the manga and from which volume the anime itself ends.

The anime adapts chapter 1–chapter 82 (volume 10) of the manga. While I have not read the manga yet, I've been led to believe that it is reasonably similar to the anime in terms of plot. There should be no problems in starting off from chapter 83.


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Why Does Ichigo look different after he gets his soul reaper powers back?
Why in the fullbring arc he looks different when his powers are restored I mean his Zanpaktuou looks slightly different but his robe in normal and bankai state are different why is that? Also is Zangetsu still within him because Ichigo still has all the same abilities even after regaining his powers.

I assume that it's because he retrieved his powers with the help of a lot of Shinigami who gave a part of their powers to create the sword Rukia used to reawaken him. But I'm not really sure it is the only reason actually.
And yes, Zangetsu is still within him, just keep forward into the manga, there is a lot to see about that subject.

Please include relevant sources/references.

Gaining fullbring powers affected the form of his soul, so even though they were taken away, when he regained his soul reaper powers, the effects manifested in his bankai and his sword also changed.

It never really says why, but i'm guessing it's because Kisuke had made him back into a soul reaper, and in doing so, nearly made Ichigo into a complete hollow. And, yes, Zangetsu is still within him.

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Can I find these details about Android #17 in any manga or spin-off anime?
I just found out that Android #17 became a park ranger after the events of cell games. He is also said to be married to a zoologist and have a few kids. He also went to meet Krillin and Android #18 for one time.
So are these details are available in any spin-off manga or spin-off anime?

This is mentioned in dragonball wikia as a footnote

Now they are also revealed in Dragon Ball Super

Android #17 is seen as a Park Ranger in an episode of the Buu Saga, when Goku was making the Genki Dama to defeat Buu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nadz-fsWYsU
Edit: 13/04/2017 . Now they are also revealed in Dragon Ball Super

Looking at the Dragonball Z wikia page for Android 17 in the section Interlude (this would be the interlude to the Cell Saga) it says:

After the conflict with Cell, Android 17 becomes a park ranger in the wildlife preserve area of a gigantic royal nature park, where he is well paid. He is an outstanding guard who does not hold back against poachers. It is an ideal job for #17, as he loves to be on his own and is not big on cooperating with others; since he is so good at his job, he takes in a high salary. Android 17 also marries a zoologist; they have one child and two adopted children, and live happily in an isolated house inside the nature park. He went and met #18 and Krillin one time, but did not talk about what he had been up to, maybe because he considers such a wholesome lifestyle embarrassing.[2]

the [2] citation lists the information came from an image from the "Dragon Ball Q&A" section in Dragon Ball Full Color Androids Saga volume 6, 2014

the wikia also goes on to say that he makes brief cameo appearances in the Majin Buu Saga, particular the part involving the battle with Kid Buu. his appearance does kinda looks like that of a ranger


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In yaoi anime, why does the uke always say 'senpai'?
I wasn't exactly sure how to phrase the title but in yaoi animes, why does the uke refer to their love I guess as senpai?
For example, wouldn't it make more sense to say 'I love you Takano' rather than 'I love you senpai'?
Is this a Japanese language thing or is it better to just say senpai rather than their actual name?

Having never made love in Japanese before, I can only speculate that it is to regard the seme as senior. Western culture has a similar practice of one member talking down to the other, but this is more in the use of phrasing and not as much with titles.

I am going to make a couple of assumptions here. Since Uke is normally the "passive" partner in the relationship, it would stand to reason that they are the younger in the couple, while the Seme, being the dominant partner, is the older one.
In a school scenario, senpai would make sense and I'd assume the Uke would start calling the Seme by their name (probably with the -sama honorific at first) when their relationship is a bit more intimate (intimate = anything after their first kiss).
While I don't read Yaoi, one can't assume that every Yaoi story has the Uke and Seme attending the same school. There may be some where one attends a different school or doesn't attended at all, as such senpai could still be used.
However, the Seme, being the senior, is still guiding the Uke like how one's senpai guides, protects, and teaches their kōhai as best they can. With that, senpai becomes a term of endearment from the Uke after having been guided in the relationship by the Seme.

+1 for the last paragraph. It seems like the implication would be that the seme is the uke's "senpai" at yaoi relationships in some sense. (Also not a yaoi reader.) It's similar to the reason why the "dominant" girl in a yuri relationship is always "oneesama", even when they're the same age, like Kuroko Shirai and Misaka Mikoto in To Aru Kagaku no Railgun.

Just a note: Being the passive partner does not mean you are the younger one. It's personality-driven, not age-driven.

@キルア good point, as i said i don't read Shounen Ai/Yaoi so i made a couple of assumptions, i would be interested if in one of those cases the Uke still calls the Seme senpai

Senpai means senior in Japanese. It's more polite to call your senior Senpai at school, at work, etc.. rather than calling them by their name alone.
The Uke is sometimes older than the Seme which means it's more polite for the Seme to call the Uke 'Senpai' if he's his senior or call him (Name+San) which means Mr. (Name).

I think it's a situational thing, not necessarily a rule. Like with Takano and Onodera, Takano was Saga-senpai because he was senior, so calling him senpai is just how Onodera referred to him when they were in school. With Koisuru Boukun, Morinaga says senpai because of their senpai-kohai relationship as schoolmates even though he is the seme. It differs with every relationship.

In Japanese culture, everyone defers to titles if one applies, unless you have a special relationship with the person in question (ie, a family member, childhood friend, etc.).  Social structure/strata rules in Japanese society. Even within a family, younger siblings call older siblings by their titles, the kids call the parents by their titles. Employees ALWAYS defer to their managers by their titles. Even strangers are addressed by titles when you don't know them because it's rude to just say "you", so depending on your age in relation to their age you use titles like "uncle", "auntie", big brother/sister", "young man/lady". You've probably already experienced this from old, poorly sub'd kung fu movies. Yes, it's not just a Japanese thing - it's an Asian "respect your elders", Confucian kind of thing. You might not always observe this in translated Japanese manga/anime/movies/TV shows because translators switch titles to the characters' names because titles are a little too unwieldy/confusing for Westerners to get use to.
How to address those outside/inside/above/below your particular place in society and how to navigate it is a big deal and that gets reflected in manga/anime/movies/TV. Japanese aren't standing around scratching their heads trying to figure out what to call the other person every time they meet someone by any means - it's ingrained and becomes natural. Just like when you call someone you don't know (or even if you do) "sir" or "ma'am", or when southern folk call you Mr.~ or Miss~ even with your first name. There's a standard of politeness ingrained.

It feels more in control when you are older and your uke calls you senpai as a form of respect. Why? Because uke should respect and obey their seme just like they should with their senpai. It's kind of a,"you're older, you're in control, and I respect that I listen to you" thing.


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Does Obito's Mangekyou Sharingan make him invincible?
When Naruto, Kakashi and Guy had a battle with Obito. Obito was able to phase through Naruto's attacks, But Kakashi found a weakness, since his own and Obito's Sharingans were connected.
If Kakashi's Sharingan wasn't connected to Obito's. Would Obito have been invincible?

No, Obito has another weakness.
He cannot keep the "Everything goes through me" mode for more than 5 minutes straight. So if they kept going at him without letting him a chance to rest, he should have been dealt with.
However, this is a very hypothetical question, and thus can't be factually answered.

Okej, Thanks. Is the limit 5 minutes for everyone or is it the limit based on his chakra?

@Madara any sources that explain this "5 minute" limit?

@FatalSleep Check the konan vs obito fight.

Still that's debatable. He could use Izanagi and escape from death. later replace the blind eye with a fresh sharingan from his collection.

@KaguyaOtsutsuki True, but then he'd lose one of his Kamui eyes permanently.

@MadaraUchiha Do you think losing one kamui eye would decrease the ability ? I guess, the 5 minutes time limit is based on the chakra levels not based on number of eyes. Enlighten me :)

@MadaraUchiha great-great-great-greatgrandson and great-great-great-great grandma shouldn't debate, lol.

Obito only has one eye available for izanami per fight (assuming he doesn't want to go blind), so after he uses it he's pretty vulnerable. Imagine if right after Konan, another shinobi with knowledge of his power was there to keep up the fight. Obito would have been fighting with one sharingan and very low chakra. One on one though he's a pretty tough match--but most S class shinobi are "invincible" in one on one fights. As far as the fight with Naruto and co. with the ten tails--it was for lack of knowledge Naruto and Guy couldn't beat him. Ignorance makes a lot of shinobi look invincible. Remember when we first saw Pain against Jiraiya??

It's completely unknown.
Obito never wielded both eyes so it could be said that his abilities would be enhanced 10 fold if he had both. Perhaps his intangibility time would increase from 5 minutes.

Correction: Obito did weild both eyes during the 4th SWW. It lets him access dimensional planes. Please consider expanding your answer as it is too short.

Well hes basically invincible. He has a 5 min limit but that's only 5 mins of UNINTERRUPTED phasing, the instant he stops phasing that time limit is reset. So naruto, kakashi, and guy wouldn't be able to counter it by just attacking him for 5 minutes because as shown he stops phasing in between attacks. But I feel like someone as fast as naruto in his prime could potentially counter it or sasuke using his teleporting ability. Also I saw someone say that the naruto crew lacked knowledge and that is not true they knew the basic fact that they had to attack him when he attacked and that's basically all u need to know about kamui because that's the only way to attempt to counter it without using kamui itself.


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Who is Sheba talking to Solomon or David through the Rukh?
I've just finished reading Magi manga chapter 234. My question: is Sheba talking to Solomon or David through the Rukh, after Solomon Sealed away Il Illah? I don't want an answer that is based on rumors ahead of the story, I'm just asking if this is Solomon or David.

I mean she is sure he is Solomon (after all that's how she Addresses him) but my guess is that this is David who intentionally confuses Sheba that she is talking to her husband. Please answer with facts till chapter 234, if it's something leaked which will be revealed later I'd rather not know it by now. Thanks!


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Are the events in Ishbal based on or inspired by the Holocaust?
I've noticed that a lot of Western fans seem to associate the genocide / war in Ishval with the Holocaust (or alternatively, the Middle East). However, from somewhat secondary sources, I've heard that Arakawa was inspired by the plight of the Burakumin or Ainu. (The first I don't remember the reference for; the second appears on this page for Scar and on this reported interview, although there's no statement of where this is from.)
Given that FMA is a Japanese manga and that the direct linkage of Amestris to Germany seems tenuous, I am more inclined to assume that there isn't an exact real world parallel to Ishbal. (After all, the exact details of what happened in FMA don't entirely match up to what I know about the Holocaust. In combination with the statements by Arakawa and the fact that Amestris isn't really reducible to being a "fantasy version of German", I would assume that the events are largely fantasy, even if some portions might be inspired by various real-life events.)
Moreover, I would see it as best to assume that the events in Ishval were inspired (at least partly) by issues such as Japanese colonialism (per statements about interviewing war veterans1), even if some aspects might be European. My cynical self suggests that Western fans are also more likely to say Ishvalan War of Extermination == Holocaust because they simply are more likely to have more experience with it (or with the Middle East being an issue) than with tensions in East Asia, and not because this was necessarily explicitly stated somewhere.
What exactly is the arc involving Ishbal supposed to be based on, if anything? Is the oft-cited factoid that it is based on the Holocaust true, or is it more reasonable to associate it with issues linked to Japan or to see it as a largely fantastic element with occasional grounding in things that have happened in real life?

(Update) I now realise that the most obvious purpose of such interviews would be to get some grounding for the experiences of military characters such as Mustang or Hawkeye. However, I'm trying to preserve the question as close to its original form as possible (and there, I had mentioned East Asia) in this clean-up.

Related: Is Fullmetal Alchemist based on Nazi Germany?

Godwin's law

Hiromu Arakawa, the mangaka, states that she was not influenced greatly by any specific country, but rather a collection of European countries during the Industrial Revolution, as stated in the answers to this question, sourced back to an interview in Newtype USA, January 2006.
While I'm sure Arakawa took inspiration from her own country's history, too, the fact that she was inspired by Europe at all makes a convincing argument already.
With that said, I think it's fair to say that there is a decent amount of evidence specifically toward the extermination of Ishval being inspired by the Holocaust. In the question I linked above, there's a few other points that tie Amestris to Germany, but I think there's a few specific points to consider.
The leader of the time was labelled as a Fuhrer.
Not sure there's much more to say here. Hitler and Bradley share a title and a mustache.
During the flashbacks, the most prominent feature of the Amestrian army is their eyes.
It's quite clear that there is emphasis put on the non-Ishvalan Amestrians being very similar to the Aryan race that was dominant during the Holocaust.

Ishval differs from Amestris greatly in its religious views.
Aside from their ways of living being similar to those of the Amish, the largest difference between them and the "regular" Amestrians is the fact that they believe in the creator Ishval. In the Holocaust, Hitler's motivation was a duality of both targeting their bloodlines as well as their faith.
However, the Holocaust is a very sensitive topic.
I think part of the reason Arakawa denies being inspired by this is that she does not want to take a political stance on the issue. As soon as she admits to being inspired by such a sensitive issue, she opens herself up to all kinds of criticism and alienation from specific groups, mostly notably those of Jewish faith or descent.
Answer the question already! Was the Ishvalan Extermination inspired by the Holocaust?
There is no straight answer! Sorry! If you believe what Arakawa has said publicly, then no, it wasn't. She does not admit to taking inspiration from any particular country or event, just the feel of the European countries during the Industrial Revolution as well as the 20th century development.
However, if you'd rather look past the word of God, I think there is ample evidence to suggest that there were aspects of the Holocaust and WWII Germany that were imported into Fullmetal Alchemist, with Ishval and the Extermination being two of them.

Yeah... As a stickler for the "word of God", my interpretation is mostly that while some elements of this probably do come from Holocaust (e.g. some specific themes), a lot of them don't necessarily come from it per se (e.g. as with the FMA verse being based on Germany to begin with). (Unrelated: but was there a similar emphasis on blue eyes in the manga?)

@Maroon The blue eyes are not emphasized as much in the manga, probably for the simple reason that the manga is not colored beyond the title pages. In fact, many of the flashbacks are simply described, instead. However, given Arakawa's tight involvement with Bones in the development of Brotherhood, I'd say that she was quite in favor of the blue eye emphasis.

I'm not sure what it was inspired by or based on. I think that's more a fault of the readers view to think that. I mean, if I say mass genocide what will any Westerner immediately think of? It's just because The Holocaust was such a major representation of such an event we get that image that it must be based on it, when in fact, several other mass genocides have occurred over human history.
As far as it might be, I don't think so. As far as parallels go to reality and history I don't see any others.

It does seem more likely a collection of different countries. When looking at the Ishvalan people, I would not say the Jewish people. Looks aren't emphasized in the manga as much, but when talking about physical features, Jewish people match no traits of the Ishvalans. First, their geographic location. They live(d) in a desert. Even though some Jewish people now live in a desert, the tense does not allow such a correlation to create a parallel. The people in the desert have tanned skin. Majority of people who follow Judaism do not have that complexion. And finally, the Ishvalans fought back. I can't recall any recorded uprising of the Jewish people. The Ishvalans, on the other hand, fought back.
There are then two plausible choices, in a Western point of view, who the Ishvalens are. They are either Middle-Eastern people, maybe Palestinians, or, if looking at a present state, they are Gypsies. Conquerer of Shamballa introduced gypsies, but it is non-canon, so it probably isn't as reliable.
Some other things that reinforce, at least in a western view, how the Ishvalens are middle eastern is that they lie east of Amestris, and Xerxes could be shown as Jerusalem, a city destroyed overnight. Also, this could allude to the Crusades.

The Gypsies in Conquerer of Shamballa were actually in our world, not the world of Amestris. They also don't really make sense to me as an inspiration for the Ishvalans. I do think you have a good point about the parallels betweeen the Ishvalans and European colonialism in the Middle East; the Ishvalans look Middle Eastern and follow a different religion than Amestris. There were several uprisings against the Europeans in the Middle East during the colonial period, and there are obvious parallels between Amestris and Europe during the age of imperialism.

No it was based on the War on Terror in the Middle East. You can tell they are an Arab-looking ethnic group. King Bradley and his warmongering cohorts were creating false flags which would be allegorical to 9/11 and the subsequent invasion, but in the show it would be the killing of the child by a officer to incite war and create the stone.
She is using two different generations of allegory, one being the German Fuhrer and the white skin blue eyes rhetoric of Amestrians, and the million[s] of Iraqi civilians who perished under the embargo on them and the war on the country itself which happened in the show in similar fashion.
It is weird because Germany was friends with the Ottoman Empire of the Middle East so I don't see how she could make the connection of the two.
Also Aryan does not mean white, blonde hair with blue eyes as the mainstream history books tell you. Iran (Land Of the Aryans) is also Aryan and they are not white nor blonde or blue eyed.

As it turns out, FMA started publication in August of 2001. The early chapters Scar appears in (and thus, the basic details about things like the appearance of the Ishvalans, as there is an early-chapter comment about the war) must have been determined prior to the attacks as well.

Also, there seems to be generally a conflation of "Aryan" with the specific Nordic traits Hitler emphasised -- e.g. see here or here. This is best understood as being a shift in meaning.


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In which Gundam series does Heroo Yuy appear?
Which of the Gundam anime have the character, Heroo Yuy?
There are so many titles dating from different years, I could not remember the year I watched those before.

His name is obviously Heero Yuy as DuckDuckGo and Wikipedia suggest.

Heero Yuy (ヒイロ・ユイ Hiiro Yui, derived from Japanese hito, lit. "one") is the pilot of the XXXG-01W Wing Gundam and its ancestor/successor, the XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero. He is the main protagonist of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and of several derivative works that make up the After Colony timeline.

Source: Gundam.Wikia.com

This is a tough one--should I upvote or not? It's a fine answer, but I even typed "Heroo Yuy" (the OP's misspelling) into Google and got the right answer. Well, here, have a +1 anyway.


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What part of manga is this on Dragonball? (NSFW)
What part of manga is this on Dragonball? I've just seen this and the image seems legit to me.

It's from Dragon Ball H (link may be little NSFW, it's mostly censored). It's a doujin drawn by a circle called "Garland".


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What dictates who can use what magic in Fairy Tail?
I know we have met a few people with a few types, but they tend to relate and many mages stick to one kind.
I mean I know Dragon Slayers have their own set of rules going, but Mashima has never dictated that if other magic is a straight up a hereditary thing or not.
So could Lucy learn how to use Cana's cards since they are both object mages? Or is these something that prevents her from that? But on the other hand she was able to use Urano Metria, a caster spell, which was unusual.
Why don't mages learn a bit of healing magic or something similarly useful; even if they can only use these spells at a limited low level they would help a little bit.
So what exactly is keeping one mage from learning other magic? Is it just plot? Easier to study just one?

For the specific case of healing, it's said that healing magic is sky-dragon-slayer magic, so not everyone can learn a bit of healing magic.

most likely because it is easier to study one magic at a time, Makarov's magic is Titan, but he also can cast fire like Natsu

First to dispell some misconceptions:

I don't think that dragon slayers have any rules. Anyone can become a dragon slayer provided that he has a dragon to teach him, or he has dragon slayer lacrima to put in his body. Both are rare, thus there are not that many dragon slayers.
I speculate that Lucy could learn to use Cana's cards. (Personally I think that a monkey could use them, but that's just my opinion.) But not because card magic and celestial spirit magic is both "object magic". Celestial spirit magic is a summoning type of magic.
In my opinion (sorry for the speculation again) Urano Metria is not a caster spell. When Lucy used it she actually summoned the power of the stars themselves. (Note that some stellar objects actually appeared.)

And now to actually answer the question:
We saw people using different types of magic. Like mentioned before Makarov uses titan, but we also saw him to cast fire. But he also used Fairy Law and other energy type attacks against Jose of the Phantom Lord. We also saw Luxus using Fairy Law while he usually uses dragon slayer magic. Hades used various kinds of dark magic, while in his old days as Purehito he probably had a less dark repertoire. We know that Zeref can use at least two kinds of magic: living magic that created the demons and that black thing that brings instant death. Mirajane has both transformation magic and Satan Soul. But my favourites are Ultear and Jellal. Ultear used both time magic and ice make. And Jellal basically learned Mistogan's magic to add to his repertoire on the tournament.
With all of that in mind, no, nothing dictates what magic people learn. Actually a lot of them learn different types of magic. It's probably just that they are better in one field so they don't really use the other most of the time (Like Luxus.) Or they have personal reasons to not use the other type (Like Ultear.) Or they are so good with one type that they don't even bother learning others. (Like Natsu.) Other than that only the competence of a mage defines if they can use a magic or not.

All mages choose their magic out of pure personal preference. For example; Juvia is a water wizard, the rain always followed her as a child, so she choose to use water magic, eventually becoming so good at it her body became water itself. But, if she wanted, she could have chosen and learned any other type of magic she wanted. It is simply a matter of personal strengths, and LOTS OF STUDY AND PRACTICE. Any Mage can learn any form of magic, you just need to dedicate yourself to study and practice until u get it right. Also, having someone to yeah you helps. (Like Grey and Leone.) Perfecting one magic skill takes years. For example; Cana began to learn card magic as a child. It took her a VERY long time to build up her skill to where it is now. While one wizard COULD learn another form. They most likely won't so they can focus on the magic they know. Learning magic is like learning anything else. Study and practice till u know it. If u begin to study another form, u may baton to forget the one you just perfected. So you would have to study and practice BOTH on a regular basis. It's easier for most mages to just become amazing in one rather then okay in two.

its simply preference. a mage focuses on a specific form of magic and once they get good they could choose to learn any form. for example when natsu found out about romeo learning different types of fire magic he wanted to go learn as well. it also comes down to how much magic you have. a mage who is good in telepathy but doesn't have alot of magic wouldn't want to focus on other forms until he or she has atleast gained a good deal of magical volume. if a mage developed magic on a volume comparable to Erza he or she might decide to learn multiple forms of magic the very act of learning new forms would also increase magical volume because of rapid use of magic IE like when lucy meditated to increase magic practicing magic would be the equivalent of practical meditation

Wizards may learn a magic that compliments their personality, for instance Elfman and his obsession with physical strength and what it takes to be a "man" is shown in a literal sense when he transforms into a physically powerful beast. Because of this, the type of magic learned is most likely chosen. Also, Healing Magic is considered a Lost Magic (as stated in episode 54 by the red-headed "love" girl), so not many people would know it, if anyone knew it at all. Wendy is a special case because of her Dragon Slayer Magic, which is also a Lost Magic.

I think magic has to be learned. It is like studying I guess. When Erza was still a child, she was able to learn magic without actually practicing it. If you have knowledge of how to use a certain magic, you can use it. I guess it may depend on the user's willpower, or it may actually be inside them all along. By the way, there are a few characters who can use more than one type of magic like Ultear, Jellal, Zero/Brain, and Hades.

I think to be able to use a type of magic, one has to learn it. There are no requirements as to who can learn which magic.
In one particular episode, Mirajane teaches Natsu, Lucy and Happy the transformation magic and Natsu was able to transform into Lucy (even though that was not perfect, but that shows that you need to practice a particular type of magic).
And as have been mentioned in other answers that many characters are able to use more than one kind of magic.

I don't believe anyone can use any kind of magic. In episode 19 several people swap bodies and according to the Master they also "switched magics" if anyone could do all kinds of magic at any level then this wouldn't be a problem since they could just use their own magic no matter what body they were in. I also don't think that everyone has just one kind of magic that they can use because otherwise it would be really random for people to just find a master of that kind of magic to train them since there are so many different kinds of magic. For these reasons I believe that anyone who has potential for magic (according to the wiki only around 10% of people in the fairy tail world can use magic) starts out being able to use any or almost any kind of magic but then once they get more advanced in their kind of magic it physically changes them (like dragon slayers being able eat their element) which can prevent them from using other advanced magic that would also cause a physical change. Despite being able to use any kind of magic everyone has some kind of magic that they have an affinity for example in Fairy Tail Zero Warrod is trying to learn one kind of magic and Zeref tells him that this kind of magic doesn't suit him and that the nature/support magic he try's afterword matches the color of his soul and learns it quickly. This special affinity is probably hereditary considering how many relatives use the same kind of magic as each other(Lucy and her mom, the Strauss siblings, Gray and his dad, Ur and Ultear) but this isn't specified so it could just be that they just wanted to use the same thing as each other.


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What does the emblem on Bolt's jacket mean?
Emblem at the jacket's back usually have some sort of clan connection:

In the last chapter of Naruto, Bolt sports a previously unseen emblem on his jacket:

Whose emblem is that? Does this emblem mean anything?

quite possibly it's a new clan symbol for the union of the Hyūga and Uzumaki/Namikaze/Senju Clans (assuming the last one since Uzumaki are distant blood relative to Senju)

Though it is not explicitly mentioned, that new emblem is most likely the combination of Hyūga and Uzumaki/Namikaze Clan.


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What's the story behind Erik Dommel's kid?
Very briefly in episode 20 (of the 2012 Xebec/AIC remake "Yamato 2199") you see a flashback of Erik Dommel's wife and a toddler. I not only assume it is his, I also assume something happened and it's this kid that is buried under the grave he meets his wife at in episode 11 after being awarded the Special First Class Dessler Cross.
What happened? Has it something to do with his wife getting involved in the rebellion against Dessler? (I can't read Garmillan, but the flowers are in the way anyway.)


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Does the Japanese The Last Mission DVD have English subtitles?
I want to see this movie and I don't want to torrent it, but I don't know where I can buy it  so that I will be able to understand it.
For instance if I buy the DVD listed on Amazon here will it come with English subtitles?

according to Anime News Network i don't see any companies which have the licences for it outside japan, but the site doesn't say if it had already been subbed

It's not unheard of for a Japanese release to have English subtitles, but at least in my experience they usually document this in the product information. I don't see any such indication on the amazon.co.jp page so my best guess is that there are no subs. But it would be hard to prove this unless someone has the DVD itself and can confirm that there are no English subs.

If it doesn't have subtitles i'd say still buy the japanese disk and after you get it and validate it's a legit copy torrent/download a version it with subs (chances are they'd be fan subs), how can you be harming the creators at that point?

@Memor-X that's a good idea I think I'll probably do that.

No.
The Japanese version has no subtitles embedded for English. The only way you could get around this is buy the movie, rip the image, mux in some subtitles, and then re-burn a "backup". This is no advocating doing so -- check your local law.


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Lyrics in Madoka Magica - Rebellion?
I'm looking for lyrics on the songs in the Rebellion movie (original and translated), what are the lyrics for:

Nightmare song (track #3)
Mami's fight scene
Mami's remixed theme
"Dream world"
"Noi!"
"the worst ending"
"I was waiting for this moment"

The only lyrics I've been able to find so far is for Made Dame Yo.

This question appears to be off-topic because it is about song lyrics

I think this question should remain open - there's a good reason OP can't find lyrics for these songs, which I've pointed out in my answer.

Nightmare song (track #3)

Track #3 is "Mada Dame Yo", which you said you found lyrics for.

"Dream world" [#25]
"the worst ending" [#33]
"I was waiting for this moment" [#40]

The lyrics for these are in Kajiuran (cf. this answer), which is not an actual language. Lyrics for pieces in Kajiuran are typically not released (though even if they were, you couldn't translate them, because, you know, it's not a language).

Mami's fight scene
Mami's remixed theme

If you can point me to the track numbers or titles for these, I can check on them (I don't remember off-hand which ones these were). Odds are, though, these are also in Kajiuran.

"Noi!" [#32]

The lyrics for this one are also not a real language. I would hesitate to call it "Kajiuran", just because it seems a lot more Germanic-inspired and less Romance-inspired than her usual stuff, but anyway, you're not going to find lyrics for this one either.


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Is there a name for the art style in Gankutsuou?
In Gankutsuou, the art style is pretty weird. Instead of having normal coloring/shading, different pieces (such as hair or a shirt) have their own pattern that doesn't move with the piece. You can see it in the Count's hair and in the shirt below. Is there a name for this type of art, and is this something that is unique to Gankutsuou or to anime?

this style is similar to what's in the ~what a Beautiful ~ Visual Novel Series, in Sekien no Inganock ~What a Beautiful People~ Gii's clothes has the same pattern as what overlaps his eye when his Crack Equation is used, in Shikkoku no Sharnoth ~What a Beautiful Tomorrow~ a lot of the time i can see a Coat of Arms such as in Mary's Umbrella. difference is that most of the time the character's are not animated

This type of cell shading is actually used a lot these days, but just not so densely or in such a clashing way.

I'm not sure what this is actually called, but TVTropes calls it "Unmoving Plaid". As @JonLin says, it's used a lot; you can see some pretty egregious examples in Shaft shows.

"Unmoving plaid" is not a style, it's a side effect of texturing.

I think this style is inspired from "multiple exposure photography", some anime use a kind of tapestry to render character's clothes and the character moves but this background stays in place.

According to an interview (in French) with the series creator series creator, Mahiro Maeda, the art style of the anime combines western Impressionism with Ukiyo-e, a 19th century Japanese woodblock printed art style that strongly influenced the Impressionism movement around the same time.
One of the particularly notable mini-movements within impressional is the Art Nouveau style, particularly the influence from the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, likely best known for his work The Kiss. Klimt was mentioned to be one of Maeda's most favorite artists and his works gave way to inspire the blocks of strong primary colors seen in the series.
Klimt's style applies a tension of naturalism and stylization, bridged together by turns through fairly intricate multiform and multi-patterned surfaces and bold contrasts of color with highlights of gold, silver, coral, and gems. This is all wrapped around a pervasively mystical and alluring aura brought about the the spiraling and intertwining lines juxtaposed with stark square and triangular shapes. All of this is reminiscent of a ghostly mosaic aesthetic.
For more information on the visual style, I recommend picking up the illustration art book on the series Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo Complete.

There doesn't seem to be a technical name for this animation style. TVTropes calls it Unmoving Plaid, while it's also referred to as "plaid animation" and "static pattern animation".
Outside of animation, this is also lumped in with, for example, a pattern such as plaid or polka dots not changing orientation on a shirt as the character moves. This shows up in manga and comics as a way to avoid having to reorient a pattern every time the character moves.


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What is C's World?
So throughout my viewing of Code Geass (both seasons) I was under the impression that the people shown here were an alien or ancient civilization that lived on Jupiter and were the source of the Geass powers that had been passed down to certain people on Earth.
Now I went to the wiki and started to read all these things about C's World and collective unconsciousness and the crazy plan by Charles and Marianne, which I previously assumed was just a plan to make everyone obey and have no free will.  What is the collective unconsciousness (I read Jung and it doesn't seem to relate)? I'm really interested in what that all means and what does this have to do with people's souls and the Code Geass universe's take on life after death and the like.  I don't really understand any of this, somehow I slept through it all.  Also, what was the guarantee that it would succeed? Is the World of C a product of an ancient civilization or is it a mechanism of the Code Geass universe?
So can anyone fill me in?  Any official writings about this or explanations?

I don't recall Jupiter having anything to do with it...

@senshin when Lelouch commands "God" it's Jupiter in the sky, we can tell because that tower thing that appears when Ragnarok activates is going into the Great Red Spot, here's an image of it

Well, I missed something in the series XD

There's not too much information on C's World (World of C) or the imagery used in connection to it. It hasn't been officially explained so until a new canon Code Geass series is released (R3, a canon prequel like Jet Black Renya) the only information we have will come from the series and interpretations on what isn't fully explained.
What information there is all seems to point to how C's world is the "collective human unconsciousness" which is the source of the individual identities for all humans. Charles plan was to kill this so that everyone became a single identity (thus removing one of the main reason wars start) by using the Sword of Akasha, a temple-like structure which Charles refereed to as a "weapon" which was built by someone else as Britannia (particular Charles) only found it.
C's world is connected to both the living and the dead as when C.C shoots Mao she says

I'll see you again in C's World

Now we know that C.C's wish

 was to be free of her immortality to be allowed to die

So her line assumes that when her wish is granted she would see Mao.
There's a Theory that C's World may be one of Jupiter's Moons or Jupiter itself as when the characters are at the Sword of Akasha and in the visions Lelouch sees we keep seeing Jupiter. However we can only assume that this planet is Jupiter because it looks like it. It should be noted that the times we see C's world is when the Sword of Akasha comes into play.
C's World also seems to be deeply connected to Geass as entry to it could only be done by/with the help of someone with Geass (Contractee or Code Bearer) as Suzaku is only brought to the sword by Charles or C.C. When Lelouch receives his Contract for C.C we keep seeing the same imagery involving Jupiter, the Sword of Akasha, and the Geass People.

Also, what was the guarantee that it would succeed?

It's implied that the collective human unconsciousness wanted Charles to succeed because it would have ended war since not once did it try and stop Charles or V.V but Lelouch influenced this to continue the march of time indicating the world would be stagnate and trapped in the past.
My own theory is that the Code made Charles untouchable as to activate Ragnarok originally required 2 Codes. (However after Lelouch saves C.C before Ragnarok is activated Charles is still able to activate it). Whoever built the Sword first probably knew that what happened to Charles and Marianne would happen to them so made it that the Code was required as well. While Marianne could have been killed at any time doing so would have done little to stop it so as long as one collaborator had the Code the plan would in some way succeed. Of course this relies on the fact that Lelouch's second sigil is a result of him obtaining Charles Code and that the Code can't be destroyed (thus why the Code Bearer who C.C got her code from said she had tricked C.C and forced the Code onto her).
At the current time C's World and the imagery used in connection to it hasn't been officially explained so until a new canon Code Geass series is released (R3, a canon prequel like Jet Black Renya) we won't have too much information to go by.

So it does seem like the soul goes somewhere permanent and not reborn, etc.  It stills seems like C's World might be the world of an old civilization.  Otherwise, how does someone build the Swords and put in a failsafe like you mention.  You call them the Geass people, so I wonder if that lends to another humanoid species too.  I realize that's just your theory.  Just too little information like you said.  Kind of wish they had put more information out there on seemingly something pretty important.

I edited  your answer for grammar / readability - if I've changed the meaning of something, feel free to edit stuff back in.

Its basically the universal consciousness of all beings.  Individuality is born from there and returned to there, and the combination of everyone's consciousness constituting "God". Very similar to principles of many eastern religions like Hinduism/Buddhism or philosophies like Omega Point or Consciousness Singularity.  The movie Avatar also has something very similar to this. The Na'vi's follow a God called Eywa.  Eywa was their world's universal consciousness where all the planets creatures memories/experiences returned to a central planetary neutral network which can be tapped into by future generations and contributed by future generations. Eywa in turn contributes to the shaping events on the planet. Sorry for the avatar seg-way but figured that was the easiest way to grasp it other than to read up on eastern philosophies.

This doesn't quite answer the question - how does this apply to the specific case of Code Geass (and could you back up your interpretation somehow)?

Did you read his question?? He was asking about collective consciousness.  This response contributes to the concept of collective consciousness and what it is.  It was already established in the show that is what C's world is.  Rewatch the episode where lelouch kills his parents. Also from the wikia:
"It is later revealed that they are a collective subconsciousness of all humans beings metempsychosed into the World of C, which is visually similar to Jupiter." http://codegeass.wikia.com/wiki/Gods

@Quikstryke the Universal Mind is a bit different from unconscious mind, the "collective unconscious," coined by Jung, is part of this). The conscious, the unconscious, and the Universal Mind can either work with or against each other, they are by themselves separate and refer to different things.

While the wikia says unconscious mind that is actually not what the episode alludes to.  It's talking more about God/universal consciousness as any impact on world of C can also impact the past, future, present and the physical world.  Lelouch killed his parents by casting a command on God that erased them.

@Quikstryke If you believe that is is the case, please provide some specific in-series references for support, so people can better understand your point of view.


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What is the name of the last song that plays in this video?
Does anyone knows if the last song used in this link which is labeled 'Kojuro' something can be found in any of the anime ost?
Video description:

ニコ動より
曲目（と動画編集時のイメージ）
■BLAZE ～Crimson Lotus～：真田幸村（殴り愛）
  ■Heaven's Door：伊達政宗（UMA）
  ■Shut up～Go to Hell：猿飛佐助（姫抱き）
  ■水光に映る従夢：片倉小十郎（こじゅと自然）？

Sounds like a remixed version of "Suikou ni Utsuru Juumu" (水光に映る従夢) with a faster tempo and boom baps.

This is presumably track #10 on the album Sengoku BASARA Ongaku Emaki ~Ao-ban - It's Show Time!~ (VTCL-60117). The title of the piece is "[Suikou ni Utsuru Juumu] featuring Katakura Kojuurou".
You can listen to a sample at its Amazon Japan page (or the full version on Youtube, but this may disappear at any time).

Yes that is the one, however I would prefer if there is one with the voice actor in the song


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Are there any sources for high resolution (digital) manga?
I've just got my first tablet and I'd love to explore manga with it. I've looked at a couple of Kindle samples from Amazon and also randomly sampled some fansub, and everything seems quite low res. The fansub I saw was ~0.75 megapixel. The Kindle version seems slightly sharper (not sure how to be more specific) but especially if zooming in on a panel it's noticeably blurry. It seems to me that modern screens with their insane pixel densities would be great canvasses for manga, and I just wondered if anyone's started going down that route.
Clarification: I don't have problems as such, the manga is legible. To draw an analogy, imagine I've bought a full HD TV but only have DVDs as a source. It would be nice to find an HD source for the HD display. And once you're used to 1080p, if you go back to DVDs they will seem less sharp (the blurriness I mentioned above). So are there any sources for high res manga, ie HD manga! (I realise I'm being vague by saying high-res - > 1MP would be a find, > 2MP would be great, but the higher the better for this question.)

maybe you're experiencing distortions from different scaling methods on your devices

Also you seem to be asking multiple questions within one post. Could you clarify by asking the same question in the post as in the title?

@user1306322 thanks for your comments. There's no distortion, it's simply not as sharp as it would've been with a higher res image. I'm not sure what other question you're seeing in the body?

@Andy There could be a lot of reasons for that, maybe the sources you are using are low-resolution, maybe your tablet screen has a problem or is just low-quality. I personally read manga on my tablet and have never had that kind of problem.

@KirKill Thanks, I think I'm using normal sources (Amazon, mangafox, mangahere). I've tried to clarify the Q - I don't have a problem, I'm just looking for even better!

What manga specifically have you looked at? Remember that not all manga was printed "in HD" ;-)

I've used Viz's app for the Amazon Kindle Fire and thought it looked pretty good. The downside for me was that's it's only Viz, so if you're not all about Shounen Jump and other Shueisha magazines, you might have trouble finding the content you want. The app itself is no prize either; it's a pain to navigate and downloads sometimes time out. Also, they limit the amount of zooming you can do, so they might be cheating somehow. But it did look a lot better than my other reader that accesses mangafox and mangahere.

Hate to write a suggestion in an answer, but too new to comment.
Have you tried crunchyroll? If you pay for their premium membership you're supposed to get HD anime and manga (you can get a manga only subscription).
If you're looking at fan scanlations, some online reader sites downgrade the quality of uploaded chapters in order to make the pages load faster, which will result in jpg artifacting at times as well. If you're looking for higher quality, I suggest grabbing it from the scanlators' sites and/or using their readers if possible.

Please don't suggest illegal manga sites here. Thanks.

@nhahtdh apologies, I've edited the answer a bit

@Arty-chan for future reference, if you are unsure if a site is legal or not check this page,


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In the 2003 anime FMA, what are the ingredients for making Homunculi?
Referring to the 2003 anime FMA, what is the exact process to creating an Homunculus? I haven't watched the anime in a little while but if this makes sense I am looking for the ingredients that are put together to make an Homunculus in the 2003 anime.
I do remember that Edward used the composition of what the human body was made of but other than that I can't remember exactly what the ingredients (if this makes sense) on what Homunculi are created from.
For some reason I remember that you need the persons flesh that you are trying to bring back for human transmutation but cannot remember where I heard this from and I am pretty sure Edward didn't do this when he tried to bring back his mother.
If you don't get the question think about how a salad is made and think of it as if I am asking what ingredients go into it to make it a salad if this makes sense.
Answers are appreciated. :)

My general assumption is that it requires the ingredients used in human transmutation (though I'm not sure about Gluttony) - i.e. either the appropriate chemicals or the original body itself (which would of course contain the appropriate chemicals).

I'd assume it be mostly the same with every homunculus since they are created from failed attempts at Human Transmutation which in most cases is bring someone back to life, that being said the Human Composition that can be brought with a child's allowance is probably the collection of ingredients that are used.
We can from the series confrim what was used as material for 2 of them, they are

Sloth (Ed's and Al's mother) - the human composition Ed and Al read up on which during the process we hear Ed rep.
Wrath (Izumi's child) - Izumi used her child's body as material and it was reborn as a homunculus (it was still wrapped in the sheets Izumi had it in)

as for the rest, i can only make these assumptions.
Gluttony was purposely created by Dante to use the Philosopher's Stone so he may have been created differently using different materials which would be compatible with the stone, in the movie he also shoots out Red Stones so Red Water may have been used.
Not sure about Pride or Greed on how they were made so it's not entirely sure what their Material was.
Lust was the lover of Scar's Brother and since he was a heretic already for doing Alchemy in the first place so he may have exhumed her body though it's never clear if he studied the same line of Alchemy Ed and Al used (Ishbal seems to have a similar thing to Alchemy which developed the Grand Arcanum to transmute a Philosopher's stone).
Envy was Dante's and Hohenhiem's son so we could assume the material for him was either his own remains or the same composition Ed and Al used for Sloth though there might have been something else in Envy which caused his transformation into a dragon when he passed though the gate (though this could have been because of his powers which he was using to try and get the game to take him to Hohenhiem)

Basically the general ingredients seem to be: the elemental composition of a person (including water, carbon, suphur, phosphorous, etc.) with in raw or corpse-liek form and living bodily material from the casters.  Is that correct?

@kaine bodily material from the Alchemist i don't know, we only see Ed and Al add blood to substitute the soul, Izumi didn't add anything else but the body of her child. the Elric's bodies and Izumi's Organs are more from the rebound of the unbalanced alchemy trying to balance itself and since we don't know the exact events of Envy's creation we don't know what the rebound was like with Dante and Hohenhiem or if they added any bodily  material

Ah. I assumed her organs and their bodies were unintentionally incorporated into the homunculus.

@kaine i'm not sure about that actually, it could make sense if Wrath;s organs were damaged and Izumi's was taken to repair them and Al's body was used to give Sloth Trish's from (Ed and Al put together the composition of the average human, there's about to be some variance for appearances).

this would also indicate the Ishbal version of Alchemy is different since Scar's Brother seemed to be fine after creating Lust maybe what was taken from him was sanity since he walks out naked with those tattoos near the end but Sanity isn't something that could be measured like body parts

The human body composition you were looking for is detailed in a quote on a Wikipedia page.

Water: 35 l. Carbon: 20 kg. Ammonia: 4 l. Lime: 1.5 kg. Phosphorus: 800 g. Salt: 250 g. Saltpeter: 100 g. Sulfur: 80 g. Fluorine 7.5 g. Iron 5 g. Silicon 3 g. and trace amounts of 15 other elements.

However, this excludes the part of the alchemist that is creating the homunculus.
Click here
to see the full conversation between Edward and Rose.


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What makes the mannequins different from the results of the sacrifices' human transmutation attempts?
In the manga / Brotherhood, we learn that the reason human transmutation is forbidden is because it would otherwise allow people to create their own private armies (at least according to the man who talks to General Armstrong after she's transferred to Central). Right after that, we're shown the mannequin "soldiers", implying that they're the results of some form of human transmutation.
But it's pretty obvious that the mannequins are different from the products produced by Ed, Al, Izumi Curtis, and Roy when they attempt (or are forced to attempt) human transmutation - in the case of the mannequins, the transmutation has actually produced what the alchemist probably wanted and is "successful".
Given this, what's the difference between the human transmutation referred to in the context of the mannequins and human transmutation as attempted by the sacrifices? Is the difference in result simply an issue of having a different intended result and/or maybe philosopher's stones, or is there potentially a different explanation for this?

It's very simple. The so called act of "human transmutation" means that the intent of such alchemy is to create a fully functional human being, complete with memories, emotions, capability to feel and think. In other words, a perfect copy of a person.
The mannequins are mere cannon fodder. They don't have the ability to feel or have complex thoughts. They are just war machines following the order. That was the original intent with which they were created.
Compared to transmuted people, mannequins are much simpler, and as a result pose a much lesser threat to the world. Imagine if human transmutation went perfectly every time, and that you could create any number of smart, ingenuous people. What would bad alchemists do? Recreate evil geniuses of the past maybe, which would be much more dangerous than a bunch of brainless soldier mannequins. That's one of the reasons why human transmutation is forbidden, aside from being impossible to perform perfectly.

True - I suppose they're actually operating under different "definitions" of human transmutation, though I'm not completely sure about the second bit. (I suppose in of themselves the mannequins are also dangerous, to a degree?)

Sure, if you create a million mannequins, you'll have a freakin army of mannequins. But just one smart person could be enough to overweight their numbers with brainpower.

Aside from danger aspect, there is an emotional side to this question. When you see a ton of murderous monsters obeying their creator, you probably won't freak out as much as if you'd've seen a horribly disfigured screaming mass of agony frighteningly resembling your loved one or a friend.  Consider that an argument against human transmutation due to high risk of inducing insanity.

Also I guess you could multiply yourself to exponentially increase the number of alchemists who can do this transmutation and "spam" the entire planet's surface with copies of some random people (or one person to add to the insanity). There are probably scifi stories about such a scenario, and it doesn't sound healthy for the rest of the planet's population :p

The mannequins are explicitly stated to be "humanoid receptacles", not attempts to create a human body. Rather than attempting to call back a soul that no-longer exists in the world, the mannequins were existing souls bound to ready made doll bodies.


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Origin of witches incantations
Blair in Soul Eater says "Pum-pum-pkin, pumpkin" and Eva in Negima says "Lic, lac, La lac Lilac" before every spell they use.
Is there any kind of source to this pattern or is it just a coincidence?
Note: I didn't know how to be specific in the title. I hope it isn't misleading.
EDIT: As per Memor-X's request, I have to make my question clearer. I want the source of the idea that inspired the mangaka to use it and not the anime/manga's internal story.

Negima has explanation for it. It is an activation keyword that "unlocks the mage's magical pathways", "can be any kind of phrase or even nonsense, as long it feels comfortable and natural to the user"

Unless Negima and Soul Eater are set in the same universe or have been stated in canon that they are connected i might suggest that you split your question into 2 asking about witches in the different series as not all anime universes use magic in the same way, the Nasuverse (Type-moon) True Magic is rare while Magecraft is more of an emulation of True Magic, in the ~What a Beautiful~ universe their magic are Equations with no link to Mana while in Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha their Magic are more Programs powered by mana

@nhahtdh I remember in "Magical Girl Squad Arusu" or otherwise known as "The Adventures of Tweeny Witches", the protagonist casts her magic using any gibberish that helps her remember the pattern. Although I wanted a deeper meaning to it, if you put your comment as an answer I would accept it.

@WajihAziza: No. I wrote that comment when I didn't understand your question. It seems that you are asking this question in general, which is not what I was addressing.

I realize this is an old question, but as soon as I saw it, I immediately thought of Shakespeare's witches: "Double, double, toil and trouble" also has a specific pattern of repetition. Like most of Shakespeare, this probably came from an older source, though I couldn't find one in my superficial search.

I would assume the basis mangaka's use for witch incantations and the like would come from Mantras. sometimes they are called Arias or incantations but the basic principle is that the words that make them up hold value either to the actual spell or to the user.
In Soul Eater the witches use Arias which flow from their themes. For Blair, even though she's "a cat with a ridiculous amount of magic", her attacks are themed around Halloween and pumpkins are a symbol of Halloween eg. "Pumpkin Pumpkin, Halloween Cannon!".
For Medusa, her theme is Snakes, so when she says "Nake snake cobra cobubra", it's a reference to snakes ("Nake" and "cobubra" may be deliberate misspellings of Snake and cobra), and her Vector Magic seems to resemble snakes in how they move.
I haven't seen Negima however from nhahtdh's comment it would work out the same since the words "feels comfortable and natural to the user" the words would have a psychological effect on the caster. so most likely a new mage will have weaker/unstable spells in the beginning but as they practice they build up an Aria which will make them feel conformable.

Thank you, that was a very good answer and I appreciate it. I had forgotten about Medusa's incantation and her vector magic.

@WajihAziza as i said in my comment to your question, you'd  want to edit this question to asked about Soul Eater witches (because the only answer so far relates to Soul Eater) and make another question about Negima Witches, i believe nhahtdh could post an answer to the Negima question

@MemorX I may have not formulated my question very well. But I do not believe asking the same question twice is constructive. I do not want info on who did what in a specific episode. I want to know if there is some sort of folklore, legend or mythology behind finding a similar idea in various animes/mangas, and in this case, a witch's incantation. Thank you.

@WajihAziza ahhh, if i understand that right you asking if there is a source outside the anime rather than the source within the anime's own lore (ie. my answer which focuses on just the internal lore), might want to just make that clear in your question


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What makes an anime a classic?
I remember when one of Hayao Miyazaki's films came out, it was considered a new classic. What makes the anime a new classic.

+1- Probably originality and an anime that you'll remember fifty years later and have a nostalgic flashback of.

Who is the body that considers it a classic, the general public or like 'classic anime' dvd releases? The first is definitely more subjective

... Is this regarding Howl's Moving Castle?
It was based on a classic fantasy novel (by Diana Wynne Jones) so maybe some people were actually referring it to a new take on a classic, or it was classic in the sense that people knew it was going to be a classic because the quality of that film was on that tier. Kind of like how in the same way Disney movies turn out to be classics even when a new film comes out because of it's rich history in making classic animated movies.

@Velda- I think she is asking what makes an anime a classic rather than what is a classic.


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Does Manga Video still do films?
Does the production company Manga Video, still produce films? For instance they produced the Ghost in the Shell movie. Do not produce films any more? If so, what happened?

Sorry, but what exactly are you referring to? If you're asking about the company that produced the Ghost in the Shell film, it's correctly known as Production I.G.

Manga Video is just the distributor and co-producer of the anime Ghost in the Shell. The production company is, as hungerartist pointed out, Production I.G.. Manga Video only helped in production by contributing money.
To answer your question: Yes, Manga Video sill exists and yes, Production I.G. still produces anime.

Rather than a producer, Manga Entertainment are more of a publisher of anime (despite what their name implies).


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Why couldn't Dante create a Philosophers Stone by herself?
In the 2003 Anime Fullmetal Alchemist, in episode 45, she says that she had the Homunculi search for a Philosophers Stone because without Hohenhiem she was unable to create one by herself. But why?
Did she require knowledge that only Hohenheim had or was she simply not strong enough to do it? Because in a flash backs of Dante and Hohenheim's history, he did all the work, which would suggest that maybe she needed knowledge or strength or both, such as what Transmutation requires, but I'm not sure.
An answer would greatly be appreciated.

The reason she couldn't is simply because of the risk. Unmarked spoilers follow.
Recall that, during their first attempt to create a Philosopher's Stone, Hohenheim was nearly killed by the process. In order to keep Hohenheim from dying, Dante used alchemy to fix his soul to another body.

Because of this risk, Dante knew that, in order to create another Philosopher's Stone, she needed a way to survive the process. That meant that she either needed someone else who would complete the process—so that she would not die—or someone who could save her after the process was complete.
Since alchemists of the aforementioned skill levels are rare, and those who possess such abilities would likely not have helped a suspicious old lady (or young lady, by the end of FMA), Dante needed (and trusted) only Hohenheim to help her complete the process.