222 Fun Facts About Anime

In Dragon Ball Z, which former enemy trains Goku's son Gohan after Goku dies fighting Raditz?

Piccolo began as a demon king's heir sworn to kill Goku, yet a year into training Gohan he dies shielding the boy from Nappa's attack.

In Naruto, the hero Naruto Uzumaki grows up in the Village Hidden in the what?

Leaves: Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, was founded when Hashirama Senju made peace with Madara Uchiha, the leader of his clan's old enemies.

What is the name of the pirate crew led by Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece?

The Straw Hat Pirates are named after Luffy's signature straw hat, which was given to him by the legendary pirate Red-Haired Shanks.

Which Miyazaki film, inspired by The Little Mermaid, follows a goldfish who longs to become a human girl?

Ponyo starts to change after licking a cut on the finger of Sosuke, the five-year-old who rescues her: the human blood gives her the power to grow arms and legs.

In Death Note, what must you know to kill someone using the Death Note?

Their face and name are both needed: the writer must picture the victim's face while writing the name, so strangers who merely share that name are unharmed.

What is the name of the Titan that Eren Yeager transforms into?

Attack Titan is 'Shingeki no Kyojin' in Japanese, the series' own title; it can send memories back from future holders, which is how Eren steers his father's actions.

Who is the creator of the Dragon Ball manga series?

Akira Toriyama was already famous for the gag manga Dr. Slump; Dragon Ball began when his editor urged him to turn his love of kung fu films into a series.

In My Hero Academia, what is the name of the quirk that All Might passes on to Izuku Midoriya?

One For All stockpiles power as it passes from holder to holder; All Might picks the Quirkless Midoriya as its ninth after watching him run to save a classmate from a villain.

Which breathing style does Tanjiro Kamado first learn in Demon Slayer, under his trainer Sakonji Urokodaki?

Water Breathing takes Tanjiro two years of training to master; he later discovers Sun Breathing, passed down through his family.

In Fullmetal Alchemist, what do Edward and Alphonse Elric attempt to bring back using alchemy?

The Elric brothers attempt to resurrect their mother Trisha through human transmutation, a forbidden alchemical practice. The failed attempt costs Edward his arm and leg, and Alphonse his entire body.

Which Pokemon is known as Ash Ketchum's first and most iconic partner?

Pikachu was Ash's starter Pokemon, received from Professor Oak. Unlike the games where players choose from three starters, Ash arrived late and Pikachu was the only one left.

In the first Dragon Ball episode, which teenage inventor meets Goku while hunting the Dragon Balls?

Bulma tracks the balls with a Dragon Radar she built herself, and she wants them for one wish: the perfect boyfriend.

Which series by Cowboy Bebop's director sets a samurai road trip to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Samurai Champloo sends the waitress Fuu after a samurai who smells of sunflowers, with the rivals Mugen and Jin as her bodyguards; Mugen's swordplay borrows breakdance moves.

Which 1989 Miyazaki film follows a 13-year-old witch and her black cat, Jiji?

Kiki's Delivery Service takes its Japanese title's word for home delivery from a Yamato Transport trademark, and the courier, whose own logo is a black cat, sponsored the film.

In Death Note, L's first name really is L; what is his surname, revealed only in a guidebook?

Lawliet is never spoken in the series: the detective hides behind aliases, even enrolling at Light's university as Hideki Ryuga, the name of a famous pop star.

Which Survey Corps soldier is known as 'Humanity's Strongest' in Attack on Titan?

Levi Ackerman was born in the Underground beneath the capital and ran with a band of thieves there before the Survey Corps recruited him.

Which anime studio produced Cowboy Bebop?

Sunrise, the studio behind Gundam, made Cowboy Bebop in 1998; its producer Masahiko Minami then left with two colleagues to found the studio Bones.

In Naruto, what is the name of the nine-tailed fox sealed inside Naruto?

Kurama, the Nine-Tails, was sealed inside Naruto by his father, the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, to protect the village from its destructive power.

What is the name of the power system in the anime Hunter x Hunter?

Nen is the control of one's own life energy, or aura, and it grows stronger under a vow: the stricter the limit a user accepts, the more powerful the ability becomes.

In Sailor Moon, what is the name of the heroine's talking black cat?

Luna is no ordinary cat: she and Artemis, Sailor Venus's companion, lived in the Moon Kingdom thousands of years ago as advisers to its queen, and each bears a crescent moon on the forehead.

In Pokemon, which of these types is super effective against Water-type Pokemon?

Electric moves are super effective against both Water and Flying types, so Gyarados, which is both at once, takes four times the normal damage.

Which 2025 anime film became the highest-grossing Japanese film ever at the worldwide box office?

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is the first of three films: when the television series reached the manga's climactic battle, the makers moved the story to cinemas instead.

Who directed the 2016 body-swap anime film Your Name?

Makoto Shinkai conceived Your Name after visiting a fishing village wrecked by the 2011 Tohoku tsunami and thinking, 'this could have been my town'.

In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, what is the first law of alchemy known as?

Equivalent Exchange means nothing is gained without giving up something of equal value; in the finale Edward gives up his own ability to perform alchemy to bring back Alphonse's body.

Which sport is played in the anime Haikyu!!?

Volleyball is what the title means: 'haikyu' is an old Japanese word for the sport, which hero Shoyo Hinata takes up after watching a short star called the Little Giant on TV.

Which voice actress is known for voicing Sailor Moon in the original Japanese anime?

Kotono Mitsuishi was hospitalised for surgery during the first series; her stand-in, Kae Araki, was then cast as Chibiusa, Sailor Moon's daughter from the future.

In Digimon Adventure, which small orange dinosaur Digimon is Tai Kamiya's partner?

Agumon normally digivolves into Greymon, but when Tai recklessly forces the next stage, his partner turns into the rampaging SkullGreymon instead.

In My Hero Academia, what is the name of the main villain who leads the League of Villains?

Tomura Shigaraki, born Tenko Shimura, is the grandson of All Might's own mentor; the villain All For One took the boy in and groomed him to destroy hero society.

Which anime studio is known for producing Attack on Titan's final season?

MAPPA took over production of Attack on Titan from WIT Studio starting with the Final Season (Season 4). MAPPA is also known for Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man.

What is the name of Goku's signature energy attack in Dragon Ball Z?

The Kamehameha wave was originally developed by Master Roshi (who took 50 years to perfect it). Goku learned it instantly by watching Roshi perform it once.

In Demon Slayer, what is the name of Tanjiro's sister who was turned into a demon?

Nezuko Kamado was turned into a demon by Muzan Kibutsuji. Unlike other demons, she retains her humanity and protects humans, which is central to the series' plot.

In the Pokémon anime, which villainous team do Jessie and James belong to?

Team Rocket's Jessie, James and their talking Meowth open with a 'Prepare for trouble' motto and answer to Giovanni, a crime boss who doubles as the Viridian City Gym Leader.

In Naruto, what is the criminal organization of rogue ninja that hunts the tailed beasts and their hosts?

Akatsuki began as a peace movement founded by the war orphan Yahiko in the Hidden Rain; after his death his friend Nagato took over and turned it into a hunt for the tailed beasts.

Which Ghibli film adapts a Diana Wynne Jones novel about a girl cursed into old age?

Howl's Moving Castle hides its twist in the hearth: the fire demon Calcifer was a falling star the young Howl caught, and he has held Howl's heart ever since.

What type of Devil Fruit did Monkey D. Luffy eat in One Piece?

Luffy ate the Gum-Gum Fruit (Gomu Gomu no Mi), which gives his body the properties of rubber. It was later revealed to actually be the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Nika.

Which studio animates Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba?

Ufotable, founded in 2000, followed its 2019 first season not with a second one but with a feature film, Mugen Train, that picked the story up where the series stopped.

In Pokemon, what is the evolved form of Eevee when exposed to a Water Stone?

Vaporeon was one of three Eevee evolutions in the original Red and Blue, and those games hand the player a single Eevee in Celadon City, so only one of the three could be chosen.

Which anime follows Ichigo Kurosaki, a high school student who gains the powers of a shinigami?

Bleach begins when Rukia Kuchiki, a Soul Reaper wounded while fighting a Hollow, gives her powers to Ichigo so that he can protect his family.

Who composed the iconic soundtrack for Cowboy Bebop?

Yoko Kanno assembled the band Seatbelts in 1998 purely to perform the show's jazz and blues score, much of it written before the characters and story were settled.

In the anime Steins;Gate, what household appliance is modified to send messages to the past?

Microwave: the lab's 'PhoneWave (name subject to change)' is a microwave oven wired to a mobile phone, and only when a text arrives a week before it was sent do they realise it is a time machine.

What is the name of the protagonist in Neon Genesis Evangelion?

Shinji Ikari, 14, is recruited by his own father to pilot an Evangelion; director Hideaki Anno modelled the boy on himself during a four-year depression.

Which manga creator wrote One Piece?

Eiichiro Oda traces his love of pirates to the cartoon Vicky the Viking, which he watched as a boy; at 19 he was an assistant on Rurouni Kenshin, and One Piece followed in 1997.

In Dragon Ball Z, which blast does Vegeta unleash on Perfect Cell?

Final Flash blows away part of Perfect Cell's body, but Cell simply regenerates; Vegeta had let him reach that form out of pride, wanting a stronger opponent.

Which anime genre centres on giant piloted robots, as in Gundam and Evangelion?

Mecha found its modern form in 1972, when Mazinger Z put the pilot inside the robot, driving it like a car; the earlier Tetsujin 28 was worked by remote control.

In Dragon Ball, how many Dragon Balls must be gathered to summon the dragon Shenron?

Seven: gathering all seven Dragon Balls summons Shenron, who grants a wish, after which the balls scatter and turn to stone for a year.

In My Hero Academia, what is Izuku Midoriya's nickname, used as his hero name?

Deku began as Bakugo's insult, a reading of Izuku's name that suggests a useless person; Izuku keeps it after Ochaco Uraraka says it sounds like 'I can do it'.

In Assassination Classroom, the teacher his own students must kill, Koro-sensei, resembles which sea creature?

An octopus: the yellow, tentacled Koro-sensei takes the blame for blasting most of the Moon into a permanent crescent, and his pupils must kill him to stop Earth going the same way.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, what power do sorcerers channel into their techniques?

Cursed Energy arises from negative emotions such as fear and anger; ordinary people leak it constantly, and that runoff gathers into the very spirits the sorcerers fight.

Which genetically engineered Pokémon is the villain of the first Pokémon feature film?

Mewtwo, cloned from the mythical Mew, destroys the laboratory that made it and then rebels against the crime boss who wanted it as a weapon.

In One Piece, which swordsman fights with three swords at once?

Roronoa Zoro vowed with his childhood friend Kuina that one of them would become the world's greatest swordsman; she died soon after, and he fights on to keep the promise.

Which composer has scored Hayao Miyazaki's films since 1984, including Porco Rosso and Princess Mononoke?

Joe Hisaishi was born Mamoru Fujisawa; he built his stage name from the Japanese spelling of Quincy Jones, with 'Quincy' becoming Hisaishi and 'Jones' becoming Joe.

In Neon Genesis Evangelion, which organization deploys the Evangelions against the Angels?

NERV is presented as the agency built to fight the Angels, but it secretly works toward the Human Instrumentality Project, a plan to merge the souls of all humankind into one.

The anime genre "isekai" literally translates to what?

Other world, or 'different world', is the literal meaning of isekai; by 2016 the genre was so crowded that a Japanese short-story contest refused isekai entries outright.

Who directed the influential 1988 cyberpunk anime film Akira?

Katsuhiro Otomo directed Akira from his own manga before he had finished it: the film came out in 1988, two years before the manga's final chapter.

Which manga artist created Naruto, the story of a young ninja who dreams of leading his village?

Masashi Kishimoto gave his hero his own taste in food: asked why Naruto loves ramen, he said he simply likes eating it himself. The manga ran from 1999 to 2014.

In what fictional city does the anime "Neon Genesis Evangelion" primarily take place?

Tokyo-3 is a fortified city whose buildings retract into the ground when the Angels attack, sinking into the vast cavern beneath it called the GeoFront.

In Initial D, Takumi Fujiwara hones his drifting on mountain roads while delivering what for his father's shop?

Tofu: years of dawn delivery runs in his father's ageing Toyota AE86 are what let Takumi out-drive the street racers of Gunma without ever having raced.

Who is the main protagonist of 'Cowboy Bebop'?

Spike Spiegel faked his own death to escape the Red Dragon crime syndicate; he fights in Jeet Kune Do and follows the philosophy of its founder, Bruce Lee.

In Fullmetal Alchemist, what is the name for the prosthetic mechanical limbs Edward Elric wears?

Automail replaces the arm and leg Edward lost; his childhood friend Winry Rockbell builds and repairs the limbs, and tends to hit him with a wrench when he breaks them.

In Attack on Titan, which Survey Corps commander leads the suicide charge against the Beast Titan?

Erwin Smith, the 13th commander, is mortally wounded at the head of the charge he ordered, and Hange Zoë succeeds him as the 14th.

Which alien tyrant with multiple transformations destroyed the Saiyan homeworld before Dragon Ball Z?

Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta partly out of fear of the prophesied Super Saiyan, a fear Goku fulfilled on Namek by transforming during their battle.

What is the civilian name of the main protagonist in the "Sailor Moon" series?

Usagi Tsukino was renamed Serena in the 1990s English dub; she is a clumsy, kind-hearted middle-schooler who becomes the guardian of love and justice.

Which anime traps 10,000 players in a VRMMORPG where dying in-game kills them for real?

Sword Art Online's creator, Akihiko Kayaba, appears on launch day to announce the only way out: clear all 100 floors of the castle Aincrad.

What is the name of the protagonist in the anime series "Steins;Gate," a self-proclaimed mad scientist?

Okabe Rintaro, who styles himself Kyouma Hououin, turns out to be the only person who remembers a timeline after it changes, a power he names Reading Steiner.

Which director created the "Mobile Suit Gundam" franchise?

Yoshiyuki Tomino created and directed the original Mobile Suit Gundam (1979); the high body counts in his early works earned him the nickname 'Kill 'Em All Tomino'.

Which of Naruto's mentors is one of the Legendary Sannin and summons giant toads?

Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, trained Naruto's father Minato and later Naruto himself, teaching him the Rasengan; fellow Sannin Orochimaru summons snakes and Tsunade slugs.

Which anime character is known for wielding a massive sword called the Dragon Slayer?

Guts (Berserk) carries the Dragon Slayer, forged by the smith Godo for a king who wanted a blade that could kill a dragon; the manga calls it too big to be called a sword.

In Death Note, which shinigami deliberately drops his notebook into the human world?

Ryuk drops his Death Note out of boredom and follows Light Yagami, the student who picks it up, demanding apples as he watches the chaos unfold.

In My Hero Academia, where do Izuku Midoriya and the other aspiring heroes train?

U.A. High School admits Midoriya after its practical entrance exam, in which he uses his new power for the first time to save Ochaco Uraraka from a giant robot.

What nickname does Shigeo Kageyama, the psychic schoolboy created by ONE, go by?

Mob is Japanese slang, borrowed from English, for a background character: Shigeo earned the nickname by lacking any presence, despite his immense psychic power.

Which anime features the Sibyl System, a network that scans citizens and scores how likely they are to commit crimes?

Psycho-Pass is also the name of each citizen's readout, a Crime Coefficient number and a colour-coded Hue; score too high and you are treated as a criminal before doing anything.

What is the cat-like creature that grants magical girl powers in "Puella Magi Madoka Magica"?

Kyubey is an Incubator, an alien entity that grants wishes in exchange for turning girls into magical girls, collecting their emotional energy upon their eventual despair.

When Saitama first registers with the Hero Association in One-Punch Man, which class is he placed in?

C-Class: Saitama aces the physical test but scores so badly on the written exam that he barely passes, entering at the bottom of the lowest class.

What is the profession of the protagonist, Violet Evergarden, in the anime of the same name?

Auto Memory Dolls are ghostwriters who turn clients' feelings into letters; Violet is a former child soldier learning what 'I love you' means.

What is Senku Ishigami's ultimate goal in the post-apocalyptic world of "Dr. Stone"?

Rebuild civilization by science is the vow Senku makes on waking from 3,700 years as stone, a span he knows exactly because he stayed awake and counted every second.

In The Promised Neverland, what is the name of the orphanage where Emma, Norman and Ray grow up?

Grace Field House initially appears as a loving home, but its dark secret is gradually revealed: it's a farm raising children as food for demons.

What avatar name did Ainz Ooal Gown use in Yggdrasil before renaming himself after his guild?

Momonga was the last of his guild's 41 members still playing; logged in as the game's servers shut down, he found himself living on inside it as his skeletal avatar.

What does Reigen Arataka, mentor of ONE's psychic schoolboy, falsely claim to be?

Spirit Medium is only the sales pitch: Reigen has no powers at all, so he gets by on charm and quick wits and calls in his young pupil whenever a real spirit turns up.

In Spice and Wolf, Holo the wolf deity is bound to the harvest of which crop?

Wheat: Holo is the wolf goddess of Pasloe's wheat harvest, and she travels in Lawrence's wagon with a sheaf of wheat that keeps her tied to the world.

What power does Asta's rare grimoire grant him in "Black Clover"?

Born without any magic in a world where everyone possesses it, Asta wields anti-magic, which can negate and slice through any magical attack.

The anime "Gintama" is set in an alien-invaded version of which Japanese period?

Edo-period Japan in Gintama has been conquered by aliens called Amanto, who ban the carrying of swords, so the samurai Gintoki scrapes a living doing odd jobs.

What is the profession of Ginko, the white-haired wanderer created by Yuki Urushibara?

Mushi Master Ginko can never settle: he attracts the primitive creatures called mushi wherever he stays, so he keeps wandering and smokes a special tobacco to drive them off.

In Ranking of Kings, which sense has the little prince Bojji lacked since birth?

Hearing: Bojji was born deaf and cannot speak, yet his first friend Kage, the last survivor of a clan of assassins, understands every word he tries to say.

What is the prestigious high school in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War called?

Shuchiin Academy's student council president Miyuki Shirogane and vice-president Kaguya Shinomiya like each other but are too proud to say so, each scheming to make the other confess first.

In Vinland Saga, why does the young Thorfinn fight in the mercenary band of Askeladd?

To avenge his father's death, Thorfinn serves the very man who killed him: he fights for Askeladd to earn the right to challenge him to a duel.

Which 2010 anime comedy follows the Anarchy sisters, angels exiled from Heaven to hunt Ghosts in Daten City?

Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt arms its fallen angels with their own clothes: Panty's underwear becomes a pistol and Stocking's stockings a pair of swords.

What is the profession of the main character, Space Dandy, in the anime of the same name?

Alien bounty hunter Dandy chases undiscovered species rather than criminals: each new alien he brings to the Space Alien Registration Center earns him a reward.

What is the main character Makoto Edamura's initial profession in "Great Pretender"?

Makoto Edamura, a small-time Japanese swindler, finds himself outsmarted by a more skilled French con artist, Laurent Thierry, and is drawn into the world of international high-stakes scams.

What species is the protagonist, Legoshi, in the anime "Beastars"?

Wolf: Legoshi is a gentle grey wolf who falls for Haru, a dwarf rabbit, while fighting the predator's instinct that tells him to eat her.

What is the name of the special district created for beastmen in the anime "BNA: Brand New Animal"?

Anima City is the refuge Michiru Kagemori flees to after she, an ordinary human schoolgirl, suddenly turns into a tanuki beastman.

Which Hashira is known as the 'Flame Hashira' in "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba"?

Kyojuro Rengoku succeeded his father Shinjuro; sent to investigate the Mugen Train, he faces the Upper Rank demon Akaza.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, whose severed fingers does Yuji Itadori swallow, becoming their vessel?

Ryomen Sukuna survives only as twenty severed fingers; the sorcerers sentence Yuji to death but delay the execution until he has eaten them all.

In "Chainsaw Man," Denji can transform into a hybrid of a human and what?

Denji pulls a cord on his chest to become Chainsaw Man after the dog-like Chainsaw Devil Pochita fused with him and became his heart.

In Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, what does David Martinez's Sandevistan implant let him do?

Move at superhuman speed: David finds the military-grade Sandevistan among his late mother's things and uses its bursts of speed to win a place in Maine's crew.

What animal is the protagonist, Hiroshi Odokawa, in "Odd Taxi"?

Hiroshi Odokawa is a misanthropic walrus taxi driver who finds himself entangled in a mystery involving a missing girl and several unusual passengers.

Which JoJo part introduced Stands, sending Jotaro Kujo to Egypt to save his mother?

Stardust Crusaders: Araki built the journey from Japan to Egypt as a road movie, borrowing the idea from Jules Verne's Around the World in Eighty Days.

Before Stands, Jonathan and Joseph Joestar fought with which sunlight-based breathing technique?

Hamon, 'Ripple' in Japanese, is the sunlight-charged breathing technique Jonathan learns from Will Zeppeli to fight the vampire Dio in Phantom Blood.

Which real-life actor was Jotaro Kujo modeled on?

Clint Eastwood: Araki gave Jotaro the actor's stillness and few words, and Jotaro's finger-pointing pose copies Eastwood aiming his .44 Magnum.

What object turns Dio Brando into a vampire in Phantom Blood?

An ancient Stone Mask reacts to spilt blood by piercing its wearer's skull; Battle Tendency later reveals that Kars, one of the Pillar Men, created it.

Which studio has animated the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure TV series since 2012?

David Production, set up in 2007 by producers who had left Gonzo, named itself after the Bible's David: a small studio out to take on the giants.

In which Italian city does JoJo's Golden Wind begin, with Giorno Giovanna joining the gang Passione?

Naples is Giorno's home town, and he wants to run its underworld himself; he is the son of Dio, conceived while Dio was using Jonathan Joestar's stolen body.

Steel Ball Run, Part 7 of JoJo, is built around what kind of competition?

A cross-country horse race from San Diego to New York, the Steel Ball Run is secretly a front: President Funny Valentine uses it to collect the scattered parts of a saint's corpse.

Which luxury fashion house collaborated with Araki on a 2011 exhibition starring Rohan Kishibe?

Gucci marked its 90th anniversary by showing Araki's art in its Shinjuku store, where he drew pieces from its real autumn collection beside a Rohan one-shot made for the fashion magazine Spur.

Which famous museum invited Araki to create a JoJo story for its 2009 comics exhibition?

The Louvre chose five comic artists for the show, and Araki answered with Rohan at the Louvre, a full-colour story that sends Rohan Kishibe to the museum after a cursed painting.

Which director of the horror film Audition made the 2017 live-action film of JoJo's Diamond Is Unbreakable?

Takashi Miike shot much of the film in Sitges, a Spanish seaside town he knew from its film festival, to give the Japanese town of Morioh a slightly Western look.

Which JoJo part was the first to stream worldwide on Netflix before airing on Japanese TV?

Stone Ocean, in which Jotaro's daughter Jolyne Cujoh is jailed for a crime she did not commit, put twelve episodes on Netflix in December 2021, a month before Japanese TV.

Which catchphrase, usually translated as 'good grief', does JoJo's Jotaro Kujo mutter when annoyed?

Yare yare daze is Jotaro's weary trademark, and his daughter Jolyne later picks it up in a feminine form, 'yare yare dawa'.

In JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, what can Dio's Stand, The World, do to time?

Stop it: The World freezes time for a few seconds so that only Dio can move, until Jotaro discovers that his own Stand, Star Platinum, can act in stopped time too.

Japan's first feature-length animated film, released in 1945, starred which folk hero?

Momotaro, the Peach Boy, commands a troop of animal soldiers in Momotaro: Sacred Sailors, a film Japan's Navy Ministry ordered as wartime propaganda.

Which twice-yearly Tokyo convention is devoted to dojinshi, the self-published manga sold by fans?

Comiket, short for Comic Market, drew about 700 people to its first meeting in 1975 and grew to fill Tokyo Big Sight with hundreds of thousands each summer and winter.

Which anime follows student Ken Kaneki after an organ transplant turns him into a flesh-eating half-monster?

Tokyo Ghoul: Kaneki's date Rize turns out to be a ghoul who tries to eat him, and he survives only because surgeons give him her organs.

Which anime holds the Guinness record for the longest-running animated TV series?

Sazae-san has aired on Fuji TV since October 1969 and was the last TV anime still painted on cels, going fully digital only in 2013.

Which character serves as the mascot of Studio Ghibli?

Totoro, the forest spirit of My Neighbor Totoro, sits on the studio's logo and even turns up as a soft toy in Pixar's Toy Story 3.

Which Ghibli heroine, raised by wolves, fights to protect her forest from Irontown?

San, the 'Princess Mononoke' of the Muromachi-era tale, loves Ashitaka but cannot forgive humans, so at the end she stays in the forest while he stays in Irontown.

Which US company dubbed and distributed Princess Mononoke in North America?

Miramax Films pressed for cuts, so Ghibli producer Toshio Suzuki is said to have given its boss a samurai sword with the message 'No cuts'; the film ran uncut.

Grave of the Fireflies follows two orphans after the 1945 firebombing of which Japanese city?

Kobe: Akiyuki Nosaka, who lost his own little sister to malnutrition after the raids, wrote the original story as an apology to her.

Which 1937 novel does The Boy and the Heron's Japanese title reference?

How Do You Live?, Genzaburō Yoshino's 1937 novel, is read by the hero Mahito but not adapted; the film won the Best Animated Feature Oscar in 2024.

What was unusual about Ghibli's Japanese release of The Boy and the Heron in 2023?

It had no trailers or adverts: Ghibli put out a single poster and nothing else, not even a synopsis or a cast list, before the film opened in Japan.

Spirited Away shared the top prize at which European film festival in 2002?

Berlin split its Golden Bear between Spirited Away and Bloody Sunday; the film won an Oscar a year later, but Miyazaki stayed away in protest at the Iraq War.

Which many-armed boiler-man, served by soot sprites, does Chihiro ask for a job at Yubaba's bathhouse?

Kamaji, whose name means 'boiler grandad', has no work for Chihiro but sends her on to the witch Yubaba, and later hands her the train tickets she needs to reach Zeniba.

Which director of Perfect Blue and Paprika died of pancreatic cancer at 46 in 2010?

Satoshi Kon hid his illness from most of his crew, left the film Dreaming Machine unfinished, and wrote a farewell message that his family posted on his blog after he died.

In Perfect Blue, what does singer Mima Kirigoe leave her girl group to become?

An actress: Mima quits the singing trio CHAM! for a part in a TV crime drama, then finds 'Mima's Room', a website recording her private life in unsettling detail.

Which Mamoru Hosoda film, about a boy visited by his baby sister from the future, earned a 2019 Oscar nomination?

Mirai lost the Oscar to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse; Hosoda made its hero four years old after watching how his own son took to becoming a big brother.

Which Hollywood sci-fi film was pitched by showing a producer the anime Ghost in the Shell?

The Matrix: the Wachowskis played Ghost in the Shell for producer Joel Silver and told him they wanted to do that for real; its falling green code echoes the anime's opening credits.

Who directed the 1995 Ghost in the Shell film?

Mamoru Oshii decided that inventing a convincing future city was impossible, so he modelled the film's New Port City on the real streets and signs of Hong Kong.

In the Sailor Moon anime, what does Tuxedo Mask throw to interrupt a fight?

A red rose, thrown like a dart, is Tuxedo Mask's signature in the anime: it distracts the enemy, and he then lets Sailor Moon land the finishing blow.

Which manga artist is married to Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi?

Yoshihiro Togashi, creator of YuYu Hakusho, married Takeuchi in 1999, and she worked as his assistant on the first volume of Hunter x Hunter, applying its screentone.

A 1997 Pokémon episode sent hundreds of children to hospital because of what?

Flashing lights causing seizures in children across Japan got 'Dennō Senshi Porygon' pulled after its sole broadcast on December 16, 1997.

In Detective Conan, what shrinks teenage sleuth Shinichi Kudo into the body of a small child?

An experimental poison is forced on Shinichi by a crime syndicate to kill him without trace; it shrinks him instead, and he hides under the name Conan Edogawa.

The time-travelling robot Doraemon is built in the shape of which animal?

A cat: Doraemon is a robot cat from the 22nd century who lost his ears to gnawing rodents, which left him earless and terrified of mice.

Who sends Doraemon back in time to look after the hapless schoolboy Nobita?

His great-great-grandson, Sewashi, is still burdened by the debts Nobita left behind, so he sends Doraemon back to change the family's luck.

Yu-Gi-Oh!'s card game Duel Monsters was originally called what in the manga?

Magic & Wizards began as just one of the games in the manga; Kazuki Takahashi has said it drew the most response from readers, so the story turned to cards.

Which 15-year-old civilian pilots the RX-78-2 in Mobile Suit Gundam?

Amuro Ray, a 15-year-old civilian, pilots the RX-78-2 in the 1979 series, which was cut short at 43 episodes before Bandai's Gunpla kits made it a phenomenon.

Which Rumiko Takahashi series was her first commercial success, in 1978?

Urusei Yatsura made Takahashi's name, yet she planned its alien heroine Lum for the first chapter only and left her out of the second before bringing her back.

In Slam Dunk, why does delinquent Hanamichi Sakuragi first join the Shohoku basketball team?

To impress a girl: Sakuragi, turned down by fifty girls, hated basketball because the last of them liked a player, until Haruko Akagi urged him to try the sport.

Speed Racer was known in Japan by what title?

Mach GoGoGo became Speed Racer in the hands of Peter Fernandez, who wrote the English scripts and theme lyrics and voiced both Speed and Racer X himself.

Which anime's hero is a five-year-old kindergartner from Kasukabe, near Tokyo?

Crayon Shin-chan began in a magazine for adult men, yet Kasukabe, where creator Yoshito Usui lived, later registered the hero's family as special residents.

Which anime studio lost 36 of its staff in a 2019 arson attack?

Kyoto Animation's Studio 1 was set alight on 18 July 2019; donations poured in from around the world, and Japan's parliament passed a special measure making them tax-exempt.

Hideaki Anno first gained recognition working on which 1984 Miyazaki film?

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was short of animators, so Anno turned up with his drawings, impressed Miyazaki and was handed the hardest scene, the Giant Warrior's attack.

Which band scored both Your Name and Weathering with You?

Radwimps' singer Yojiro Noda was asked for music that would work like the characters' own lines, and the Your Name soundtrack became the band's first number-one album in Japan.

Which childhood friend of Kentaro Miura supervises Berserk after Miura's 2021 death?

Kouji Mori, Miura's friend since school, supervises the story from what Miura told him; the series resumed in June 2022 with Miura's assistants at Studio Gaga.

In Fist of the North Star, what does Kenshiro tell enemies after striking their pressure points?

'You are already dead' is Kenshiro's verdict once his art, Hokuto Shinken, has hit a foe's vital points: moments later the body bursts from within.

Lupin III is the grandson of a gentleman thief created by which French author?

Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin was borrowed without permission, so when his estate objected, some English releases dropped the name and called the anime's hero 'Rupan'.

Which anime heroine founds the SOS Brigade to hunt for aliens, time travellers and espers?

Haruhi Suzumiya has no idea that she can reshape reality, so the alien, time traveller and esper she is looking for have already joined her club to keep watch on her.

Who illustrated Death Note, written by Tsugumi Ohba?

Takeshi Obata, already known for Hikaru no Go, drew Death Note from Ohba's scripts, and the pair then made Bakuman, about two schoolboys trying to become manga artists.

Which manga did Tite Kubo publish in Weekly Shōnen Jump before Bleach?

Zombiepowder, Kubo's Western-flavoured debut, was cancelled after only 27 chapters; his next series, Bleach, then ran for fifteen years.

Hajime Isayama says the landscape of his home town inspired which feature of Attack on Titan?

The giant walls: Isayama grew up in Oyama, an Oita town ringed by mountains he longed to get past, and statues of his heroes now gaze up at the dam there as if at Wall Maria.

Demon Slayer's anonymous creator Koyoharu Gotouge draws the author's self-portrait as which animal in glasses?

A crocodile in glasses stands in for Gotouge, who works under a pen name and stays out of public view, so Japanese fans call the author 'Wani-sensei', or Crocodile-sensei.

Mugen Train was the first film from outside the US to do what?

Top the annual global box office: with Hollywood's big releases held back by the pandemic, Mugen Train's $500 million-plus made it the highest-grossing film of 2020.

In Spy × Family, what secret does Agent Twilight's adopted daughter Anya hide?

She is a telepath: Anya reads minds, so she alone knows that her adoptive father Loid is the spy Twilight and that Yor, his pretend wife, is an assassin.

Which studio animated Frieren: Beyond Journey's End?

Madhouse animated Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (2023), in which the elf mage sets out to reunite with her late comrade Himmel of the Hero Party.

Solo Leveling originated as a web novel from which country?

South Korea: Chugong's web novel began on KakaoPage in 2016, but the Japanese release renames its Korean hero Sung Jinwoo as Shun Mizushino.

Which group drew the original character designs for Code Geass?

Clamp, the all-female team behind Cardcaptor Sakura, had never designed an anime's cast before this series, in which exiled prince Lelouch gains a power that forces anyone to obey him.

Fullmetal Alchemist ran in Monthly Shonen Gangan, a magazine published by which video game company?

Square Enix: the magazine began under Enix, the Dragon Quest publisher, which merged with Final Fantasy maker Square in 2003, midway through the manga's run.

Toei Animation's mascot Pero comes from the studio's 1969 adaptation of which tale?

Puss in Boots: Pero, the swashbuckling cat of Toei's 1969 film The Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots, came back for two more films and became the studio's logo.

Which anime streaming service began in 2006 as a pirate site hosting fan-subtitled East Asian shows?

Crunchyroll went legitimate in 2009, when a deal with TV Tokyo for Naruto Shippuden came with a promise to remove every infringing video from the site.

Which US TV block launched in 1997 with ThunderCats and Voltron, then added Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon?

Toonami was first hosted by Moltar, a villain borrowed from Space Ghost, until the robot TOM took over the Cartoon Network block in 1999.

Which 2016 anime film follows former bully Shoya Ishida as he tries to make amends to Shoko, the classmate he tormented?

A Silent Voice adapts a manga by Yoshitoki Ōima, who was inspired to write about the deaf Shoko by her own mother's work as a sign-language interpreter.

Which studio did Hiroyuki Imaishi co-found in 2011 before directing Kill la Kill and Promare there?

Trigger was founded by Hiroyuki Imaishi and Masahiko Otsuka after both left the studio where Imaishi had directed Gurren Lagann, and it later animated Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.

In Yasuhiro Nightow's Trigun manga, Vash the Stampede's desert planet is called what?

No Man's Land is the desert planet where Vash carries a huge bounty; when the manga's first magazine folded, the story carried on elsewhere as Trigun Maximum.

In Rurouni Kenshin, what is unusual about the sword carried by former assassin Kenshin Himura?

A reversed cutting edge: Kenshin's sakabato is sharp only on its inner curve, so the former assassin can fight in Meiji-era Tokyo and still keep his vow never to kill.

How does Yusuke Urameshi die at the start of YuYu Hakusho?

Hit by a car saving a child: nobody in the spirit world expected the delinquent Yusuke to give his life for a boy, so no place is ready for him and he is offered a way back.

In Fruits Basket, what turns members of the Sohma family into zodiac animals?

A hug from the opposite sex transforms thirteen Sohmas: twelve carry the zodiac animals and the outcast Kyo carries the cat, the animal shut out of the zodiac.

In Made in Abyss, Riko descends into the Abyss hoping to find whom?

Her mother, the legendary explorer Lyza, vanished on a last descent; Riko follows with the robot boy Reg, though few who reach the lower depths ever come back.

Re:Zero's Subaru Natsuki is transported to another world while returning from where?

A convenience store: Subaru is on his way home from a late-night shopping trip when he is pulled into a fantasy realm, where each time he dies he wakes at an earlier moment.

Devilman Crybaby marked fifty years in manga for which creator of Cutie Honey?

Go Nagai debuted in 1967; for the anniversary, director Masaaki Yuasa remade his Devilman for Netflix and moved its 1970s story into the 21st century.

One Piece holds a Guinness record for what?

Most copies of one comic by a single author: Guinness set the record in 2015 and again in 2022, for a pirate saga its creator first planned to finish in five years.

Which classic Chinese novel originally inspired Dragon Ball?

Journey to the West: the hero began as a take on its monkey king Sun Wukong, tail and flying cloud included, mixed with the Hong Kong kung-fu films his creator loved.

Which Disney film did young Osamu Tezuka reportedly watch more than 80 times?

Bambi: Tezuka said he saw the film more than 80 times and later drew his own comic-book version of it; its fawn was one of the models for his characters' large eyes.

Which Tezuka series is credited as Japan's first color animated TV series?

Kimba the White Lion, called Jungle Emperor in Japan, reached television in 1965; when Disney released The Lion King in 1994, a controversy broke out over how closely the two resembled each other.

Anpanman's head is made of what?

A red-bean-paste pastry: Anpanman's head is an anpan bun, which creator Takashi Yanase dreamed of eating while facing starvation as a soldier in World War II.

Studio Ghibli takes its name from an Italian word for what?

A hot Saharan desert wind: the word reached the studio through an Italian scouting plane, the Caproni Ca.309 Ghibli, and was chosen in the hope of blowing a new wind through anime.

Ghibli Park opened in 2022 on the grounds of the 2005 World Expo, in which Japanese prefecture?

Aichi: the park grew up in Nagakute, near Nagoya, around a replica of a family house from one of the studio's films that had been built for the Expo.

Which fairytale inspired Mamoru Hosoda's 2021 film about a shy girl who becomes a virtual-world singer?

Beauty and the Beast: Belle reworks both the French tale and Disney's 1991 film, and Hosoda even brought in veteran Disney designer Jin Kim to draw his heroine's online self.

In Your Name, what destroys Mitsuha's lakeside town of Itomori?

A comet fragment wipes out Itomori, a fictional town in Gifu's Hida region; Taki learns that he and Mitsuha were swapping bodies three years apart and it was already gone.

In Akira, which event is Neo-Tokyo preparing to host?

The Olympic Games: the stadium being built for them hides the frozen chamber that holds Akira, and decades after the story was written the real Tokyo won the 2020 Games.

What is the name of Kaneda's biker gang in Akira?

The Capsules are fighting the rival Clowns when Tetsuo crashes his bike into a runaway psychic child; the army takes him away, and his own powers begin to wake.

In Oshi no Ko, a doctor and his dead patient are reborn as the twins of what kind of celebrity?

A pop idol: Ai Hoshino keeps her twins secret from her fans, and when a stalker murders her, her son sets out to find the father he believes helped the killer.

In Blue Lock, which aspiring football star tries to qualify for Japan's national team?

Yoichi Isagi is one of 300 young strikers shut in the Blue Lock facility: one will become Japan's forward, and the rest lose the right to play for the national team for good.

What is the name of the involuntary time-slip ability possessed by Satoru Fujinuma in Erased?

Revival usually throws Satoru back a few minutes to stop an accident, but when his mother is murdered it sends him eighteen years into the past, to his own childhood.

In Your Lie in April, what instrument does Kaori Miyazono play?

Violin: Kaori, a free-spirited violinist, draws young pianist Kōsei Arima back to music after his mother's death; Naoshi Arakawa's manga ran from 2011 to 2015.

In Inuyasha, how does schoolgirl Kagome Higurashi travel to the Sengoku period?

By falling into a well: on her fifteenth birthday a centipede demon drags Kagome down the old well at her family's shrine, and she climbs out in Japan's age of warring states.

Dragon Ball's Saiyan warriors, such as Kakarot, Raditz and Broly, are named with puns on what?

Vegetables supply the Saiyans' names as a running pun. Bulma's family is named after undergarments, and the Ginyu Force after things kept in a refrigerator.

The ninja hero Naruto Uzumaki takes his first name from which ramen topping?

Fish cake of the kind called narutomaki carries a pink spiral modelled on the whirlpools of the Naruto Strait. The topping even has its own emoji.

In Death Note, Light Yagami's shinigami craves which fruit, likening it to cigarettes and alcohol?

Apples from the human world are his vice, and he claims to suffer withdrawal without them. The symptoms include twisting himself up like a pretzel and doing handstands.

Which Tokyo district, once a postwar market for home appliances, became the centre of otaku culture?

Akihabara's shops moved from washing machines and televisions to home computers in the 1980s, drawing the hobbyists who made it a hub for anime and games.

Shōnen, the label on hits such as Naruto and My Hero Academia, marks manga and anime aimed at whom?

Adolescent boys are the target, though the word once covered young readers in general. Shōnen sits beside shōjo, seinen and josei as one of manga's four main demographic categories.

In One-Punch Man, what did three years of brutal daily training cost the unbeatable hero Saitama?

His hair was the price of his power, and the Hero Association registered him under the name Bald Cape. Only the hero King remembers him before he lost it.

In One Piece, which red-haired pirate loses his left arm saving young Luffy from a sea monster?

Shanks then gives the boy his treasured hat, to be returned once Luffy has become a great pirate. He is later counted among the Four Emperors, the most powerful pirates on the Grand Line.

In the Pokémon anime, Ash Ketchum sets out at age ten from which Kanto hometown?

Pallet Town is home to Professor Oak, who hands Ash his first Pokémon. From there the boy crosses the Kanto region to challenge its Pokémon League alongside Misty and Brock.

In Attack on Titan, a Titan can be killed only by a deep cut to which part of the body?

The nape of the neck is also where a shifter's human body rests while in Titan form. Anywhere else, a Titan's regenerative abilities repair the damage.

Which Neon Genesis Evangelion opening did Yōko Takahashi record without knowing the anime's story?

A Cruel Angel's Thesis had its lyrics finished in two hours and went on to win karaoke popularity polls in Japan. The director first wanted an existing piece of classical music instead.

Which line from Jason Paige's first English Pokémon anime theme became the franchise's slogan?

Gotta catch 'em all was created as a marketing tagline that would also go into the song, beating a rival line, 'Catch 'em if you can'. Its singer recorded the theme in four hours.

Which singer's Demon Slayer opening 'Gurenge' was the first single by a woman to pass a million Oricon downloads?

LiSA performed the song on the year-end television showcase Kōhaku Uta Gassen in 2019. Its music video has her dancing beside two demons and ends with her putting on a demon mask.

Which Hironobu Kageyama song opened the first 199 episodes of Dragon Ball Z?

Cha-La Head-Cha-La began as a demo its singer described as American rock in the vein of Bon Jovi. The single went on to sell 1.7 million copies.

Which song, first recorded by the group Dali, opened the first two seasons of the Sailor Moon anime?

Moonlight Densetsu, or 'Moonlight Legend', was re-recorded by Moon Lips for the next two seasons, and that version closed the series finale. The original single went Gold in 1995.

Which Hiroshi Kitadani song was the first of One Piece's many opening themes?

Hiroshi Kitadani came back to sing several later One Piece openings, 'Over the Top' among them, after starting the series off with We Are!

Which band's 'Guren no Yumiya', the first Attack on Titan opening, mixes Japanese and German lyrics?

Linked Horizon had never made an anime theme before. The song debuted at number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 and was later played at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Which anime's creator, Sui Ishida, personally asked the musician TK to write its opening, 'Unravel'?

Tokyo Ghoul's author met the singer at one of his band's live shows. 'Unravel' became his debut single, and its a cappella introduction was a deliberate stylistic choice.

Which mostly instrumental jazz number by the band Seatbelts is the opening theme of Cowboy Bebop?

Tank! is instrumental apart from a few spoken words in its introduction. Canadian figure skater Kevin Reynolds performed a short program to it at his 2016 national championships.

Which anime opens with 'Butter-Fly', a rock song Kōji Wada first sang as a ballad for a film?

Digimon Adventure made the song so popular that its singer was dubbed the 'Immortal Butterfly Anime Song Singer'. It was the first rock song he had ever performed.

Which band's anime openings include 'Haruka Kanata' for Naruto and 'Rewrite' for Fullmetal Alchemist?

Asian Kung-Fu Generation also re-recorded 'Re:Re:' to open Erased, and opened The Tatami Galaxy, whose character designer, Yusuke Nakamura, draws the band's CD covers.

Which song by Ikimono-gakari, then a pop trio, was the third opening theme of Naruto: Shippuden?

Blue Bird uses its bird as a metaphor for facing challenges and finding the strength to overcome them. It reached the top five of both the Oricon and Billboard Japan charts.

Which singer ended a hiatus with 'Again', the first opening theme of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood?

Yui had stepped away from music in late 2008, and her comeback single debuted at number one on the Oricon weekly chart. It was the fourth chart-topper of her career.

Which singer reread all of Jujutsu Kaisen before writing the anime's first opening, 'Kaikai Kitan'?

Eve first made a 90-second demo, then enlarged the chorus at the anime director's request to give it a more violent melody. He called himself a big fan of the series.

Which band wrote Spy × Family's opening 'Mixed Nuts' with young Anya's love of peanuts in mind?

Official Hige Dandism's vocalist looked up peanuts and learned that they grow underground and are classed apart from tree nuts. He wrote the song with the show's family theme in mind.

Which band of anime-song veterans, founded by Ichirou Mizuki, sang One-Punch Man's first opening?

JAM Project's name stands for 'Japan Animationsong Makers'. Its founder wanted to revive the fiery spirit of earlier anime songs, and 'The Hero!!' brought the group a new audience.

Which band's 'What's Up, People?!' took over as Death Note's opening theme from episode 20 onwards?

Maximum the Hormone also supplied the new ending theme, 'Zetsubō Billy', replacing two songs by the band Nightmare. Both of its tracks come from the album Bu-ikikaesu.

Which singer's Chainsaw Man opening 'Kick Back' was the first Japanese-language song to earn RIAA platinum?

Kenshi Yonezu had earlier written the first opening of My Hero Academia's second season. 'Kick Back' was sold in three physical editions, one of them called the chainsaw edition.

Which anime's second season opens with 'Bling-Bang-Bang-Born', the Creepy Nuts rap behind a viral dance?

Mashle gave the duo their first number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100, where the song spent 19 weeks at the top. Worldwide it peaked at number eight on the Billboard Global 200.

Which Scottish rock band's 'This Fffire' serves as the opening theme of the anime Cyberpunk: Edgerunners?

Franz Ferdinand's opening is a reworked version of the band's earlier album track 'This Fire', while the ending theme, 'Let You Down', is sung by Dawid Podsiadło.

Which SiM song, an opening of Attack on Titan's final season, topped Billboard's Hot Hard Rock Songs chart?

The Rumbling was released without warning on the day the season's first episode aired. It also reached number 13 on Billboard's Hot Rock & Alternative Songs chart.

Which anime opens with 'Duvet', a song whose later TikTok fame reunited the British band Bôa?

Serial Experiments Lain first made the song popular in 1998. When it caught on again online decades later, the band reformed after an 18-year hiatus.

Elfen Lied's opening 'Lilium', with lyrics drawn from biblical passages, is sung in which language?

Latin lyrics taken from the Psalms, the Epistle of James and the Kyrie prayer are sung by opera singer Kumiko Noma. Choirs from Ukraine to Chile have since performed the song in public.

Which anime's first 30 episodes open with the song 'Resonance', performed by T.M.Revolution?

Soul Eater's story turns on 'resonance', in which the heroine Maka and her living weapon reach full power by synchronizing their souls. A second opening, 'Papermoon', took over from episode 31.

Which anime keeps one opening theme throughout its run, 'Sorairo Days' by Shoko Nakagawa?

Gurren Lagann brought the singer back for its two films, with a new theme song for each. The opening's title translates as 'Sky-Blue Days'.

Which anime opens with the hip-hop track 'Battlecry', composed by Nujabes with vocals by Shing02?

Samurai Champloo's director had loved hip hop since high school and saw in it the same philosophy of self-identity as samurai culture.

Which anime credits its opening 'Seishun Complex' to Kessoku Band, a group voiced by its own cast?

Bocchi the Rock! follows a painfully shy guitarist who is pulled into the group. Its voice cast also recorded four ending themes and several insert songs under the same name.

Which anime's opening 'History Maker' was later played at a real Grand Prix Final ceremony?

Yuri on Ice had its theme played at the opening of the 2017–18 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Nagoya. The song also won Best Opening at the 2016 Anime Awards.

Which group, formed as a duo by two Hokkaido junior high schoolers, sang 'Connect' for Puella Magi Madoka Magica?

ClariS took the single to number five on the Oricon weekly chart, and it stayed on the chart for 53 weeks. The pair had begun by posting a Vocaloid cover online under the name 'Alice Clara'.

Which duo based 'Yūsha', the first opening of the anime Frieren, on a short story about its heroine?

Yoasobi built the song on 'Fanfare for Frieren', a story supervised by the manga's writer. Despite its upbeat sound, it voices her memories of the dead hero Himmel.

In Cowboy Bebop, the crew's dog Ein, who plays shogi and hacks a supercomputer, is which breed?

Welsh Corgi Ein, a Pembroke, comes aboard the ship after a failed attempt to capture a bounty. He also answers the telephone and steers a car, feats beyond any average dog.