Magic and Monsters
Just what is the Escaflowne?
What is a mech?
This series features a spacy girl called Osaka, a child genius named Chiyo-chan, the cool girl who loves cute things called Miss Sakaki, wildcat high school girl Tomo, her cranky friend Yomi, and a whole slew of interesting people and terrible teachers.
What is Azumanga Daioh?
Ichigo and the soul society hunt down spirits that haven't moved on to the next life, and have a particular name for these kinds of spirits.
What is Hollows?
Aside from being a visually stunning series, Gankutsuou is also a fairly faithful adaptation of a famous classic French novel, involving revenge and sword fights.
What is The Count of Monte Cristo?
Naoko Takeuchi, known for Sailor Moon, is married to another manga creator who's pretty well known too. His series is yet to be finished though. What series is it?
What is HunterxHunter?
Alucard is the sworn bodyguard of Sir Integra Wingate Hellsing, but he is also known by another name, one with a storied history.
Who is Count Dracula?
Before Onizuka became such a great teacher, he had a different and generally considered less reputable profession. What was it?
What is a gangster?
Before Kenshin swore against violence, he had a very infamous name, still whispered by those in the know.
What is Hitokiri Battosai?
Record of Lodoss War is actually based on something from the creator's life, rather than being just a story made for the anime/manga.
What is the creator's original tabletop game?
Samurai Champloo is a creation of the same person as an iconic jazz-filled bounty hunting series. In fact, it was the next series he worked on after this one.
What is Cowboy Bebop?
The names of the main characters in Sorceror Hunters are all jokes or puns relating to one topic, and not the same topic as the Dragonball names.
What is food?
This style of street racing is what Takumi participates in when not delivering tofu in his dad's car in Initial D.
What is drifting?
The Saotome and Tendo families practice the same unusually named martial arts style in Ranma 1/2, despite not otherwise getting along.
What is Anything Goes Style?
This famous classic Chinese tale is one of the three great Chinese epics and the inspiration for such anime as Dragon Ball, One Piece, and Saiyuki.
What is Journey to the West?
The team behind Tenchi Muyo worked first on what dark all-girl mech series. They wanted to make a lighthearted episode or a spinoff involving the brother character, but were shot down and decided to make Tenchi instead.
What is Bubblegum Crisis?
Lina Inverse is best known for this signature spell, the strongest black magic spell a human can cast, that can level mountains and even affect astral beings.
What is Dragon Slave?
Clannad has many odd occurrences and coincidences, as well as a running theme in the ending and within the show of a particular traditional Japanese sweet, commonly served on a stick in sets of three.
What are dango?
Though most of Yu Yu Hakusho revolves around fighting, Yusuke actually has a job involving all those monsters (and sometimes humans) he and his crew keep fighting.
What is underworld detective?
The Outlaw Star, formerly XGP15A-II, is run by a Munchhausen sub-ether drive. Munchhausen isn't just some random German word the creators came up with though. Where does that come from?
What is Baron Munchhausen?
Serial Experiments Lain focuses on questions of identity, reality, and communication. Unsurprisingly, one particular computer brand popular with artists and creators is featured throughout, also popular with the crew making the series.
What is Apple?
She's considered the first magical girl in anime (and so her series is the first magical girl anime), from the 1960s. It is also one of the first shojo anime and one of the first anime to be in color.
Who is Sally the Witch?
In Marmalade Boy, Miki's life is turned sideways by what announcement from her parents regarding a couple they met in Hawaii?
What is they're swapping partners?
The boys of Weiss Kreuz may be pretty faces in a flower shop, but they’re also assassins. Their boss themed their code names around breeds of one kind of animal, the same he took his code name from.
What is cats?
Blue Seed is best known for ridiculous episode titles and Momiji’s screams, but the plot is based on a specific section of the overall Japanese mythos.
What is the Izumo Cycle?
Masamune Shirow is probably best known for Ghost in the Shell, but he made another series with similar themes before it, with a fruit-themed name and main characters who are former SWAT members.
What is Appleseed?