u/Visible_Investment47

This just an observation that I found interesting. The majority of the time the choice of weapon makes the difference, and so many times Kenshin would have killed with a proper sword, except for 1 time.

Various henchmen, Gohei, Sano, Hannya, Raijuta. Saito, Senkaku, Sojiro, Aoshi 2, Shishio, Enishi... against almost every single opponent Kenshin has landed a blow that would have crippled or killed an opponent. Aoshi is basically the only opponent he never actually hit with his sword. He used the hilt of his own and Aoshi's own sword to hit Aoshi in the throat two separate times, knocking him out.

The reason I say technically is just because it's demonstrated that past Kenshin wasn't above finishing a downed opponent to make sure they're dead, so unless the other Oniwaban got there faster he would still kill Aoshi.

I'm uncertain how to classify Gein, though, as he might be the second. However, if Kenshin wrecked his suit with ARNH that badly with the dull side of a sword I can only assume Gein would have died if Kenshin used a proper sword with the move as it would be much faster and thus stronger.

Gein even says he would have been finished without the impact absorption mechanism and is too drained to keep fighting afterwards, so a little more power, even without direct contact, feels like it should be enough to kill him.

I guess if you REALLY want to stretch the definition of a "fight" the artist guy with the bombs would live, but the fight got interrupted before Kenshin would need to land a blow and it's obvious he would have won if it had continued.

Aoshi has a shorter sword than Kenshin, which gives him higher speed to block all of Kenshin's blows before responding with punches or kicks to wear the opponent down. To circumvent this Kenshin adjusts his hold on his sword so he's not gripping the bottom of the sword but slightly above the crossguard. While this does cut his own hand a little it does allow Kenshin to get a good hit in.

I can understand shifting the center of gravity but his hand is still low on the sword so the weight distribution wouldn't change that drastically. As well, it doesn't change that Kenshin is still wielding a heavier full-length sword compared to Aoshi's smaller and lighter sword even if he was holding it dead center where the weight distribution would be almost equal.

Iroh mentions that the Avatar gives Zuko hope of returning home and, and while he tries leading Zuko down a better path he stays as mainly an observer. He helps Zuko get one over on Zhao, sneaking him onto the ship so Zuko can try capturing Aang at the North Pole, but he knows that Zuko has good in him that is being overwhelmed by his anger and shame over his circumstances.

So let's say everything goes as planned. Zuko knocks out and captures Aang, sets him in a place where his Air Bending (or other elements if it's later in the show) can't help him and restrains him, and they're heading towards the Fire Nation. Does Iroh really do nothing and let the world's last hope vanish, or would he find a way to let Aang escape just so they could start the pursuit again while still trying to help Zuko become a better person?

When he's fighting against Cho with his broken sword to protect Iori he loses it as well as the sheathe, leaving himself at a massive offensive disadvantage.

Iori's dad grabs Shakku's last sword and throws it to him, but Kenshin refuses to draw it because it's not a reverse blade sword and it's too dangerous with his vow not to kill to draw a bladed weapon. And because the sheathe is made of wood he can't use that either.

In the end it just so happens that the sword IS a reverse blade sword, but if it WAS like a normal sword then just flip it and fight normally. Its not like he hasn't flipped his reverse blade sword on occasion when he's not using it on a person, like against Sano's Zanbato, so its possible for him to fight with a flipped sword.

I don't get why he refuses to even check it at least besides for a dramatic moment and reveal.

I loved this special but man does the ending depress me, because A-Kira Minoru followed all the known rules. He was only brought down because the Shinigami King was petty that it was being used in a way they didn't like and made a new rule to spite him. So even though he won by making none of the mistakes Light did, he still got sideswiped by something that didn't exist when he made his plans. It makes the ending feel kinda cheap that he gets killed off in the end.

If Minoru MUST face consequences for even making a plan with the notebook despite not actually writing in it, because "all those who own a Death Note face misfortune,"I think a simple change that would have made it better for me is to simply retcon it as always having been a rule. Yeah, it's not part of the original series "How to use it" rules, but who says those are the ONLY rules? After all, I believe one of them even says that not even the Shinigami know all the conditions of using the notebook.

In the original series Ryuk delighted in concealing information until it was inconvenient. He was there as a troll observer. Him going along with Minoru's plan for that month of the auction, or however long it was, and then the waiting period before everyone got the money, and then at the last moment going "LOL, if you withdraw any of that money you're gonna immediately be killed," is perfectly in character for him.

So Minoru might be a millionaire or billionaire, but he must live his life as a lower or middle-class citizen. The money will always be out of reach, unless he's willing to die to boost the funds of his mother after he passes. If he chooses life, he has to somehow explain why he has all this money but can't touch it, without mentioning that it's cursed for him specifically.

With this simple change, while he still loses to a rule we didn't know about, at least it doesn't feel like a total cheapshot because we know Ryuk's character very well after 12 volumes or 36(?) episodes.

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I just realized a flaw in my own argument, in that Minoru would forget about the money being a death trap after giving up the Death Note. For the sake of argument, let's say after the USA declines the notebook because the president doesn't want to die for accepting it, that Ryuk gave it back to Minoru to make him aware of the sadistic choice, as I believe Ryuk would find that entertaining. He can't ever give up the Death Note again because he'd go for the money once he forgot that it will get him killed.

One of the most hype moments of part 1 is when Lee removes his weights and drops them, shaking the ground and causing a huge cloud of dust. Looking at some theories people have guessed these weights had to be about 1000 pounds or even up to 10 thousand, and yet despite this massive weight he's carrying around his ankles this doesn't affect anything outside of himself.

Like, there's no rumble with every step he takes. When he tries to attack Temari and she blocks with her fan she says that he may be fast, but his kick was nothing special. As he's hopping around from tree to tree in the Forest of Death the tree branches aren't creaking at all.

Most odd of all is the times he's jumped down from a far height. When he challenges Sasuke he's on the second floor and hops off the ledge to the ground floor, and when he's doing his own training exercise trying to catch leaves in the Forest of Death and rescues the squirrel both of these don't have any ground impact at all.

In season 2 of the anime, we get reintroduced to Kaede after his incredible loss to Yumeko and Itsuke disgraced him and basically made him a servant to Itsuke.

During the Greater Good game, in-between rounds he asks Yumeko if she feels any guilt about the lives she's ruined through her obsessive need for high stakes gambling. Which feels very hypocritical coming from him. He was part of the student council who runs the house pet system, and he was perfectly willing to take Yumeko and Itsuki as slaves himself if he had won their big game. He dismissed Itsuki as being incompetent and lesser than him.

So it feels more like he's playing the victim when he and the other council members had ruined countless others lives, but now that HE had to experience it suddenly he thinks Yumeko should feel guilty for the way SHE acts.

Sayaka is the same. Before the Tower of Doors game Sayaka tries to get Yumeko kicked out for the way she acts, when she supports Kirari 100% despite being of the same personality. She just seems to hate how Yumeko is disrupting the order of the school by humiliating the student council and threatening their authority.

Mary went through the same experience, arrogant and smug, then she lost to Yumeko and became a house pet, then went into crippling debt when Yuriko cheated and would have lost all rights to her own life if not for the debt swapping game. So it's understandable that she came out of it with a healthier mindset, so I believe Kaede can too.

When I was younger I thought it made for a funny scene, but in the present I don't think Azula's declaration actually proves anything at all at her skill at lying.

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely believe Azula wouldn't have the usual psychological responses that would give one away as lying, but there's a difference between simply lying and actually trying to conceal something or deceive someone.

So, basically, her saying she's a 400 foot tall bear with a pink horn and silver wings isn't something an ordinary person should have a reaction to either as it's so blatantly false there's no chance anyone would ever believe it. So while it may be a lie, it serves no purpose other than to be a lie for the sake of lying, as opposed to something like Azula giving 2 or more completely opposite sets of directions to head to Ozai's location.

During their contest they play one of nine games, and every victory lets you put a mark on a tic-tac-toe board. Yumemi deliberately holds back to put herself in a bad spot so it'll make her look even better when she has a come from behind victory.

Now, it seems most of the games involve either stuff she'll excel at as an idol, like singing, or just requires information she already has locked down and memorized.

But the one that I find odd seems to be dependent on luck. In this case Yumemi deliberately gave a tell to let Yumiko win the round so she can win the next two games and win the tic-tac-toe game, and it's around this point Yumiko says the line from the title.

I'm not sure what about this particular game Yumemi could have prepped for if she was going for the win immediately. It just seems like a 50-50 chance of either picking the match or picking the Old Maid. Am I missing something?

The only thing I can think of is cheating by marking the cards and not letting Yumiko choose first, but Yumiko was so observant when another opponent did it she memorized tons of distinct marks, so I don't see any reason she wouldn't do something to stop Yumemi from cheating.

I know the whole point of the test was that it was MEANT to be too hard for genin to force them to cheat, but given that Sakura was smart enough to answer all the questions herself meant they're legitimate questions.

The issue is that there only appears to be ninja elementary school. Once you show you're not a hopeless case and have basic competency then everything else is practical real life experience by going on missions suited to your ninja rank.

Maybe this is the sort of stuff you have to learn to become a Jonin? But I'm pretty sure Ibiki said the two people they planted for people to copy off of were chunin.

During the Day of Black Sun Zuko finally confronts his father over the way he's treated him, ending it by saying he's jumping ship and joining the Avatar. Once the eclipse ends Ozai immediately tries to kill Zuko by shooting lightning at him, but Zuko catches and redirects it at Ozai's feet, sending him flying into the wall behind him as Zuko runs away.

After this the scene ends with Ozai looking pissed, and he seemingly doesn't pursue Zuko after this humiliation. Now, maybe he needs a moment to process things. This is probably the first time in a long time he's experienced pain, he's just discovered that lightning can be countered, and the son he considers a weakling and a failure just made a fool of him.

But he seemingly does nothing to try to catch Zuko. Even if he doesn't know which direction Zuko went after he left the room, Zuko helpfully told him that after he left he was going to free Iroh from prison, which means he knows exactly what Zuko's next destination is.

I don't know if he could only "fly" because of the comet augmenting his power, but Azula showed that even without the comet that she could get decent air from a quick blast of fire from her feet, so he should be able to augment his speed with firebending as well.

There is also the invasion going on, so maybe that's why he doesn't want to leave the bunker even if it means Zuko gets away, but he no longer has to worry about losing his power and we saw they were saving all their strongest firepower for after the eclipse ended to defeat the invading force.

He uses Kamui to stop himself from being killed, but if he can accurately use it on a fast moving object so fast that Pain doesn't even notice then why not try to make the Yahiko Pain a nonthreat for a while to make a bigger impact?

Of course a bigger object would take more chakra and probably a little more time, but even if it took longer than a split-second like the nail I don't think it would take THAT much longer, and even if Pain noticed I don't think he can Almighty Push a space-time portal away because it's not a tangible thing.

After the loss at the North Pole Ozai said that Zuko was a failure and wanted him arrested. She had already set things up to take out all the major allies of the Earth King and tamed the Dai Li through intimidation and inner strength.

Ba Sing Se was basically already in her hands, so why the sudden change from wanting to lock him up to making him into an ally and letting him return to his home? Did she think they weren't enough and she'd actually need her brothers help to battle the Avatar?

Yes, it turns out she actually did need his help when Katara started immobilizing her with a water chain, but at that time the Dai Li weren't with her. If they had been with her from the start they could have saved her from Katara. So it just leaves me wondering what ulterior motive did she have for recruiting Zuko at the start?

Was she initially planning to simply use his aid to defeat Aang and his friends then immediately double cross him afterward and go back to the "arrest him" plan until she realized Aang escaping make Zuko useful enough to keep around as a fall guy?

We first see them fight off-screen, each of them shouting out a spell and then we see an aftermath of all four of them looking terrified with a big crater between them. At first we think they had a DBZ style beam clash that exploded on contact, but when he finally see their spells in action this terror is unfairly skewed.

Zoboron's power being terrifying makes sense, as he has a gigano sized spell baked into presumably his first spell as he uses it a lot, that is strong enough to destroy Rashield, and he has an upgraded form that's even more powerful.

But Papipurio feels oddly hyped up before we know what his spell actually does. It just hardens like glue and takes a while to work. Zoboron's book owner remarks that he has the power he always wished he had and that "it's simple, yet so strong," and both of them are cowering at THIS?

Come to think about it, when Papipurio gets mad he's too short for a ride and tells Lupa to destroy it, he doesn't even have a destructive spell to accomplish this. The most he could do is stop it, and it wears off after a while anyway. At least later on he actually gets acidic attack spells, but at this point in time he can't actually harm anybody.

Because of his grudge he hunted Zatch down, electrocuted him to near death, and was about to burn his book, but in the end he decided it was more fulfilling to swipe his memories and make him continue fighting in the tournament knowing that a weakling like him would constantly suffer injuries.

Even though Zatch had just awakened Baou Zakeruga, the main sourse of his grudge, when Zeon sees him in England he doesn't seek to wreck him again. Even despite his hatred he seems fine simply letting others attack Zatch even though he could easily do the job himself.

I know the story would be bleak if Zeon tortured Zatch for fun like that, but it just feels odd that despite his hatred he doesn't seek his revenge himself outside of their very first encounter. Even their match inside Faudo only came about because Zatch and his crew had defeated literally everyone else under him so he had to finally step in himself.

But how long would this go on for? Hypothetically, if Zeon hadn't been involved in the Faudo arc, would he have let Zatch get into the top 10? The top 2? Or would he only have waited long enough for Zatch to at least fully awaken Baou so he could crush it and prove his superiority?

We see at the start Brago and Sherry basically despised each other. Brago hated to be forced to rely on a weak human to use his abilities and that he had to babysit and protect someone else to survive, while Sherry hated his callousness and his disregard for humanity, seeing him the same as Zofis.

He threatens to kill her butler to make him obey, but she threatens to off herself rather than take orders from someone like Zofis, which would rob him of his book owner and ensure he would lose down the line.

However, by the time we see him in the present he's mellowed out considerably. He allows Sherry to exposition dump the battle of the Mamodo and try to talk Kiyo into giving up the book without a fight. Later on, even though Kiyo passed out and she could have taken the book and burned it, she saw that Kiyo wasn't using the book selfishly and that Zatch was making him a better person, and so allowed him to keep it. The old Brago would have said Eff that and not allowed an opponent to get away just because his weak human was being weak.

Even though Sherry compares Brago to Zofis, do you think Brago would have been as bad as Zofis if he became king without this character development? We don't see Brago interact with another Mamodo before he mellows out, but I assume that he would be more respectful to his own kind even if they have to be crushed as opponents.

Well, he does insult Zatch as being a weakling who shouldn't have even been in the battle even after the mellowing, so he'd probably be closer to pre-character development Bari, a person who only respects power and looks down on the weak.

When Kiyo fights Dr Riddles he is told that simply winning battles isn't enough. When a Mamodo has emotional growth or makes an important realization that power makes itself known in the book.

However it's hard to picture this for someone like Zeon, who is an already elite fighter. From what we see of him he feels like exactly the same person throughout for 99 percent.

Look at someone like Eshros, who had a whopping 8 spells at a time when Zatch only had 3, and doesn't even reach that number until like book 27, 75 percent of the series run. He thinks he's elite, but he would go down effortlessly against any of the true elites like Brago or Zeon.

What kind of growth did he go through to unlock 7 whole extra spells in such a short period when he's mostly just full of himself?

I know just being a villain in itself doesn't make one incapable of growth, but these aren't noble demon types with a greater cause behind their cruelty. They're just completely self centered and too arrogant to think they NEED to learn anything.

Zatch was happy go lucky for the longest time, and Baou was just a finisher, but during the Faudo arc his anger at Riou for almost killing Kiyo awakened darkness in him that caused the true Baou to emerge along with 4 new spells.

This Baou was also sentient, corrupted by the countless darkness it absorbed and nearly killed both Zatch and Kiyo in its rage until Zatch eventually purified it.

We don't see much of Clear in the past outside of a flashback of him meeting Ashuron, but it's stated later on that he was being controlled by his own spell. I don't think he was ever quite as noble as Zatch but it does seem like he was corrupted because Shin Kuria was too powerful and took over him.

Like the usual for Castlevania style games I collected as many shards as I could as I went along, and Gebel commented on if I was starting to see his side after having so many.

Similarly, if you don't do the required steps for the good ending the game will end after you kill Gebel and you'll hear a mysterious voice saying you'll be easy to control with so many shards bound to you.

You'd really have to go out of your way to avoid collecting any non mandatory shards but I think there's only like 4 or 5 boss shards that are absolutely required for progress.