Interest

Anime Science Book Discusses Why Ash Seems Stronger Than Pokemon, One-Punch Man's Killer Move, More

The science behind some of anime's most fantastical shows is a topic revisited again and again in museum exhibits. Characters like Astro Boy, Goku and the Dragon Ball cast, Pokémon and its ever-expanding world, and Attack on Titan have all starred in exhibits focusing on their technological, physical, or even zoological aspects.

The giant mecha Gundam franchise has inspired serious discussion by the Japanese government and helped researchers discover real-life applications for spacecraft.

Publisher Kadokawa is gathering up the many different anime series that have sparked interest in scientific minds and releasing a new book to answer some anime's biggest questions. Author Rikao Yanagita, the writer of The Science of Attack on Titan (available in English from Kodansha Comics) penned a new book titled Kūsō Kagaku Dokuhon Horobi no Jumon de, Jibun ga Horobiru!, part of the already existing Fantasy Science book series, that answers popular questions from anime new and old based on science and other factual information.

The book's table of contents is broken up by question. Inside, readers will find the answers to the following mysteries:

• What happens after the floating castle in the sky is destroyed after reciting the "balse" spell in Laputa?
• Is Satoshi (Ash) actually stronger than a Pokémon?
• For those familiar with the newspaper ads featuring Romance of the Three Kingdoms's Zhuge Liang, exactly how smart was he?
• My Hero Academia's Todoroki and his impressive, opposing powers.
• A serious discussion of Popuko's actions when she destroys the Takeshobo building.
• What is the "Manga Meat" that appears in the prehistoric setting of the Hajime Ningen Gyatoruz?
• Himōto! Umaru-chan's home version and Umaru's tendency to say "Darraaaaa" is a behavior that can be understood scientifically.
• One Punch Man's amazing punch and its world-destroying abilities.
• Why doesn't the color ink in Splatoon mix together?
• Doesn't Shizuka from Doraemon bathe too often?
• The amazing powers from Bungo Stray Dogs.
• Praise for the "Oppai Missles" from Mazinger Z.
• The gravity training room from Dragon Ball Z
• Is Jyūshimatsu from Mr. Osomatsu really human?
• Can you really beat a Titan with 3D maneuver gear?

The book went on sale in Japan on July 24. Yanagita has written a multitude of young reader science books based on Pokémon, Star Wars, and more. Fittingly, Yanagita's given name Rikao is written as "理科雄" which translates as "science" (理科) "man" (雄). It isn't a convenient pen name; his father picked it as tribute to cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first man in space approximately two months before Rikao Yanagita was born.

[Via Nijimen]