30 Dragon Ball Trivia Questions That Separate the Saiyans from the Yamchas
Thirty dragon ball trivia questions that'll make you realize how much you've forgotten since you last rewatched the Cell Saga. Some of these have started actual arguments.
75 Anime Trivia Questions That’ll Separate the Casual Fans From the People Who Cried During Episode 10
The longest-running anime isn’t One Piece, isn’t Detective Conan, and isn’t whatever you’re about to guess. It’s Sazae-san, a family comedy that’s been airing since 1969 and has over 7,800 episodes. Nobody outside Japan ever brings it up, and that single fact tells you almost everything you need to know about the gap between what anime fans think they know and what’s actually true. I’ve run anime trivia rounds where a table of people wearing Akatsuki hoodies couldn’t name the studio behind Spirited Away. Confidence is the enemy here. Let’s see where yours holds up.
The Warm-Up Round Nobody Should Miss (But Someone Always Does)
1. In Dragon Ball Z, what is the name of Goku’s signature energy attack?
I include this at the start of every anime round because it makes the table relax. Then I spend the next hour destroying them. The comfort is strategic.
2. What studio produced My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away?
If you’ve ever been inside a Hot Topic, you’ve seen their merchandise. But I’ve watched people freeze on this when the pressure’s on.
3. In Naruto, what village does the title character call home?
Everyone knows this. But ask them to name the other four Great Shinobi Nations and the room gets quiet fast.
4. What is the name of the notebook in Death Note that kills anyone whose name is written in it?
Yes, it’s literally in the title. I still ask it because the real question is what comes next.
5. Pokémon‘s main character, Ash Ketchum, has a different name in the original Japanese version. What is it?
This is where the room splits between people who watched the dub and people who’ll tell you about it for forty-five minutes.
6. What type of demon is Inuyasha in the anime of the same name?
Half credit if you say “dog.” Full credit if you’re specific.
7. In One Piece, what is the name of Luffy’s pirate crew?
A thousand episodes in and this is still the easiest question you can ask about this show. Everything else requires a spreadsheet.
Where Overconfidence Starts to Cost You
8. Attack on Titan is set on an island. What is the island’s name?
Fans who binged the final season get this. Anyone who stopped after season one looks around the table like they missed a meeting.
9. What year did the first episode of the original Dragon Ball anime air in Japan?
People always guess later than the real answer. This show is older than most of the people arguing about power levels online.
10. In Fullmetal Alchemist, what did Edward and Alphonse Elric attempt to transmute that cost them so dearly?
This is the question that turns an anime trivia round into a therapy session. Someone at the table will get quiet.
11. What is the name of the school in My Hero Academia?
Everyone remembers the “U.A.” part. The full name is where they stumble.
12. Cowboy Bebop is set primarily aboard a spaceship. What’s the ship called?
The show’s been off the air for over two decades and this question still makes people smile. That’s the mark of something that mattered.
13. In Sailor Moon, what is Usagi Tsukino’s superhero identity?
Easy, right? Now try naming all five original Sailor Guardians in order. That’s when the real arguments start.
14. What manga magazine serialized Naruto, One Piece, Dragon Ball, and Bleach?
If you know this, you probably know what day of the week it comes out in Japan. And you’ve probably been annoyed by a break week.
15. In Demon Slayer, what breathing style does Tanjiro initially learn?
People who’ve only seen the show confidently say one thing. People who’ve read ahead say another. Both answers are technically defensible, which is why I love asking it.
16. What is the highest-grossing anime film of all time worldwide?
I’ve seen tables argue this one for a solid five minutes before anyone writes anything down. The answer shifted in 2020 and some people haven’t updated their mental database.
The Part Where You Start Arguing With Your Friends
17. What anime features a competition called the “Hunter Exam”?
18. In Neon Genesis Evangelion, what are the giant bio-mechanical units piloted by the children called?
Don’t say “mechs” or “robots.” The entire thematic point of the show is that they’re something else entirely.
19. What color is Goku’s hair when he first achieves Super Saiyan?
If you got this wrong, please leave the building. I’m kidding. But only slightly.
20. Jujutsu Kaisen‘s protagonist, Yuji Itadori, gains cursed energy by consuming what?
21. What is the name of the virtual reality MMORPG in Sword Art Online?
It’s in the title. But I’m setting you up for the next one.
22. In Sword Art Online, what happens to a player who dies in the game?
This is the premise that launched a thousand isekai. For better or worse.
23. Who created the manga One Piece?
The man has been drawing the same story since 1997. That’s not a career, that’s a commitment.
24. In Bleach, what is the name of Ichigo Kurosaki’s sword?
25. What studio animated the original Neon Genesis Evangelion TV series?
This one separates people who watch anime from people who follow the industry. Knowing studios is a different kind of fandom.
The Questions That Make the Room Go Quiet
26. In Steins;Gate, what is the name of the microwave-based time machine the characters accidentally create?
If you know this, you remember the exact moment the show stopped being a comedy.
27. What real Japanese city serves as the setting for Your Name (Kimi no Na wa)?
Trick question, sort of. One of the two main locations is real. The other is fictional but based on a real place.
28. What does the “D” stand for in the names of characters like Monkey D. Luffy and Gol D. Roger in One Piece?
I ask this one because watching a table of One Piece fans realize they don’t actually know is one of my favorite things.
29. In Code Geass, what power does Lelouch receive from C.C.?
30. What is Light Yagami’s self-given alias when he begins using the Death Note?
The pronunciation debate alone has fueled a decade of internet arguments.
31. Akira, the 1988 film, is set in a version of Tokyo rebuilt after its destruction. What is this city called?
The film predicted the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. That’s not a joke. There’s a sign in the movie.
32. In Chainsaw Man, what devil does Denji merge with to become the titular character?
33. What is the name of the technique in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure that replaced Hamon as the primary power system starting in Part 3?
If you’ve ever seen someone online pose dramatically and shout a band name, this is why.
34. Spy x Family features a girl with telepathic powers. What is her name?
35. What is the real name of the character known as “All Might” in My Hero Academia?
Casual fans blank on this. It’s mentioned in the show, but the hero name is so dominant that the real one just doesn’t stick.
Genre Benders and Deep Cuts
36. What 1995 anime film, directed by Mamoru Oshii, is widely credited with influencing The Matrix?
The Wachowskis have confirmed this. It’s not speculation. They literally showed it to their producer and said “we want to do this, but live action.”
37. What genre term describes anime set in a fantasy world where the protagonist has been transported from the real world?
38. In Mob Psycho 100, what percentage does Mob’s emotional counter need to reach for him to lose control of his psychic powers?
39. What anime, set in a world where humanity lives on trains, was one of the first original series produced by Netflix’s anime division?
Not the Bong Joon-ho film. Different trains.
Let me give you the real question 39:
39. Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress was created by the same director as what massively popular anime about giant humanoids?
The visual DNA is impossible to miss. Same intensity, same sense of scale, same feeling that everyone you love is about to die.
40. What does “shōnen” literally translate to in English?
People use this word constantly without thinking about what it actually means. And the answer reframes the entire demographic conversation.
41. In Violet Evergarden, what was Violet’s role before she became an Auto Memory Doll?
This show makes grown adults weep in public. I don’t ask this question to test knowledge. I ask it to see who flinches.
42. What 1997 anime is known for its brutal medieval European fantasy setting and a protagonist named Guts?
43. In Re:Zero, what ability does Subaru possess that he cannot tell anyone about?
44. What is the name of the organization L works for in Death Note?
Here’s where fans who’ve watched it three times still hesitate. L is so iconic as a character that the infrastructure around him fades into the background.
45. What fruit did Luffy eat to gain his rubber powers in One Piece?
The original answer was simple for twenty years. Then the manga dropped a revelation that broke the internet.
Studio Knowledge and Industry Nerds Only
46. What animation studio is responsible for Demon Slayer‘s adaptation, known for its extraordinary animation quality?
47. Hayao Miyazaki has announced his retirement multiple times. How many times has he “retired” and then returned to make another film?
The man treats retirement like a revolving door. It’s become its own running joke in the industry.
48. What studio produced Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, and Carole & Tuesday?
49. What does the Japanese word “otaku” most closely mean?
In America it’s practically a badge of honor. In Japan, the connotation is considerably more complicated.
50. What was the first anime to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature?
This is the halfway point, and I’m giving you one that most people get right but feel proud about. You’ve earned a small win.
The Stretch Where People Start Doubting Themselves
51. In Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, what country is the setting of Amestris loosely based on?
52. What is Zoro’s ultimate goal in One Piece?
53. In Tokyo Ghoul, what are the predatory organs that ghouls use in combat called?
54. The anime Cells at Work! personifies what?
I’ve used this question as a palate cleanser in heavy rounds. It always gets a laugh when someone realizes what the show actually is.
55. What legendary voice actress has provided the Japanese voice for both Goku in Dragon Ball and Gohan?
She’s been voicing Goku since 1986. Let that sink in.
56. In Haikyuu!!, what position does the main character Hinata Shoyo play?
57. What 2006 anime features a high school girl who unknowingly has the power to reshape reality?
58. In Naruto, what is the name of the fox demon sealed inside Naruto?
59. What anime follows a boy named Gon searching for his father, who is a legendary Hunter?
60. What is the name of Spike Spiegel’s rival and former partner in Cowboy Bebop?
The Ones That Hurt a Little
61. In Grave of the Fireflies, what is the relationship between the two main characters?
If you’ve seen this film, you already know why I’m not making a joke here. If you haven’t, clear your schedule and stock up on tissues.
62. What card game is central to the plot of Yu-Gi-Oh!?
The answer is obvious. What’s less obvious is that the manga started as a horror series about various deadly games before Kazuki Takahashi realized the card game episodes were the ones readers loved.
63. In Psycho-Pass, what system measures citizens’ mental states and criminal potential?
64. What is the name of the Survey Corps’ signature piece of equipment in Attack on Titan?
65. Made in Abyss has a deceptively cute art style. What is the Abyss in the show?
This is the anime I warn people about. The art style says one thing. The content says something very, very different.
66. What food does Naruto obsessively love?
A breather. You need it after that last one.
67. In One Punch Man, what is Saitama’s hero ranking at the start of the series?
The joke of the entire show is the gap between what he can do and how the world perceives him.
68. What anime features a game called “Gungi” that becomes central to a deeply emotional arc between an ant king and a blind girl?
If you know which arc this is, you already feel something. This might be the greatest arc in anime history, and I’ll argue that in any room.
69. What is the name of the elusive pirate treasure that everyone in One Piece is searching for?
70. In Vinland Saga, the story is loosely based on the real historical exploits of which Viking explorer?
The Final Stretch. No Safety Net.
71. What is Tanjiro’s family profession at the start of Demon Slayer, before the tragedy?
72. In Evangelion, what is the name of the cataclysmic event that occurred 15 years before the start of the series?
73. What anime features the character Levi Ackerman, consistently ranked as one of the most popular anime characters worldwide?
I put this near the end because it’s easy, and by now you need a confidence boost before I take it away again.
74. In the original Dragon Ball, Goku was inspired by a character from which classic Chinese novel?
Most anime fans know this vaguely. Getting the actual title is harder than it sounds.
75. What was the final episode of Neon Genesis Evangelion (Episode 26) famously replaced with, due to budget constraints and Hideaki Anno’s deteriorating mental health?
This is my closer because it’s not really an anime trivia question. It’s a question about what happens when an artist breaks down in public and the audience has to decide whether they’re watching a masterpiece or a cry for help. The answer, of course, is both. Every anime trivia night I’ve run, this is the question that changes the conversation from “what do you know” to “what did it make you feel.” That’s where the good stuff lives.
I specialise in the trivia that makes people say 'oh god, I remember that.' From Copenhagen, Denmark, I've spent 8 years writing decade-specific questions for the quiz nights where half the room grew up in the era and the other half is just curious. My rounds have been used by Quiz Night King, and I take the same care with every set I write.
Latest posts by Pieter Durand, B.A. Media & Cultural Studies (see all)
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