Black★Rock Shooter takes place in two vastly different worlds, where the actions occurring in one have a significant impact in the other. One world is actual reality, where we follow Mato Kuroi and her everyday interactions with various characters. Specifically, we observe Mato making friends with fellow middle school student, Yomi Takanashi, quickly bonding over a shared interest. As Yomi is very timid and is often bullied, Mato must put in a great deal of effort to keep their friendship stable. In the alternate realm, our characters are depicted in a vicious existence, constantly facing battle and danger. Furthermore, Mato has a mysterious correlation to a girl named Black★Rock Shooter, who’s life objective is unknown, but must constantly duel for survival. In this anime, the riddle is revealed, little by little, of how these two worlds are so closely intertwined.

Dead Master is the character parallel to Yomi. The weapon that she utilizes is a large scythe called Dead Scythe. The Dead Scythe appears as a thin, straight rod, which can be separated into chain links and used in a whipping fashion. As Dead Master’s close counterpart is Black★Rock Shooter in the alternate world, she will go to great lengths to protect her friend. Whenever anyone is in need of aid, Dead Master is equipped with her skeletal-looking chains, restricting all enemies who would dare to commit any harm.

Bleach is an anime centered on the story of Ichigo Kurosaki, an average teenage boy, with the exception of having the ability to see ghosts. As Ichigo encounters an evil ghost known as a Hollow, he meets a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki, who unfortunately is harmed while trying to protect Ichigo and his family. In order to help rescue his family, Ichigo agrees to take on the role of Soul Reaper. With this responsibility, Ichigo, along with his friends, take on the challenge of stopping the Hollows that have invaded his town. Even more so, Ichigo discovers that the secrets and dangers of his town are not just confined to the threat of the Hollows.

When Rukia transferred her powers to Ichigo, this act was actually a criminal offense in Soul Society. After Rukia was seized, in order to rescue his mentor, Ichigo began training with Kisuke Urahara. As he underwent this intensive training, Ichigo’s spirit and soul were tested in the most strenuous ways. During this process, he obtains his own Soul Reaper powers and learns the name of his Zanpakuto, Zangetsu. Zangetsu is the infusion of Hollow White inherited from his mother and Shinigami powers from his father. In the state of Zangetsu, the Chain of Fate plays a fundamental part in his job, overseeing the form a spirit will take on after death. Overall, a person who has had their spirit removed from their body will experience a great pain coming from the chain, having the urge to break it. However, breaking the chain would prohibit the soul from re-entering the body. Essentially, Zangetsu ferries souls to their respective place.

Naruto Shippuden is the continued story of Naruto’s life journey several years after the first series. Naruto still strives to be the best ninja of his age. He has progressed tremendously, but is still under the threat of the Akatsuki organization. As Naruto leaves the Hidden Leaf Village, the path before him leads to more intense training and discipline. A world-renowned title in the anime community, watch Naruto proceed in his endeavor towards becoming Hokage.

Kushina Uzumaki is Naruto’s mother. Kushina’s lineage is blessed with a strong life force, granting her tremendous chakra reserves and vitality. Although brief, Kushina’s chain power materializes as the Adamantine Sealing Chains, the restraining force that subdues the Nine-Tails. Through time, Kushina was able to help Naruto extract and separate the Nine-Tails’ chakra from his body. With the little remaining time she had left, Kushina spent it with Naruto, telling him why she sealed this force within his body, and instinctively knew that he was destined for greatness.

The story of Saint Seiya builds its foundation on five mystical warriors, who have sworn to defend the reincarnation of the goddess, Athena. Adorned with “Cloths” and utilizing the power of the Cosmos, the Saints come to her aid in her conflict against the other Olympian gods’ conquest of Earth. Fast forward into modern time, a new era of Saints has yet to reveal itself. We then follow an orphan named Seiya, who is about to embark on a competition for the Sacred Armor of Pegasus. As he has trained for many years for this final event, more challenges await him after this tournament is finished.

Andromeda Shun is the official Bronze Saint of the Andromeda constellation. His personality differs from the other Saints, as he will only enter a battle when the occasion truly calls for it. His kind and gentle disposition bars him from unleashing his ultimate potential, which notes him to be one of the strongest characters. Andromeda Shun’s go-to technique and ability is the Nebula Chain, which allows him to manipulate chains to wrap and slice up his enemies. Additionally, he has the Rolling Defense to use as a barrier and the Great Capture to immobilizes his foes.

Soul Eater takes place in a world where people have the ability to turn into weapons and are paired with individuals who wield them, Meisters. The Death Weapon Meister Academy (DWMA) is a school dedicated to teaching these youngsters and was founded by none other than Death himself. The DWMA educates its students to fight against the forces of evil, the Kishin, who tyrannically have devoured the souls of humans, becoming corrupt themselves. As meister and weapon learn to combat the kishin, they collect every soul, absorbing them into what will become a death scythe. Therefore, in each duo’s quest, they must be able to maintain the sanctity and peace in Death City.

Black☆Star is an assassin from the infamous Star Clan. He is a Shadow Weapon Meister, with Tsubaki Nakatsukasa as his weapon partner. Befitting to Black☆Star, when the chain scythe mode is activated, it appears as a long metal chain, with each end possessing double blades. With the capacity to inflict harm by a number of methods, such as the smoke bomb, Shuriken mode, ninja blade, or the shadow star, the chain scythe shows to be beneficial in short and long range combat.

In a world filled with magic, Fairy Tail follows a young girl named Lucy Heartfilia. In this magical world, magical guilds are recognized, and certain groups have gained admiration and status due to participation in various missions and jobs. Lucy has her heart set on the notorious Fairy Tail guild and luckily receives her chance when she encounters one of its members, Natsu. Fairy Tail accounts the journeys of Lucy and her guild-mates on a myriad of adventures. From this point on, Lucy works her hardest to be the best mage in the Fairy Tail guild.

Lucy’s magic encompasses the use of keys to summon celestial beings. What is entertaining about her ability is that whoever she summons is often unpredictable in nature; sometimes they’re sassy or are love-lusting over her. Virgo is one of twelve Golden Zodiac Keys. She takes on the form of a maid with chain shackles around her wrists, and she is equipped with “Chain Magic”. When she uses this ability, Virgo can manipulate chains around her wrists, extending the length as a whip, and maneuvering them around however she wants. Appearing attractive and petite under Lucy’s charge, her ability and appearance can alter significantly, perhaps magnified, whenever she becomes “Gorilla Maid”, when the occasion calls for it.

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is a supernatural, fantasy shounen about a magi—a rare class of magicians—named Aladdin, who embarks on a quest to journey around the world. This anime captures a timeless adventure, stemming from Arabian Nights and other Middle/Far Eastern mythology. Aladdin is joined with several others on his expedition; Alibaba, Ugo, Morgiana, Sinbad, and a ton of other familiar names. In this magi world, several dungeons have appeared, filled with various magical items and treasures beyond imagination. Only a few have come out of these dungeons alive and have claimed the riches within. As our characters focus on conquering these dungeons for themselves, this anime is filled with excitement, taking on the long-lived folklore by adding modern elements and surprises.

Morgiana is a Fanalis, a notable hunting tribe from the Dark Continent, distinguishable by their red hair and eyes. As a former slave, Morgiana wears her leg chains around her wrists, as a reminder of where she came from and how she owes so much to Aladdin and Alibaba. We first get a glimpse of this power after Morgiana, Alibaba, and Aladdin are swiftly falling through a dungeon, with no way of stopping. Morgiana believes that their journey would be for nothing if she doesn’t figure out a way to stop them. Suddenly a force of power comes from her wrist chains, gripping onto a wall and grabbing hold of Alibaba and Aladdin. Using the chains’ recoil to maneuver, she calls upon Amol Selserira, and this magnificent chain of flames destroys the terrible djinn, demonstrating her Household Vessel. With that being said, Morgiana’s chains are in and of themselves, a lethal weapon.

In Puella Magi Madoka Magica, we follow 8th grader Madoka Kaname, who lives an average normal life, until one night, she has a nightmare of a future doomed with darkness and terror. Further in this dream, the only resolution to save the future was to sign a contract and become a magical girl. Unalarmed and passing the thought as “only a dream”, she disregards the nightmare. Unfortunately, Madoka is unable to escape elements of her nightmare, as they slowly start to surface in her everyday life. As these components begin to shape into reality, Madoka must face the difficult decision of whether or not she should become a magical girl.

Kyoko Sakura is one of the main characters in the anime. She has a fiery personality most of the time, but can present herself as delicate in nature, opening up to the right people. As she had a difficult upbringing, Kyoko became a magical girl at a very young age, being more seasoned that the other magical girls. Her skills are refined, as she wields a spear that is extendable and detachable. With this spear, she can produce a ball at the end of a chain that can bind and strike opponents at the same time. When this is first demonstrated, we notice the amount of damage inflicted is quite devastating.

In an era where pirates make a huge impact on both land and sea, Gol D. Roger is historically the most prominent “Pirate King” to sail the Grand Line in search of One Piece. Upon his capture and death by the World Government, his last words invoked a challenge to the next generation of pirates. Among the challengers is Monkey D. Luffy, who unlike any typical pirate, quickly distinguished himself with the highest bounty to boot. Luffy and his Straw Hats crew; Nami, Brook, Franky, Robin, Zoro, Sanji, Usopp, and Chopper, all with missions of their own, dream of sailing the Grand Line, searching for riches, fame and glory. Their adventurous spirits hold no bounds, as we watch them take on an incredible voyage, encountering countless twists and turns.

Mad Treasure makes his feature in the Heart of Gold TV special. Mad Treasure is the captain of the Treasure Pirates. Identical to other pirates we have encountered in the show, the Treasure Pirates are on a quest to find “Pure Gold” and are ruthless on their journey to find it. With exquisite strength and power, Mad Treasure stands out from his counterparts because of his devil fruit ability, the Jara Jara no Mi, or the Chain-Chain fruit. After consuming this devil fruit, Mad Treasure can grow chains from his body. In offense and defense, he can wield these chains to shield himself and tie up enemies. Additionally, with many other characters in One Piece, he has a distinguishable laugh, “Jararara!”

Gon Freecss is determined to be the very best Hunter. His interest in becoming a hunter was drawn from his father, who left him when he was an infant to become one. On his journey towards becoming a hunter, Gon must face perilous tasks and challenges, testing his strength and character. In the competition to receive his hunter’s license, Gon meets several people whom he develops close friendships with, Leorio, Killua and Kurapika. Each with their own goals in mind, the four of them are always at each other’s sides. Throughout the series, they encounter various characters, creatures and obstacles that prove more challenging than the next; never lose sight of their ambitions, and continuing to develop as skilled hunters.

Kurapika is an interesting and unique character to the Hunter x Hunter storyline. In the beginning of the series, we are introduced to him and several other key characters, observing many potential hunters succeed and fail through the preliminary phase of the hunter exam. An intelligent and determined young man, he reveals to Leorio and Gon that he intends to take revenge on the famed Phantom Troupe, who long ago wiped out members of his family, the Kurta Clan.

In later episodes, after Kurapika has some knowledge on the use of nen, he discovers that he is a conjurer, with the ability to create objects out of his aura. The weapons that Kurapika conjures are five chains, with differing abilities for each finger. Holy Chain, Chain Jail, Dowsing Chain and Judgment Chain are all critical skills targeted towards taking down the Phantom Troupe. Most importantly, Kurapika must use these chains in accordance to the special rules he set aside for himself, so as to not get sidetracked from his ultimate purpose. Driven by retributive justice, Kurapika has channeled his skills around chains, as to bind these offenders for their wrongdoing, dealing vengeance and judgment to those that took everything from him.