Rank	Anime	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Sakamichi no Apollon	Tezuka Productions	5	–
2	Fate/Zero 2	ufotable	19	–
3	Tsuritama	A-1 Pictures	5	–
4	Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna	TMS Entertainment	6	–
5	Uchuu Kyoudai	A-1 Pictures	6	1

On the cusp: Shirokuma Cafe, Jormungand, Natsuiro Kiseki, Sankarea, Nazo no Kanojo X

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

This week has been one of high and lows. Shows that usually made it on my list have dropped off while a couple that haven’t had much time on there get some time to shine. Lupin and Zombie were the two most entertaining shows I watched this past week and I’m glad to see them keeping me consistently glued to the screen. This Spring is really the strongest season in recent memory due to the fact that I look forward to the majority of all the shows I’m watching each week.

Lerxst (Anime Afterlife Podcast)

We’ve had the same top 4 for three weeks running, quite a change of pace from the seemingly chaotic rise of quality shows earlier this season. It seems that everything has calmed down now and viewers are getting into more of a “groove”. Though Sakamichi no Apollon has been virtually unopposed this season, it’s not invincible; some criticism has surfaced in recent episodes. (more…)

Rank	Anime (no. of first place votes)	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Sakamichi no Apollon (18)	Tezuka Productions	4	–
2	Fate/Zero 2 (8)	ufotable	18	–
3	Tsuritama (4)	A-1 Pictures	4	–
4	Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna (3)	TMS Entertainment	5	–
5	Jormungand (1)	White Fox	4	1

On the cusp: Uchuu Kyoudai (1), Hyouka, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Eureka Seven AO, Natsuiro Kiseki

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

Sakamichi no Apollon has been so consistently great- managing to be fun but, at the same time, devoting plenty of its attention to exploring more serious topics, such as unrequited love and how to deal with racial prejudice in a realistic yet, sympathetic way- I’m almost wishing it’d trip up, just so that it can stop showing all the other shows up week after week!

Ty-chama (Watashi wa bucho!)

While Sakamichi no Apollon continues to be awesome, this week’s Fate/Zero was a little strange to me. I felt like because I dropped Kore wa Zombie Desuka? the anime gods decreed that I must follow 2 zombie anime a season and thus changed this show into a zombie anime. And don’t tell me that they are technically vampires, you get my point. Nevertheless, we get a good dose of Kiritsugu’s backstory, which is nice because while I find his character quite intriguing, I don’t know much about him. (more…)

Rank	Anime (no. of first place votes)	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Sakamichi no Apollon (17)	Tezuka Productions	3	–
2	Fate/Zero 2 (5)	ufotable	17	–
3	Tsuritama (6)	A-1 Pictures	3	–
4	Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna (2)	TMS Entertainment	4	2
5	Uchuu Kyoudai (0)	A-1 Pictures	4	3

On the cusp: Sankarea, Jormungand, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Eureka Seven AO, Natsuiro Kiseki

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

Sakamichi no Apollon was a no-brainer for the top spot this week – the amount of development that this show has gone though in only 3 episodes is staggering – most shows take at least 10 episodes before a character can scrape up the courage to confess to the one they like!  I really love how Apollon isn’t messing about with its characters; the show feels much more grounded as a result.

I’m really enjoying Tsuritama at the moment – the introduction of the mysterious Duck organisation had me in fits of giggles, but I’m also impressed by how well written most the characters are at this stage; there are some really nice wee touches in this show.

Caraniel (Caraniel’s Ramblings)

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Rank	Anime (no. of first place votes)	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Sakamichi no Apollon (9)	Tezuka Productions	2	–
2	Fate/Zero 2 (8)	ufotable	16	1
3	Tsuritama (6)	A-1 Pictures	2	1
4	Jormungand (1)	White Fox	2	5
5	Sankarea (4)	Studio Deen	3	7

On the cusp: Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna (1), Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Uchuu Kyoudai (4), Eureka Seven AO, Nazo no Kanojo X

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

Never since I’ve been blogging has there been another week where choosing just 5 series would be so difficult.

Guardian Enzo (Lost in America)

Choosing among the current shows is like pulling teeth.

Taka (My Sword is Unbelievably Dull)

For the second week in a row, Sakamichi no Apollon has wowed audiences and taken the top spot in the Anime Power Rankings. The week was not without stir-ups in the rankings however, as Lupin the Third and Uchuu Kyoudai (Space Brothers) drop out of the top 5 for the first time for newcomers Jormungand and Sankarea. This season’s power rankings is almost exclusive to new anime — with the obvious exception of Fate/Zero, the highest placing anime continuing from last season is the season finale of Mirai Nikki, in 12th place.

I really enjoyed the amount of character development in this week’s Sakamichi no Apollon. I didn’t really like Kaoru after the first episode, but he appeared far more endearing after this week’s episode. The jazz soundtrack also felt much more effective this time around. I am slightly relieved after the scene Sentarou falls in love at first sight or whatever, because hopefully this show won’t devolve into love triangles. If I wanted NTR, I would watch Aquarion Evol.

I feel that Sakamichi no Apollon has lost some of the charm that the first episode had in favor of a more traditional love story. Not exactly a bad thing, but it can be a bit disappointing if you have seen others like it. The jazz keeps things relatively fresh, though.

fkeroge (Ambivalence, or is it Ambiguity?)

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