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Sun 22 Apr 2012
Anime Power Rankings: Spring 2012 Week 3
Posted by kevo' under Anime, Anime Power Rankings
[20] Comments
| 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.
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?)
Fate/Zero this week was absolutely stunning. It’s good to see that other shows are stepping up to the plate and not letting Sakamichi no Apollon take all the glory. It’s even better to see the show rise a spot after a spectacular episode. See? Us anibloggers do have taste!
I’ve always enjoyed Fate/Zero, but I thought it often got a bit too much praise. It’s episodes like this that remind me that Fate/Zero truly does deserve the praise it gets. Questioning the idea that there is such a thing as “honorable” killing? Maybe it could have had the characters conflict with each other a bit more on the topic, but it’s stuff like this that reminds me why I’m so into anime.
Riyoga (Riyoga’s Ramblings)
Fate/Zero took a step back from the fighting this week to explore why being Lancer is always suffering – it was a rather tense scene, even if a lot of the dialogue was unbearably pretentious. I really appreciate how ufotable lovingly lavish attention on killing people off in the bloodiest way possible.
Caraniel (Caraniel’s Ramblings)
It’s not pretentious, Cara, it’s DEEP!
The appeal of Jormungand derives not from what it does to entertain the audience but how it entertains. While many anime opt to tell jokes or rely on situational humor, Jormungand instead chooses to use Koko and her unorthodox antics as its primary tool for humor in a setting that is otherwise entirely serious. Once you understand Koko’s character, you can’t help but confine your vision to her whenever she’s on the screen because you’d otherwise miss something amusing or, at a minimum, something substantial to the episode. This style of humor lightens the atmosphere in Jormungand which is necessary given the number of heavy themes and serious storylines. Without it, the jokes would hardly match the mood at all. Beyond that, there’s action, too, which is the other half of entertainment that Jormungand provides. Rather than stick to humor alone as a means to amuse, Jormungand has significant amounts of action that contrast the comedy and provide another palate for the audience to enjoy. Though not as impressive as Koko and her behavior, the action in Jormungand is an integral part to the entertainment in Jormungand. Both aspects are necessary together to make Jormungand one of the most entertaining anime of the season.
Avvesione (Avvesione’s Anime Blog)
Lost in all the excitement is Mirai Nikki, which has its season finale this week. After a rather mediocre end to a solid series, the finale episode finished a disappointing 12th.
I feel bad for Future Diary. It was the perennial under achiever in the power rankings. Almost every week it would be placed just outside the top 5. In what was probably its best episode last week, it still missed out because it was swamped under The Best Week In Power Rankings History. I’m not even voting for the final episode myself this week, because it was rather tame by Future Diary standards.
Scamp (The Cart Driver)
This week’s bingo winner is Lostty, from Anime Princess, who voted for all 5 shows featured in this week’s power rankings.
Fate Zero has certainly gave us the most brutal episode of the week that it left a mark on my mind. However, I wonder how the rankings stack up with Hyouka premiering this Sunday.
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Dang…I’ll never get bingo since I still need to catch up with Fate/Zero and Sankarea. Still, I’ll take solace in the fact that I got three out of five right this season. And hopefully Space Bros will get back in the top five next week!
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Oh, so you’re going to show number of first place votes now? It’s neat that nothing seems to be running away with the vote this season.
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I will not rest until Gundam AGE makes the top five.
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Mira Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 4:22 am
Whilst, I will not rest until Hunter x Hunter makes the top five.
WE WILL MAKE IT HAPPEN.
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I really like Jormungand’s 2nd episode as well and I’m pleased to see it in the power rankings. I also like that Nyaruko, Space Bros, E7, and Drool Anime are hangin out in the top 10 just chillin.
Space Bros in particular is still very solid but I felt the third ep was rather uneventful since, it would have been much higher if we’d had the chance to learn how Mutta faired in the 2nd exam. Looks like the next eps are gonna focus on Hibito though.
As for Lupin the 3rd: I never really thought I would say this, but I’m kinda tired of seeing nipples. Fujiko goes through the whole ep buttoned up tight, portraying a governess. The final scene rolls around and Goemon unleashes his sword skills- BAM TITTIES! Went almost the whole ep w/o seein em.
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kevo Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 1:39 pm
Argh, everything in the top 10 is just so solid! What a deep season. Makes APR lots of fun.
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It’s great to see Jormungand and Sankarea make it onto this list, since I think they deserve at least a few weeks to shine here.
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Sankarea GO! It won’t really have another chance in the next weeks, anyways.
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My super-insightful commentary on this week’s rankings:
Apollon: ok
Fate Zero: yuck
Tsuritama: cool
Jormungand: snore
Sankarea: what?
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kevo Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 1:38 pm
We all know how bad your taste is, Landon
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I’m still baffled at why Jormungand suddenly makes it to the list.
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kevo Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 1:40 pm
It’s because her name is Koko, she is loco, and I say “oh no!”
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Not enough Nyaruko in that ranking.
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I’m quite okay with these rankings. Apollon lives off of the 60′s Jazz Japan milieu, and I’m completely enamoured by it. Fate/Zero has a huge fanbase, so I understand its inclusion here, even though it’s not really my cup of tea. Jormungand has a surprise appearance in a week filled with such amazing shows. I’m a bit hesitant to include it in my own top 5, but Koko’s appeal really carries the show. She’s definitely the sexiest thing this season. Sankarea is exactly where I thought it would be, and it’s definitely the leader of the manic pixie dream girl brigade this season (Dusk Maiden, Mysterious Girlfriend X, and even Medaka Box).
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Well, I voted for Mirai Nikki, even if nobody else did. Though, that may be largely due to the fact I’m also watching a lot less than everyone else… >.>
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I was worried about Fate/Zero because I thought it might dip off the rankings this week. After all, so many other shows were surging hard. It would have been a grave injustice, because I believe this week’s episode was the best Fate/Zero episode ever. It’s good to see it rewarded by being bumped up a spot.
And I want Nyaruko in the top 5 at least once!
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feal87 Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 2:09 pm
This! NYARUKO need to win!
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Lerxst2112 Reply:
April 23rd, 2012 at 4:40 pm
I want Nazo no Kanojo X back in the top 5, but I don’t see that happening anytime soon
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Nothing much to complain about with this week’s ranks. Glad to see Sankarea made the list!
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