Rank	Anime (First Place Votes)	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Tsuritama (11)	Studio Pierrot	13	1
2	Sakamichi no Apollon (1)	Production I.G.	12	1
3	Aquarion EVOL (6)	Satelight	9	6
4	Jormungand (1)	Studio Deen	13	–
5	Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna (4)	Production I.G.	12	6

On The Cusp: Nazo no Kanojo X, Saki: Achiga-hen, Uchuu Kyoudai, Sengoku Collection, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

Thus, we witness the end of the Spring 2012 season. It is no surprise that Tsuritama and Sakamichi no Apollon take the top two spots for this week’s rankings. However while these are great shows, I found their finales quite lacking in excitement. Tsuritama spent most of time having characters yelling at each other and running around in circles. The series climax was established in the last episode, so it felt needlessly drawn out. The actual fishing scene didn’t occur until the last five minutes. Given how colorful the show has been, the actual conclusion was bland and predictable. However, this was still one of the better shows of the season.

This was an incredibly weak end to the season. I included Queen’s Blade Rebellion because it at least had an honest ending. Plus, it had the best healing spell ever seen.

Emperor J (Lower Mid Table)

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Rank	Anime (First Place Votes)	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Fate/Zero (8)	ufotable	24	–
2	Tsuritama (5)	A-1 Pictures	10	1
3	Jormungand (3)	White Fox	10	7
4	Sakamichi no Apollon (5)	Tezuka Productions	10	2
5	Hyouka (1)	Kyoto Animation	8	1

On The Cusp: Saki: Achiga-hen, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Uchuu Kyoudai, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Hunter x Hunter

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

This was an unusual week of anime. A few popular shows were on hiatus including Sankarea and Natsuiro Kiseki. However, this was still a decent week in anime. Fate/Zero continues to secure the top spot with tons of action. The fight scenes were intense, as I was sitting at the edge of my seat. With the show ending with a Saber-Archer cliffhanger, I hope ufotable delivers on the finale.

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Rank	Anime (First Place Votes)	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Fate/Zero (14)	ufotable	23	–
2	Sakamichi no Apollon (5)	Tezuka Productions	9	1
3	Tsuritama (3)	A-1 Pictures	9	1
4	Sankarea (2)	Studio Deen	10	5
5	Natsuiro Kiseki (2)	Sunrise	10	5

On The Cusp: Hyouka, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Lupin the Third, Uchuu Kyoudai, Jormungand

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

With the Spring season ending soon, it’s no surprise that shows are preparing for the climax. Every show is pulling out all the stops. Fate/Zero takes the top spot this week by building up to the final battle. Sakamichi no Apollon and Tsuritama secure the next two spots by sticking to their strengths.

So I was going to make a statement saying how all the shows I anticipated before the Spring season started (Fate/Zero, Sakamichi no Apollon, Tsuritama) were dwindling a bit and sort of taking a back seat to other shows I started liking more (Kore wa Zombie Desu ka S2, Sankarea, Jormungand, Nazo na Kanojo X), but then this week’s episodes of Fate/Zero, Sakamichi no Apollon, and Tsuritama put those thoughts to rest. Fate/Zero decided to save all the cool action for the finale, Tsuritama introduced squeaky bunny suits and more Kenji Nakamura crazyness, and the characters in Sakamichi no Apollon are now giving in to their true feelings and not beating around the bush anymore, with an added jazz session to give it that little extra something. Glad to see the shows I was looking forward to watching most getting back into the swing of things.

Lerxst (Anime Afterlife Podcast)

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Hey everyone. This week, we had Akira from Moe Fundamentalism and Krizzlybear from Baka Laureate on for a great show about the hottest anime topics around. We had a wonderfully balanced discussion with lots of fun and light-hearted moments. However, we soon discovered (to our horror) that the recording file was lost after the Skype call dropped and corrupted the recording. Akira had to leave right after the recording session,  and we decided that simply rerecording the show would lead to a very tired and try conversation. Instead, we invited Inushinde (Shinde Iie Anime Blog) and had a short conversation over a game of mahjong. Murphy’s Law being fully in action, we lost THAT recording too, so I pieced the Tenhou recording and synced it to the best of my ability with the audio. Sorry if the audio quality is crap (I also forgot to move my mic from my nose, derp), and the video goes black for a few seconds in the middle. I also changed POV a few times to spice up the excitement. Again, our deepest apologies to Akira and Kriz for wasting your time, and thanks to Inushinde for coming in and helping us out without notice. Video is after the break.

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Sakamichi no Apollon is definitely one of the most popular shows of the season. For the past sevreal weeks, it has been at the top of the Anime Power Rankings. Even before the anime season began, I felt the hype surrounding this show. The premise alone was enough to catch my interest — two teenagers coming together though the magic of jazz. Watanabe Shinichiro as director and Kanno Yoko as music composer appeared a dream team poised to create yet another spectacular character drama.

The title implies a coming of age story, so I was prepared for some teen angst. The first couple episodes introduced the two main protagonists in Kaoru and Sentaro. We learn of their different personalities and witness the eventual blossoming of their friendship. In addition to two potential love interests, we see a web of romantic relationships. While the drama was prevalent, it wasn’t overwhelming; it was still clearly about growing pains and music. Each episode, we learn more about each character and their personalities, gradually learning more about their personalities, background, and goals.

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Rank	Anime (First Place Votes)	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Fate/Zero (8)	ufotable	22	1
2	Tsuritama (7)	A-1 Pictures	8	1
3	Sakamichi no Apollon (2)	Tezuka Productions	8	2
4	Uchuu Kyoudai (2)	A-1 Pictures	9	2
5	Hyouka (1)	Kyoto Animation	6	1
5	Haiyore! Nyaruko-san (1)	Xebec	8	10

On The Cusp: Lupin the Third, Jormungand, Sankarea, Natsuiro Kiseki

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

Again, we have the same three shows holding the top three spots. Fate/Zero regains the top spot, the first time since the Fall 2011 season. With just three episodes left, this show observes the calm just before the storm as the characters prepare for the final battle. Honestly, I still don’t understand Kirei. He claims he has found a purpose, but it just seems like he solely exists to screw with Kiritsugu. At least, there was more of Rider and Waver. Any episode with this duo will be at least a good episode.

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Rank	Anime (First Place Votes)	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Sakamichi no Apollon (7)	Tezuka Productions	7	2
2	Fate/Zero (6)	ufotable	21	–
3	Tsuritama (2)	A-1 Pictures	7	2
4	Hyouka (1)	Kyoto Animation	5	1
5	Natsuiro Kiseki (1)	Sunrise	8	19

On The Cusp: Jormungand, Uchuu Kyoudai, Lupin the Third, Mouretsu Uchuu Kaizoku, Eureka Seven AO

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

It seems we are back to the old trend of the Big Three of Spring 2012. Sakamichi no Apollon regains its throne at the top spot. Fate/Zero and then Tsuritama take their respective seats in second and third place respectively. While I still have some dissatisfaction of Sakamichi no Apollon overall, I cannot deny that this episode was quite enjoyable. The last ten minutes of the show certainly lived up to the hype that surrounds this show.

Sometimes it feels like I’m voting for the Miami Heat (Apollon) and the San Antonio Spurs (Lupin) despite the fact that would be the matchup I would not want to see in real life. Those were the two standout episodes for the week, but at least it wasn’t a clash of evil versus boredom.

EmperorJ (Lower Mid-Table)

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Rank	Anime (First Place Votes)	Studio	Episode	Change
1	Tsuritama (11)	A-1 Pictures	6	2
2	Fate/Zero (5)	ufotable	20	–
3	Sakamichi no Apollon (4)	Tezuka Productions	6	2
4	Uchuu Kyoudai (4)	A-1 Pictures	7	1
5	Eureka Seven AO (2)	Bones	6	7
5	Hyouka (3)	Kyoto Animation	4	6

On the cusp: Jormungand, Shirokuma Cafe, Lupin the Third, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san.

Last week’s results, about the Anime Power Rankings

Last week had quite the uneventful rankings, but this week’s definitely changes things up a bit. While the Top 3 shows remain the same, Tsuritama takes the top spot with a large margin.

Tsuritama is strange beast. A plot is finally starting to form and connect all the loose dots that have been scattered around so far, and most people will probably be happy about that. Yet, strangely, I’m not. That’s not a complaint by any means, I’d just actually rather have the dots left completely disconnected so I can continue watching the guys fish and goof around. I’m actually worried about a plot taking this away. Hell, even shows like Baccano have a character-driven plot to keep things moving. But nope, I just want to see the Tsuritama guys hang out, and not because I find them “SO KAWAII UGUU”. It doesn’t make the show better nor worse, just different.

Riyoga (Riyoga’s Ramblings)

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Inushinde, founder of Shinde Iie Anime Blog, joins us this week on FAPcast. In this episode, we have an early look at the upcoming spring season. Then, we have some musings over Nisemonogatari. As always, leave a comment and let us know if you want a specific topic discussed!

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