Now that we’ve had a day to digest the May banzuke, I wanted to note a few things. I also couldn’t resist an opportunity to throw together a visualization. I’ve used the Kyokai’s data from Sumo.or.jp to color-code the banzuke by Height, Weight, and BMI. With Ikioi sadly relegated to the depths of Makushita, Kaisei is the ranking giant on the Makuuchi list.

Now, on the the ranking list itself. It is our first without Kakuryu in a Yokozuna slot in seven years and Hakuho is alone, again, for the first time since 2012. We discussed this at a bit more length in our podcast but, in sum, part of me is glad that the chronic kyujo drama is finally over and I look forward to him setting up his own stable…while we wait on pins and needles for the other shoe to drop.

The return of Ishiura, Chiyomaru, and Akua counter the losses of Kakuryu, Yutakayama, and Kotoshoho. Oitekaze beya is a verifiable powerhouse with Endo now the fourth highest-ranked rikishi in the stable. On the BMI chart, he sits right next to Tobizaru, which I found surprising. On the banzuke, however, he’s now at Maegashira 8 West, alongside another stablemate, Tsurugisho.

The visualization above SHOULD let you choose between the past March tournament and the new May tournament. As I get more data in this, I will be able to do more cool things but I figure this basic list is a start. It turns out that the actual banzuke fell in line with Leonid’s analysis following Haru. Despite award worthy performances, no extra sanyaku slots were warranted for Wakatakakage, Meisei, or Hokutofuji. From there, the ranking list left several other wrestlers with quite a bit of banzuke luck. Chiyonokuni jumps 6 ranks with an 8-win kachi-koshi; he sits all the way up alongside Aoiyama, who moved from 12 West to 3 East on the strength of his 11-4 jun-yusho.

Further down the banzuke, Abi jumped up into the fray at Ms 7. He’s now very close to a return to Juryo but the competition will be fierce here. Many of the men around him, like Roga, Ryuko, and Hokuseiho will be just as eager for a yusho. Jonidan yusho winner, Atamifuji, is in the midst of Sandanme while Shonanzakura is at his highest ever rank, rewarded for reaching 90 consecutive losses? No, there’s just a slew of newbies below him.