PUZZLE #123: Puzzle in the Round

PUZZLE #123

PUZZLE IN THE ROUND

To solve this tough puzzle, fill in as many of the 5-letter answers next to their clues as you can. Next, look for shared letters, and then enter each letter into its correct place in the diagram (though you'll most likely need to scramble the order of the letters to make them fit). The letter in the grid's center will be shared by all of the answer words. As a little hint, look for unshared letters to help you determine the letters that will go in the outer ring to form the FINAL ANSWER, reading from 1 to 24.

The FINAL ANSWER is the name of a recent anime series.

1) A nightmare is a bad one
     _ _ _ _ _
2) Ran on TV
     _ _ _ _ _
3) Green _____ (Eva Gabor TV series)
     _ _ _ _ _
4) Spook someone
     _ _ _ _ _
5) It connects the foot bone to the leg bone
     _ _ _ _ _
6) "Queen of Mean" Helmsley
     _ _ _ _ _
7) "Li'l" comic strip character created by Al Capp
     _ _ _ _ _
8) Joe Louis _____ (Home of the Red Wings)
     _ _ _ _ _
9) Celebration often thrown by Pinkie Pie
     _ _ _ _ _
10) Not together
       _ _ _ _ _
11) Squirrel-like character from the Ice Age movies
       _ _ _ _ _
12) List of hit songs from Billboard, e.g.
       _ _ _ _ _
13) Boot-shaped country
       _ _ _ _ _
14) Like popcorn or seawater
       _ _ _ _ _
15) Like video games rated "M", in theory
       _ _ _ _ _
16) Prefix for "violet" or "violent"
       _ _ _ _ _
17) Geometric calculations that equal length times width (for rectangles)
       _ _ _ _ _
18) _____ of War (Shooter video game series for Xbox)
       _ _ _ _ _
19) Asian nation divided in two
       _ _ _ _ _
20) The Carpenters' lead singer
       _ _ _ _ _
21) Like numerals used in most Super Bowl logos
       _ _ _ _ _
22) Home run hero Hank
       _ _ _ _ _
23) Pinky's partner in a '90s cartoon
       _ _ _ _ _
24) Mark that's burnt onto a cow
       _ _ _ _ _

Once you think you know what the FINAL ANSWER is, send it to either redhead64@chartermi.net or itsredhead64@gmail.com (though I'm more likely to check the second one) and I'll put your name on a solvers list once I post the answers in about two weeks. You can also use those email addresses to give me some comments and feedback (or get a hint from me in exchange for a "hint star", more details for that are on the sidebar to the right) or send me the answer to last week's puzzle, if you haven't already figured it out. If you have a printer and want to solve this puzzle on paper, just head below the break for a version you can print out!