Apocalypse Hotel – Episode 3

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m in the mood for some fluffy comfort food, and what could be more soothing than the thought that humanity is over, our troubles have ended, and a courteous robot entourage has been left to pick up our slack? That’s right, we’re journeying downtown to the Apocalypse Hotel, where the service is superb and the clientele extraterrestrial.

After initially presenting a world bereft of human life, where the purposes instilled in Yachiyo and her compatriots only served to illuminate the emptiness of their daily routines, our second episode offered the staff an unexpected guest to accommodate. And though their alien visitor fell a touch outside their expected parameters, his unusual needs ultimately served as a positive affirmation for Yachiyo, reminding her that even her own status as concierge was facilitated as an act of faith, a disregarding of the probable in pursuit of that golden possibility of coexistence. Humanity may be gone, but it seems they’ve left the best of themselves behind to open the doors and wash the sheets. Let’s see what our staff get up to today!

Continue reading →

The Mighty Nein – Episode 2

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to check back in on the trials of The Mighty Nein, or at least whatever portion of its members are hitting the spotlight this episode. As this adaptation’s first episode well demonstrated, Critical Role are taking a drastic approach to reimagining their second tabletop campaign, reordering and reframing and generally attempting to make a coherent, propulsive narrative out of a largely unguided collaborative experience. And so far, I have to say they are absolutely nailing it.

While The Legend of Vox Machina did a fine job of recreating the experience of participating in a tabletop campaign in animated format, it’s clear that they’ve adjusted their goals for The Mighty Nein, and are instead attempting to assemble the best story possible out of the campaign that was. They are not attempting to strictly recreate The Mighty Nein in video format – they are diverging and restructuring in service of the campaign’s potential, rather than its played reality. It’s pretty much exactly what I hoped for from Critical Role’s simultaneously best and least fully realized campaign, abandoning both the inherent limitations of tabletop storytelling (the primacy of the party, the singularity of perspective, etc), as well as the narrative pitfalls of a party and dungeon master not being entirely on the same page. It’s an audacious trick, but I’ve been thoroughly impressed with their adjustments so far, and am eager to see how this new edition of the story unfolds. Let’s get to it!

Continue reading →

BanG Dream! Ave Mujica – Episode 12

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m happy to announce we’re returning to the stage of nightmare and delirium that is Ave Mujica, as our heroines attempt to exorcise their demons and find a place where they belong through their collective surrender to visual kei theatrical music experience. Surprisingly, as of eleven episodes in, this doesn’t seem to have worked; practically every member of the group is actually in a worse place than they started, whether professionally, psychologically, or a healthy combo of the two.

Our last to reveal her particular blend of self-hatred, obsession, and dissociation was Uika, born Hatsune Misumi, the daughter of Sakiko’s grandfather and unacknowledged black sheep of the Togawa group. Forced to grow up like a princess constrained in a faraway tower, Hatsune developed a fascination with the darling heir Sakiko that saw her claiming the identity of her little sister Uika, a version of herself that she could allow to betray her father’s directives, and actually become friends with the golden child.

Between her own forlorn existence and Sakiko’s seemingly irresistible aura, Uika’s curiosity soon turned to obsession; and when Sakiko’s life collapsed in the wake of Uika meeting with her father, she was swift to break Sakiko’s fall, her love for her double only matched by her hatred of herself. Now we’ve got Uika in Togawa Jail, Sakiko being shipped off to Switzerland, and our three other foundlings left in a practice room with no AC or music on. Let’s see if Sakiko manages to single-handedly end Swiss neutrality as we return to Ave Mujica!

Continue reading →

Spring 2026 – Week 6 in Review

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week I completed my watch-through of the original Dirty Pair TV series, which has left me wallowing in those tragic post-series doldrums of just wanting to hang out with my animated buds again. Kei and Yuri are a delightful pair of rampaging rascals, and nearly every episode of the series offered a satisfying riff on spy, mystery, or space drama adventures. The series was simply top-notch popcorn entertainment, and though I’ve heard their further escapades offer somewhat diminishing returns, I’m at this point invested enough to run through the various other Dirty Pair adaptations and remakes. It’s frankly been a terrific year so far in terms of catching up on outstanding older productions; I’ve marched through Future Boy Conan, Moribito, Aura Battle Dunbine, and now Dirty Pair alongside my Turn A and Katanagatari rewatches, and have had a great time with all of them. I’ll have to figure out what older favorite is up next, but in the meantime, let’s burn down the week in film!

Continue reading →

Journal With Witch – Episode 2

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m willing to wager that my heart is prepared for another expert pummeling, and am thus ready to check out a fresh episode of Journal With Witch. Our first episode introduced us to Makio Kōdai and her niece Asa Takumi, two near-strangers who were brought together by the sudden death of Asa’s parents. Though Makio had a painful relationship with Asa’s mother, her sympathy for Asa led her to offer her own home to the teenage orphan. Thus we find ourselves with two near-opposites cohabiting, colliding, and collectively attempting to navigate this strange and sorrowful life.

Journal With Witch’s first episode did a masterful job of conveying Makio’s emotional experience, gracefully articulating the shadows and ghosts that populate her lonely world. As a shut-in author who never really learned to get along with others, her daily rituals and hesitant stabs at connection felt painfully well-observed, realized through a combination of precise boarding, understated sound design, and hard-won scraps of personal wisdom. As a character study, the show already feels brutally relatable; as a reflection on life, love, and loss, it’s shaping up to be a poignant and quietly life-affirming journey. Let’s see how our lonely souls are faring as we return to the show!

Continue reading →

Big Windup! – Episode 22

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to the field at the bottom of the eighth inning, with clear underdogs Nishiura having just earned their third run, tying them up with the first-seeded Tosei team. And frankly, Tosei seemed lucky to get away with just that; given the extended fastball duel between Tosei pitcher Takase and Nishiura cleanup Tajima, it’s clear those Nishiura boys are hungry for a win. Meanwhile, Nishiura’s new pitcher Mihashi might well be the story of the season; after an apparently lackluster middle school career, he’s rallied back as the spearpoint of a remarkable lineup, showing tremendous talent in his suppression of Tosei’s best-in-class batting lineup.

That’s right, it’s time for more Big Windup!, as we surge towards the conclusion of Nishiura’s first summer tournament game. After a half season of interrogating both the general psychology of baseball and the distinct abilities of Nishiura’s players, their faceoff with Tosei has proven an absurd buffet of tactical gambits and countermeasures, seasoned with the occasional dash of unlikely misfortune. The show seems a perfect marriage of base material and adaptive talent; Asa Higuchi’s emphasis on both the psychological and mechanical ebb and flow of baseball is perfectly suited to Tsutomu Mizushima’s love of grounded, gamified drama, resulting in a viewing experience where every new challenge emerges naturally from the previously explicated board state. Now, with the score tied and just an inning and a half to go, let’s see what fresh hurdles await our brave players!

Continue reading →

Dear Brother – Episode 15

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m hankering for some sumptuously scripted melodrama, and thus feel it’s past time for a return to Seiren Academy. When last we left off, it actually seemed like things were looking up for our luckless adolescents. After Nanako sent Saint-Juste into a rage by attempting to destroy her pills, the two reconciled by the bay, leading to Saint-Juste’s unexpected reappearance for finals week. Meanwhile, Kaoru’s hard love during Shinobu’s convalescence appears to have developed into a genuine friendship between them, with Kaoru now assisting Shinobu with her finals prep.

It’s all been such a healthy, productive turn of events that I have to imagine the other shoe is currently mid-descent, gaining calamitous speed as it plummets towards the earth. Given Miya-sama’s prior warnings against Nanako’s involvement, I’m guessing Nanako will soon have all the Sorority turning against her, and Shinobu’s loyalties harshly tested. Regardless, I am sure Dezaki will continue to festoon Ikeda’s delicious tale in all the finery it deserves, as our heroines spiral towards absolution or mutual destruction. Let’s get to it!

Continue reading →

Spring 2026 – Week 5 in Review

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week I’ve been doing my service as a tertiary member of the Straw Hat Fleet, by inducting another friend into the cult of One Piece via the astonishingly well-executed live action series. It seems almost unfair to have such an easy on-ramp for engaging with One Piece; after grappling with low points like Captain Kuro’s Long Walk or Don Krieg in general, I can’t help but feel a tinge of battle-hardened pride relative to these newcomers’ easy stroll from Windmill Village right to Alabasta. Of course, that is always an instinct to be fought; more people getting to enjoy stories I love is an unquestionably good thing, and if that means I have to explain what’s up with Garth and Coby when they jump mediums, it is a duty I will embrace gladly. In the meantime, let’s burn down the week in films!

Continue reading →

Kemonozume – Episode 3

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m happy to announce we’re returning to the dazzling Kemonozume, the first TV production by the remarkable Masaaki Yuasa. Set in a modern world where brave Kifuuken warriors face off with shape-shifting Flesh Eaters, the show has swiftly established a Romeo and Juliet-esque pairing of Kifuuken heir Toshihiko and Flesh Eater Yuka, whose whirlwind romance culminated in a confrontation at the funeral of Toshihiko’s father, resulting in the two of them fleeing from Toshihiko’s vengeance-minded compatriots.

It was an unexpectedly sudden detonation of the narrative’s central powder keg, but Yuasa has never been one to linger in narrative stasis. From Mind Game to Kaiba to Inu-Oh, his originals move quickly and with great dynamism, balancing their speed of transformation with the acuity and intensity he brings to each stage of their development. In this case, the ethereal beauty of sequences like Toshihiko and Yuka’s embrace in a fountain have already done an excellent job of selling their love, while the boiling rage of Toshihiko’s half-brother Kazuma is clear in his every delightfully rendered facial contortion. With both sides of this conflict hot on our lovers’ trails, let’s see what fresh wonders await!

Continue reading →

CITY the Animation – Episode 7

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m looking at about a half foot of snow that had the temerity to land just outside my window, and preparing to stay enshrouded in blankets until the spring thaw. However, while it’s far too cold and blustery to currently enjoy my own city, it’s never a bad time to check back in with CITY the Animation, and see how its lovely community is making the most of their own summer days.

After the screen-splitting animation extravaganza that was episode five, CITY’s most recent episode returned us to the production’s usual mode, wherein we learned a great deal more about several of this city’s most prominent families. Having already met so many members of this community, we’ve reached a point where each new scene demonstrates either a new point of connection (like Ryota’s family situation) or new facet of an old friend (like Wako being responsible for Mr. Happiness). This in turn emphasizes what must surely be CITY’s most fundamental theme: that we are simultaneously wildly unique and deeply interconnected, a communal organism that is greater for each eccentricity of its component parts. Fostering those connections and celebrating those quirks is essentially the work of being a community, and CITY’s every episode demonstrates the incidental joys of that process. Let’s head downtown!

Continue reading →