Umamusume: Pretty Derby S2 – Episode 4

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re heading down to the racecourse, as we return to the injury-fraught drama of Umamusume’s second season. Having first been introduced to the triumphant Tokai Teio at the peak of her rookie season glory, we watched as she was struck low by a fractured ankle, and forced to sit out the conclusion of her original dream. But having diligently trained her body back into fighting form, she now stands ready for a comeback tour, following on the heels of her triumphant rival McQueen.

In spite of its inherently fanciful concept, the show’s mostly been sticking to sturdy sports drama fundamentals so far, digging into the daily grind of training your body, and marinating in the disappointment of being forced to reassess your professional ambitions. It’s also done a fair job of honing Umamusume’s sprawling roster into a parsable cast, emphasizing a rivalry between teams Spica and Canopus that facilitates both comic digressions and incidental personal narratives. Adapting Umamusume into an ensemble drama basically necessitates grappling with the fact that most athletes won’t achieve the glory they’ve imagined, so I’ll be interested to see how our leads continue to find solace and motivation as they seek that distant crown. Let’s get to it!

Continue reading →

Fall 2026 – Week 4 in Review

Posted on by
3

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week has seen me juggling multiple productions in my race through the year’s outstanding anime, with my apartment diligently munching through both A Hundred Scenes of Awajima and Sparks of Tomorrow. The first has proven an absolutely staggering experience, pairing one of Madhouse’s greatest directors with one of the most wide-ranging and emotionally acute stories of recent years. From its tender illustration of the lies we tell each other to its stark, generation-hopping dramatic scope, Awajima is proving a poignant and insightful drama on all fronts. Meanwhile, in spite of its high-concept premise, Sparks of Tomorrow is falling more in that comic fantasy KyoAni mode of shows like Beyond the Boundary or Phantom World; it’s less ambitious or intelligent than I’d like, but remains visually compelling and generally watchable. I’ll hopefully have both shows tidied up by next week, but for now, let’s run down in the week in film!

Continue reading →

Yuri is My Job! – Volume 9

Posted on by
Reply

The further one journeys into the multifaceted drama of Yuri is My Job!, the more one comes to realize how variably appropriate that particular title is. Initially, I assumed it was mostly a playful sendup of the show’s two contrasting levels of social performance – how the personas put on at Cafe Liebe served as filters for more honest feelings, preceding an eventual reconciliation of those two identities into a unified, happier self. But in truth, the story’s progression has been closer to the opposite; spending more time with these characters has only clarified how distinct their real feelings are from the performances at Liebe, whether it’s the contrast of Mitsuki’s precisely performed on-stage actions and raw, clumsily expressed true feelings, or the clear polar opposition of Hime’s bashful, adoring public performance with her confident yet entirely platonic personal feelings.

Continue reading →

CITY the Animation – Episode 11

Posted on by
1

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m feeling altogether on top of my various professional responsibilities, and thus feel I’ve earned some sunny urban shenanigans. That’s right, it’s time for another episode of CITY The Animation, as Nagumo and her eccentric neighbors do their best to navigate adolescence, adulthood, and that awkward bridge in between. Our journeys may be wandering and our destinations uncertain, but as that irrepressible OP says, I’m sure we’ll all meet again eventually, laughing and smiling just like this.

Our last episode certainly offered plenty of reason for laughter, united under the thematic banner of “experiencing an idyllic summer vacation.” For our older trio, this involved a carefree trip to the beach ending in tsunami-strength meteorological devastation – for Tatewaku Makabe, it meant roaming the globe in pursuit of his beloved Izumi, encountering a variety of dubiously canonical hazards along the way. And all of this served as a sort of meta anti-climax, terminating in the absurd punchline that our local baseball team had not just competed in, but actually won the vaunted summer Koshien. But I suppose the feeling of missing out on a perfect youthful summer is in its own way the essence of youth, and I’m sure CITY will offer more similarly slanted wisdom in the episodes ahead. Let’s see what else this production has to teach us as we return to the streets!

Continue reading →

Birdie Wing – Episode 4

Posted on by
1

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to the course at a moment of high drama and rank duplicity, as it appears Eve’s handler Rose has done… something to ensure Aoi misses her last putt. Has she hollowed out the earth beneath the final hole, and stationed an army of children in the cavity to adjust the lay of the course? Is she controlling a giant fan that’s only just off screen, manipulating its mighty blades to ensure Eve’s victory? I don’t rightly know, but the fact that neither of those hypotheses sound wholly improbable means we surely must be returning to the delightful, delirious Birdie Wing.

Our last episode saw Eve and Aoi at last competing in a full eighteen rounds of golf, even if they were technically positioned in two separate sub-groups. The production was nonetheless able to create a solid sense of tension through Aoi essentially “chasing” Eve across the course, all while both establishing Eve’s existing limitations as a player and illustrating how Aoi is already leading her towards a more positive, uplifting relationship with golf itself. It’s clear that Aoi and Rose have fundamentally incompatible hopes for our young golf mercenary, and regardless of how that plays out, I’m eager to see whatever preposterous worldbuilding flourish Birdie Wing offers next. Let’s get to it!

Continue reading →

Fall 2026 – Week 3 in Review

Posted on by
4

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. My march through the year’s anime highlights continued this week, as I ran through the charming throwback Goodbye, Lara. I’m thinking my next investigations will concern either Sparks of Tomorrow or the spring season’s Nippon Sangoku, but I’m certainly open to other pitches regarding this year’s bountiful productions. Perhaps A Hundred Scenes of Awajima? I initially overlooked that one, but learning it came from the author of Wandering Son has definitely piqued my interest. Anyway, I’ve clearly got plenty of work ahead of me, but there are far worse problems than having too much good anime to sort through. And rest assured, I have not let this deluge of animation prevent me from watching altogether too many goddamn movies. Let’s get to it!

Continue reading →

Kemonozume – Episode 4

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to announce we’re returning to Masaaki Yuasa’s bold full series debut, as we explore a fresh episode of the dazzling Kemonozume. Maintaining the fluidity of form and sharpness of concept that defines much of his early work, Kemonozume has offered an alternately whimsical and brutal tale of star-crossed lovers, as reluctant hunter Toshihiko and repentant Flesh-Eater Yuka seek a place where their love can bloom.

Each episode so far has offered a vivid procession of angular, evocative compositions, realizing the hopes and fears of our heroes through the ecstatic beauty and shadowy contours of their living world. Upon that grand stage he has laid a narrative rich in implications regarding gender, identity, and familial obligation, complimented by an evocative mythology that turns the eternal journey towards mutual understanding into a life-or-death source of prejudice and paranoia. This world is a powder keg set to blow, and I’m eager to bask in the beauty of its funeral pyre. Let’s get to it!

Continue reading →

HeartCatch Precure! – Episode 3

Posted on by
2

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into an absurdly charming new adventure, as we return to the vividly illustrated HeartCatch Precure! Our first two episodes saw young heroine Tsubomi doing her best to integrate into life in Kibougahana, making some faltering efforts to abandon her introverted ways, and ultimately finding herself utterly overwhelmed by her new neighbor Erika. And if that wasn’t enough, she was subsequently conscripted into some sort of supernatural defense of Yggdrasil, with two ridiculous crystal-pooping fairies demanding she transform and face off against the nefarious Sasorina.

Thus Tsubomi evolved into the gallant Cure Blossom, and saved Erika in spite of maybe technically being the weakest Precure in history. We’ve got a hearty stew of narrative variables a’brewing here, from the unique mythology of this universe to the mysteries concerning Erika’s grandmother, the fate of Cure Flower, and the identity of that scarf-clad stranger. But on a more immediate level, HeartCatch has been an absolute embarrassment of visual riches, showing off the dynamic appeal of fully powered Umakoshi designs, and also letting director Nagamine flex his action boarding talents. All that plus the wondrous gremlin that is Erika have made for a superb start to our journey, and I’m eager to see how she torments Tsubomi next. Let’s get to it!

Continue reading →

Ojamajo Doremi Sharp – Episode 19

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to announce we’re checking back in on Doremi and her fellow ojamajos, as we explore a fresh episode of the conveniently titled Ojamajo Doremi Sharp. Whether it’s offering a poignant personal lesson, exploring the distinct lives of Doremi’s classmates, or simply reveling in its aesthetic flexibility and fantastical worldbuilding, each episode of Doremi offers a barrelful of fresh treasures, demonstrating the universal appeal of great children’s entertainment at its very best.

Our last episode was an admittedly embarrassing one for Doremi herself, as her bad attitude and sense of entitlement prompted an exodus by her fairy Dodo. This of course turned out to be a prime opportunity for Doremi’s animators, who indulged themselves with all sorts of goofy Dodo expressions, including the unforgettable Sukeban Dodo. And ultimately, the episode served to underline one of this production’s most enduring themes – its understanding that better behavior is a practice we must continually recommit to, not a stable fact of our unchanging identities. Even the adults in Doremi are works in progress, serving as a testament to its compassion and breadth of emotional insight. Now let’s see what nonsense the girls get up to today!

Continue reading →

Fall 2026 – Week 2 in Review

Posted on by
Reply

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. The fall season is churning along at this point, accompanying a general dulling of the sky and dimming of the sun as we slip into another year’s depressive winter huddle. That bleak transformation has served to underline the urgency of my annual catch-up process, which has most recently seen me diving into the charming and nostalgic Goodbye, Lara. Bold anime-original dramas are precious gems in our demon-haunted era, and so far Lara is impressing on a variety of fronts, from its cel-aping aesthetic to its charming cast to its gentle interrogation of various forms of love. I’ll surely have more to say on that when I get deeper in, but for now, let’s run down the week in films!

Continue reading →