Author Archives: Bobduh

Skip and Loafer – Episode 10

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d like to settle down to enjoy a cozy new episode of Skip and Loafer, and see how Mitsumi is faring with festival preparations. Our last episode offered one of this production’s most enchanting tone pieces so far, vividly realizing the nostalgic, lackadaisical atmosphere of Mitsumi’s summer vacation. You could practically feel the sun and taste the watermelon as Mitsumi reunited with her old friends, with this gentle romantic comedy demonstrating its command of boarding, pacing, and sound design can compete with the best slice of life productions in the business.

Now that we’ve returned to school, the race is on to prepare for the upcoming school festival. But while Mitsumi is prepping for the trials ahead, Shima is still bound by the past, unable to embrace his high school life in the wake of his prior transgressions. That’s somewhat understandable given he’s literally got an old friend shouting “how dare you embrace high school in the wake of your prior transgressions” right in his ear, so my current hope is that Ririka and Mitsumi actually meet and hash things out, prompting Shima’s childhood friend to perhaps lighten up and embrace forgiveness. Regardless, I’m sure we’re in for some thoughtfully written and altogether charming shenanigans, so let’s not waste any more time hypothesizing. Onward to the festival!

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Uzumaki – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out a new production, as we explore the long-awaited adaptation of horror mangaka Junji Ito’s Uzumaki, or “Spiral.” The acclaimed manga centers on the town of Kurouzu-cho, where some sort of spiral-oriented curse is steadily infecting the townsfolk and the landscape around them. In classic Ito fashion, Uzumaki wavers between eerie body horror and high-concept farce, treading the uncertain line dividing horror from comedy, and ultimately building a profound sense of entrapment and dread across its spiral-centered vignettes.

Whether Ito’s work can be translated to effective animation is another question entirely, and one that has been afforded some worrying precedent through prior adaptations like Gyo and the recent Junji Ito Collection. Conveying horror through the inherently affected medium of animation is extremely difficult; horror generally demands a sense of vulnerability, and an audience’s awareness that they are watching lines drawn on a page tends to undercut any aspirations in that direction. It is additionally the inherent wobbling nature of Ito’s linework, as if he’s scratching with the charcoals of a ritual fire, that often affords his stories such profound emotive power. Stack all that with his work’s tendency to strain suspension of disbelief even in its original medium, and you’ve got a mammoth task facing any prospective adaptation.

Fortunately, director Hiroshi Nagahama is an absolute master of tone, and has already proven through both his Mushishi and Flowers of Evil adaptations that he is literally the best horror director working in animation. If anyone can manage it, Nagahama can, and I’m certainly eager to see him try. Let’s get to it!

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Fall 2024 – Week 1 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. The fall anime season is now upon us, which for me means it’s time to look back on the summer season, and see if any of its brave contenders seem worthy of revisiting. I have to admit a certain nostalgia for putting my whole heart into some seasonal contender only for it to flame out spectacularly, but I’m afraid my heart can only take so much disappointment these days, and thus I generally employ the safer strategy of letting the race end and retroactively assessing the wreckage. Of course, all that personal philosophy goes out the window when money enters the equation, and thus I was happy to munch through the first episode of Hiroshi Nagahama’s Uzumaki adaptation for you faithful viewers. I’ll have a full notes article on that out soon, but for now, I present to you ravenous hounds a fresh trencher of film reflections. Let’s get to it!

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Sol Bianca: The Legacy – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re going to be embarking on a new journey, as we explore the first segment of six-episode OVA series Sol Bianca: The Legacy. I’ll admit, I know basically nothing about either this series or the original two-episode OVA that preceded it; I’ve frankly never heard of either, but that’s little surprise, as the OVA boom was flush with productions that didn’t necessarily make an international splash.

The original Sol Bianca was actually cut short at two installments due to low sales, and only followed up a decade later by this quasi-sequel. The two share the titular all-female pirate ship, as well as animation director/character designer Naoyuki Onda, who’s enjoyed a fruitful AD career on projects ranging from Record of Lodoss War to Rage of Bahamut. The Legacy’s director Hiroyuki Ochi has also mostly worked in animation direction and key animation, so if nothing else, I’m expecting some luxurious cuts and character art ahead of us. Let’s check it out!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 45

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d check back in with Hana and the gang, as our brave Precures charge towards the conclusion of their grand adventure. Over the past forty-some episodes, our heroes have made lifelong friends, discovered key facets of themselves, and even fallen in love (with a hamster). And through all these trials, Hugtto has continued to offer charming and poignant reflections on aging, teaching both its heroes and its viewers to look towards adulthood with ambition and hope.

Most recently, we’ve been tying up the loose ends of our heroes’ various personal journeys, starting with first Homare and then Saaya. If the pattern holds, I’m looking forward to some hard rocking Emiru adventures, as she continues to break free from the expectations of her grandfather and embrace her own guitar-shredding identity. Let’s see what awaits us in a fresh episode of Hugtto Precure!

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today a late summer storm is currently raging beyond my window, fleets of rain shaking the trees as I sit quietly ensconced in my bedroom. It’s a scene much like the comfort of watching snow fall from beside a warm fire, a snug feeling of safety within a tumultuous world, and the whole scene has me thinking it’s just about time for an episode of Frieren.

Frieren has so far proven itself a show all about enjoying moments like these, the incidental fragments of impossible beauty scattering our passage through life. When we are preoccupied with distant goals and tangible landmarks, we have a tendency to miss the observations and indulgences that ultimately furnish our memories, transforming a list of tasks accomplished into a journey rich in unexpected wonders. Whether it’s in narrative drama or our own lives, the incidental, ephemeral things matter more than we might think, adding distinct texture to our experiences, and texturing our own personalities and memories in turn. Let’s see what memories our pair make next as their journey continues!

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Summer 2024 – Week 13 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Though anime season scheduling would disagree, it is clear we have reached the end of summer at this point, making my every humble attempt to go for a jog now a struggle against the vicious winter elements. My feud with the concept of seasons is well-established at this point, but every fall has me wondering afresh why I still live in New England, when there are so many other regions less afflicted by dreaded seasonal conditions. In spite of this lamentable state of affairs, I have been doing my best to keep busy for you all, and at this point have once again brought myself up to date on outstanding reader projects. This puts me in the thrilling, terrifying position of actually having some free time to work on my own short fiction, something I haven’t done since just after college. I’ll let you all know how that goes soon, but for now, let’s break down the week in films!

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Trigun Stampede – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am eager to return to Trigun Stampede, and see how Vash and his companions are faring. It certainly hasn’t been an easy road for them; although Vash possesses tremendous destructive power, he is loath to use his abilities to harm others, even if those others have every intention of harming him. This has made for a difficult trek across this sand-blasted planet, as every mercenary and their mother is intent on capturing him, to which he can generally just offer a lopsided “can’t we just be friends?”

Descending from the heavens alongside his twin and shadow, Vash is clearly being framed as a messianic figure, a savior whose infinite charity might counterbalance the selfishness and violence of mankind. But in a cruel world, there is often little choice but to be cruel ourselves; though Vash possesses the strength to stand by his pacifist philosophy, he cannot single-handedly save this world, cannot transform it into a place where the necessities of life are so plentiful as to facilitate such effortless charity among the rest of us. Of course, this is all assigning him a thematic significance I’m sure he’d find lofty and embarrassing; as a person in his own right, he seems mostly concerned with not becoming the “weapon” that others see him as, a tool whose only purpose is destruction. The contrast of these two perspectives, alongside the inherent thrills and charm of this lushly appointed production, have made for a thoroughly satisfying meal so far. Let’s get back to it!

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You – Episode 7

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Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d stop back in with Rentaro and the gang, as we explore the trials and triumphs of their increasingly unwieldy family. Last episode’s water park trip served as a natural celebration of how absurd this show has become, with one girlfriend after another suffering some disastrous complication on their group date. Karane was assailed by insecurities about her figure, Nano and Hakari ran into those inescapable letches that always hang around anime pools, and Shizuka was lost at sea entirely. By all accounts, it was a date that could easily have ended in disaster.

Of course, in the end, their pool trip served as an affirmation of their collective concern and growing mutual trust. Yes, there were the requisite swooning swimsuit pans, but the actual meat of the episode concerned things like Nano learning to trust in Rentaro’s affection, Karane taking pride in her body, and Shizuka expressing herself in her own voice, knowing that her prince would surely come. While 100 Girlfriends opened by leaning on the inherent absurdity of applying swooning romantic iconography to multiple simultaneous romances, it has by this point morphed into something far more strange and unwieldy, a towering testament to the fact that Love is Love, a force that brightens your life in whatever form you find it. Let’s see what nonsense we’re in for next!

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Anne of Green Gables – Episode 17

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Hello friends, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am sorry to report that we are returning to Green Gables in a moment of absolute crisis, with no clear path forward for our poor Anne. Having already sworn off schooling on account of the contemptible Gilbert, Anne has since found herself isolated from her one and only bosom companion Diana, on account of an ill-fortuned bottle of currant wine. The hills and valleys that once seemed alive with youthful promise have turned ominous and alien; in fact, it seems more than likely that Anne shall never again enjoy a moment of peace upon this earth.

Well, at least that’s how she’d likely phrase it. In truth, I’m guessing the Currant Wine Catastrophe will be just the kick in the pants Anne needs to return to her schooling, and it’s about time too. In the meantime, I’ll be happy just to bask in the character-rich dialogue and gorgeous scenery accompanying each episode of this delightful show, certain that Lucy Maud Montgomery and Isao Takahata have us in the safest of hands. Let’s get to it!

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