Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. We’re truly nearing the end of the year at this point, which means it’s getting to that time when I must actually examine the animated year in retrospect, and catch up on any key productions I might have missed. Uzumaki fell apart and Dandadan’s second episode still failed to grab me, but there’s still plenty else I need to check on, from the Dead Dead Demons adaptation to the latest installments in the Monogatari and Sound! Euphonium franchises. Between those, Delicious in Dungeon, and the year’s superb film crop (Naoko Yamada and Kiyotaka Oshiyama!), this is looking to be an altogether laudable year in anime, before we even get to backlog personal projects like Sailor Moon. I’ll be starting on all that shortly, but in the meantime, I have of course continued sampling whatever films either catch my fancy or rudely invade my screen via my roommate’s craft-neutral curiosity. Let’s break ‘em down!
Author Archives: Bobduh
Spy x Family CODE: White
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m happy to announce that we’re checking back in on the Forger family, as we explore their first full-length cinematic adventure. Spy x Family is pretty ideally positioned for these sorts of original tie-in films; the manga itself is mostly episodic and gag-based, balancing comic spy shenanigans, warm slice of life vignettes, and the occasional longer excursion into a major mission by Loid or Yor. Aside from the steady deepening of the family’s bonds, there’s no real continuity for such a film to exist outside of, and every reason to expect a focused, independent tale might capture the franchise at its peaks.
Outside of the immediate, obvious pleasures of seeing this family be their ridiculous selves, Spy x Family is lent further allure through that consistent lurking pitch of the Forgers working in concert, their diverse talents aligning to take down some grand, implacable obstacle. Tatsuya Endo wields this hook judiciously, maintaining its status as lure by ensuring we never take it for granted – in fact, so far we’ve only seen it realized twice, during the bomb scare and then again during the cruise. I’m guessing we’re about to witness our third pan-Forger venture, and with Code Geass scribe Ichiro Okouchi handling the script, I have every confidence it will be an energetic and charmingly stupid venture. Let’s get to it!
Hugtto! Precure – Episode 46
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today’s one of those days where I’m feeling all the pressures of life bearing down on me, the kind of day where I could really use a break from the manifold anxieties of modern living. As such, I’m declaring this the ideal time to return to Hugtto! Precure, and find some peace in the charming adventures of Hana and her friends. Hugtto’s eminently likable characters, lush and warm art design, and consistent poignancy of perspective feel like a sanctuary for viewers of all ages, offering a clear expression of art’s ability to guide, comfort, and unite us.
When last we left off, the girls’ collaboration with friggin’ Santa Claus had culminated in a cozy Christmas party for all our companions, with Traum sharing a close moment with Lulu, and even Gelos escaping from the mercenary shadow of Criasu Corp. With Gelos now looking forward to a happier future, I imagine we’re diving straight into Hugtto’s endgame for these last four episodes. And though I’m quite sad to leave Hugtto behind, I’m also eager to see our heroes step towards their futures, guided by the confidence in tomorrow’s fortunes that this series has worked so hard to cultivate. Let’s return to Hugtto Precure!
Eureka Seven – Episode 18
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to announce we are continuing Renton’s adventures with the Gekkostate team, as we return after far too long to the skies of Eureka Seven. The early ‘00s were one of the truly great eras in anime production, brimming with ambitious post-Evangelion originals, and elevated through brilliant creators like Eureka’s own Dai Sato. Eureka Seven embodies the passion and style of the era while also calling back towards prior eras, standing as one of the last examples of the once-common four-cour original, and demonstrating with its every episode how such a format can breathe life into a world and its characters.
When last we left off, Renton and the team had enlisted the services of the skyfisher Neal, who helped them secure the necessary supplies for repairing the Gekko. This adventure served a variety of dramatic purposes, offering chances for both Eureka and Renton to grow – Eureka through getting in touch with her feelings of jealousy and displacement regarding Renton’s growth, and Renton through coming to appreciate the variability of identity, how Neal (or, more pointedly, Holland) can seem like entirely different people depending on how and where they are framed. Additionally, it emphasized Renton’s emerging psychic link with both Eureka and the Coralian, as these creatures that have allegedly doomed the planet seemingly attempted to communicate with our hero.
With the Gekko now in fine fighting shape, and several episodes of heavy introspection behind us, I’m guessing the energy will be amping up as we return to the skies. But whatever’s ahead, I’m sure we’re in capable hands, and eager to see what adventures await. Let’s get to it!
Fall 2024 – Week 6 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. By the time you’re reading this, America will have decided whether we’ve decided to fast-track or slow-roll our cultural and economic collapse, and major portions of the country may well be on fire. No one really wants to live through times of great upheaval, and our historical moment feels particularly tragic, suspended as we are between an unsustainable past and an ascendant right driven by cruelty, selfishness, and proud anti-intellectualism. While I can’t fix whatever’s gone so terribly wrong with this world, I can at least offer a momentary reprieve from its horrors, as we join together in kicking the tires and testing the brakes of a fresh collection of film features. From ruinously terrible Netflix releases to bubble-era anime spectacles, let’s take a brief break from our shared struggle, and talk about some interesting films.
Light Through Glass: Rebels of the Neon God
Rain splatters against the phone booth glass, drops falling like the embers of fireworks spiraling in the distance. Their trails are lit by an indistinct whirl of city lights, perhaps cars or fluorescent signs, made obscure and thus somehow entrancing, their uncertainty of form promising riches and wonders. The beads of water are like liquid jewels, a beautiful contrast against the soot-streaked interior. Two boys huddle inside, hungrily passing cigarettes between them, then inserting a screwdriver into the terminal. A waiting bag is filled with the phone’s bounty, loose coins a pale imitation of those glittering lights – but here in the city, all truly bright things are indistinct and out of reach.
Skip and Loafer – Episode 11
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d like to take a stroll back to the delightful drama of Skip and Loafer, as our two charmingly mismatched leads muddle their way through the school festival. Through the combined pressures of Mitsumi’s self-assigned responsibilities and Shima’s participation in the class play, the two are each essentially revisiting their childhood dreams, seeing how their old ambitions fit them, and where their new feelings might lead.
This process has prompted some good, productive friction for both of them, as Mitsumi reaches the limits of what she can do alone, and Shima grapples with his complex feelings regarding stage performance. But regardless of their personal journeys, what has been made abundantly clear is just how much they care for each other, and desire to keep each other from harm. Shima expresses this concern through his attempts to shield Mitsumi from disappointment, while Mitsumi pushes Shima to embrace uncertainty, knowing he is strong enough to pick himself back up. Let’s see how their dance continues as we return to Skip and Loafer!
Uzumaki – Episode 2
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I announce with some degree of trepidation that we are returning to Uzumaki, the recent adaptation of Junji Ito’s famed horror manga. Though the first episode of this adaptation was actually phenomenal, there were apparently some catastrophic production breakdowns in the course of this series’ oft-delayed genesis. As a result, this second episode no longer boasts direction by Hiroshi Nagahama, the horror maestro whose uncanny application of rotoscoped animation and fastidious attention to sound design detail made the first episode such a wonder.
The reasons for this breakdown are both obscure and predictable; I don’t have exact knowledge of who pulled the plug, but it seems obvious that someone on the American side of this production got cold feet regarding the time and labor required for Nagahama’s approach, and instead tossed the production to a director who is renowned for putting in slipshod, subpar work at presumably cheaper rates. This is of a piece with American producers’ general lack of respect for the work that goes into anime production, and with Adult Swim in particular’s conflation of nostalgia with artistic value. Shows like the FLCL sequels embody Henry Ford’s maxim of “if I asked the people what they wanted, they’d have said faster horses” – it is up to great artists to show people what they could never have imagined wanting, and a philosophy born of “I want to recreate the exact conditions of when I first saw Cowboy Bebop at 1 AM on Adult Swim” will never produce such new ideas.
Thus we journey onward, into the consequences of high-level producers demanding swift, affordable results from a process whose fruits they could never measure or understand. With the spiral closing in around Uzumaki itself, we return to the field!
Fall 2024 – Week 5 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week represents a new milestone in DnD’s ongoing invasion of my every waking moment, as we ran through our first twelve-hour session, running from three in the afternoon to way too fucking late in the goddamn morning. Assured by our guest DM (party leader of our first two campaigns, now playing second to my character in campaign three) that this would just be “a quick investigation followed by a Metal Gear Solid boat,” we found ourselves ten hours later in the midst of a fight with an unkillable barbarian, recreating the Vamp water battle in an actively sinking ship. I have lost control of my life.
That aside, this week also featured some excellent film screenings, alongside my conclusion of the beloved original Trigun. Let’s talk about all that!
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Episode 6
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d step back into the world of Frieren, as our heroes prepare for a confrontation with an imposing dragon. Having been instantly rebuffed by the monster’s mighty scales, Frieren has decided it is time for the party to acquire a front-line fighter, that she might be afforded more time to conjure a properly armor-piercing sorcery. Thus our pair headed off to recruit Stark, the ax-wielding apprentice of Frieren’s old companion Eisen, only to find he’d been studiously avoiding confrontation with the dragon for three years.
It’s no surprise that our party of two mages are now in the market for some kind of warrior, but Frieren has so far avoided straightforward fantasy action, with each of its conflicts ultimately resolving in some quiet revelation regarding the nature of memory, personal relations, or finding purpose in your life’s journey. I’ll be intrigued to see how Stark facilitates these dramas, as he actually seems like the most “normal” member of the group, at least compared to Frieren’s elven sensibilities and Fern’s trauma-born perspective. With a dragon battle awaiting us, let’s meet back up with our brave heroes!