The first image of Blue Flag’s third volume, presented before we even get to its opening chapter, is of Taichi and Touma playing happily as friends, captioned with “Together as children despite the differences in their interests.” It’s a moment that captures a great deal about Blue Flag – the manga’s veneration of the incidental, deeply specific moments that survive in memory and ultimately shape our perception of our own life, as well as its indifference to the superficial markers of alleged kinship or similarity that define so many adolescent relationships. No common interest could equal the bond of shared experience and sympathy connecting Taichi and Touma. The people who are most important to us are not necessarily the people who are most like ourselves – they are those who inform and expand our understanding of both ourselves and others, securing their position among those dazzling incidental fragments that encompass our life in retrospect.
Author Archives: Bobduh
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Episode 3
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we might check back in on the gentle drama of Freiren: Beyond Journey’s End, and see what our perpetually unbothered mage and her young apprentice are getting up to. Our last episode actually covered a great deal of ground, taking us from the last years of Heiter’s life through the first years of Fern’s wandering with Frieren, which turned out to involve a lot less glamor than Fern was expecting. Helping with errands, gathering niche magical proficiencies, and venerating those who came before: Frieren’s passions are not exactly the peak of fantastical drama, and that is precisely what makes this production special.
In our frequently action-obsessed animated media ecosystem, the idea of fantasy not being a route to power, but instead a tool for achieving greater understanding, appreciation, and integration into the world around us makes for a lovely change of pace. And Frieren doesn’t simply luxuriate in its unique atmosphere; through the course of its meditative vignettes, it takes the long view in grappling with the idea of a “life well-lived,” using its heroine’s unique perspective to consider how we might pass each moment without regret, as well as the legacy we will ultimately leave behind us. Great acts of momentary glory tend to fade in memory; what remains is often intimate and incidental, allegedly idle moments shared with the people we love. Let’s see what our wandering mages get up to this time!
Star Driver – Episode 25
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I imagine we’re in for one hell of a bumpy ride, as we join Takuto for the grand finale of the whimsical, richly layered, and altogether thrilling Star Driver. With anime legends Igarashi and Enokido at the helm, Star Driver has offered plenty of the theatrical embellishments, adolescent psychological inquiry, and grand theories of human relations that I’d expect from such distinctive, creatively driven artists. We’ve rambled from baseball episodes to creation myths, pursuing all the while that indistinct horizon of the adult world, where the legends and rituals that have guided us prove themselves either trustworthy signposts or merely the bars of a larger cage.
Southern Cross Isle’s patriarchal order is ultimately ruled by fear; fear of female agency, fear of the adult world, and most fundamentally fear of being unmoored, of no longer being the lord of your domain. Sugata’s predecessors feared losing power so much that they essentially became avatars of power alone, sacrificing their ability to choose their own destiny just to ensure that others would be similarly contained. Kiraboshi have come up with a unique solution to their simultaneous fear of the external world and desire for greater power: simply expand their cage outward, capturing the entire world within the domain of their abilities. But to those who’ve chosen to walk away from the island, to all those painted women Tokio failed to capture, the solution is far simpler. Can Takuto break the bars of Southern Cross, and rise fearlessly upward into adulthood? Let’s find out!
Summer 2024 – Week 1 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week I largely spent my precious, beautiful summer days cooped up inside, furiously replaying Elden Ring so I could then leap into Shadow of the Erdtree. I’m happy to report that I’m now getting my ass kicked somewhere in the Shadow Lands, and will likely have more coherent thoughts on FromSoft’s latest in the near future. But for now, all that time playing and trading off on Elden Ring also left plenty of opportunities for new film screenings, alongside a swift viewing of the unexpectedly renowned League of Legends spinoff Arcane. Let’s run down the spoils!
Phoenix – Volume 2
The first volume of Phoenix offered a bleak portrayal of human nature, emphasizing how we are fundamentally little different from the ants and the beasts, and how our superstitious clamoring for eternal life is ultimately a self-destructive fool’s errand. Though individuals were occasionally able to rise above the small-minded perspectives and fanatical loyalties that defined them, the overall portrait of humanity was a grim one, a detailing of a species too preoccupied with personal glory to even achieve the philosophical unity with nature of animals. The only balm against this scorching condemnation was the assurance that at the very least, the events taking place were far, far before our time, a reflection of a less civilized era of humanity.
Dear Brother – Episode 8
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to be returning to the operatic and perpetually thrilling Dear Brother, as Nanako continues her trials at the magnificent Seiran Academy. After half a dozen episodes of increasing torment and isolation, our last visit at last provided a measure of relief for Nanako, with her best friend Tomoko finally returning to her side. In spite of the machinations of the delightfully devious Shinobu, some friendships are beyond even her ability to foul things up, and a last gasp of cruelty from Misaki proved just the thing to restore Tomoko to her side.
Along with that reconciliation, Nanako has been further bolstering her position through her connections with Saint-Juste and Kaoru, the latter of whom seems to have accepted Nanako as a personal project. Such alliances will surely become necessary soon, as there are greater threats at Seiran than the petty attacks of Nanako’s fellow freshmen. It’s a rare show that gets me so caught up in the tempestuous wanderings of episodic drama, but Ryoko Ikeda’s combination of inventive individual setpieces and looming intrigues more than qualifies, to say nothing of Dezaki’s dazzling adaptation. Let’s see what trials await as we return to Seiran Academy!
Galaxy Express 999 – Episode 1
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to announce we’re embarking on a journey through another beloved classic of anime, the TV adaptation of Leiji Matsumoto’s Galaxy Express 999. Inspired by the fantastical Night on the Galactic Railroad (itself the recipient of a majestic anime film adaptation, to say nothing of its significance to Ikuhara’s Mawaru Penguindrum), Galaxy Express tells the story of a young boy who wishes to live forever, and boards the space train Galaxy Express 999 in the hopes of receiving the metal body that will realize his dreams. Along the way, he joins up with a beautiful, mysterious woman with her own reasons for the journey, and experiences a dazzling array of adventures as he travels to the end of the line.
Alongside Space Battleship Yamato and Captain Harlock, Galaxy Express stands as one of Matsumoto’s most consequential contributions to manga and animation, a classic whose influence can be felt in the scope and style of space operas to this day. His work is also one of my most significant remaining blind spots regarding the history of anime, and I am thus absolutely thrilled to be starting this adventure. As for the staff, chief director Nobutaka Nishizawa appears to be most notable for his significant work on this franchise itself, though I’m intrigued to see this episode’s screenwriter also wrote the harrowing Space Runaway Ideon: Be Invoked. Let’s see what’s on offer as we board the Galaxy Express!
Spring 2024 – Week 13 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I come to you with a fresh pile of films and more besides, as my house has just recently concluded our screening of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. The show ended up falling significantly below my expectations in terms of overall quality, but it was nonetheless quite interesting to see GAINAX struggling through their first television production, establishing many of the concepts that would go on to inform Evangelion, and otherwise fumbling through an oddly lopsided mixture of Lupin, World Masterpiece Theater, and Space Battleship Yamato. With Nadia done, I’m guessing we’ll be continuing our Gundam journey with Victory Gundam, and also finishing off the surprisingly addictive League of Legends: Arcane. But for now, let’s run down the spoils of our latest Week in Review!
Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episode 23
Darkness looms over Misato’s apartment as we return to Shinji’s caretaker, now cocooned in the repetition of a painful, desperate ritual. Instant ramen cups lie unattended and spoiling on the floor, beer cans stack up around her bed, and a familiar voice hangs in the air: Kaji’s final message, Misato’s last connection to the man she loved. His encouragement to “go forward without any hesitation” rings bitterly hollow as Misato hunches over her desk, happier to hunch in this loop of familiar feedback rather than strike out into the cold, lonely world.
The Big O – Episode 20
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning once more to the city of Paradigm, as Roger Smith attempts to divine what fragments of his past identity he can use to construct his future self. As external invaders continue to pierce the veil of Paradigm’s manufactured reality, Roger himself is coming to doubt the role he has been assigned, knowing full well that his control of the megadeus is not an expression of agency, but a fulfillment of his “father” Rosewater’s wishes. So then, as Roger himself recently asked, “who is my real enemy?”
Well, that’s a complicated question. The easy answer would be “Rosewater,” as he’s clearly the one currently pulling the strings behind Paradigm’s current age of amnesia. But Rosewater himself appears to be channeling his energies towards fighting some external threat, the survivors of a world gone mad attempting to puncture the bubble of Paradigm’s security. Mankind’s hubris will always lead us towards forbidden knowledge, whether it’s the technology that wrecked the world or the sins that were buried forty years ago. Like many men, Roger is a hammer in search of a nail; he play-acts an agent of truth and justice as a “negotiator,” but the secrets he uncovers may prove themselves more dangerous than any of the foes he’s dispatched. Let’s see where his fraught path takes him as we return to The Big O!