Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Angel Cop – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re exploring another seedy artifact of anime’s indulgent OVA era, as we check out the first episode of Angel Cop. This six-episode series falls neatly in the popular bubble-era genre of cyber crime dramas, whose entrants range in tone from the lighthearted Bubblegum Crisis or Dominion Tank Police to more grim affairs like Wicked City or Cyber City Oedo, all offering some mixture of investigative theater, explosive action, and salacious interludes.

Angel Cop hasn’t exactly maintained a high profile over the years, but its principle creators have me extremely curious. The series is directed by Ichiro Itano, a legend of mecha animation history whose contributions to Space Runaway Ideon and Macross included the “Itano Circus” missile barrage, and who has otherwise acted as both director (his Megazone 23 segment is brutal) and mentor to a wide array of successors. He is here joined by writer Sho Aikawa, whose contributions to the original Fullmetal Alchemist and stewardship of the phenomenal, underappreciated Concrete Revolutio set him as one of the few anime writers I have absolute faith in. I’m quite interested to see how Aikawa’s restless political insight intersects with both the narrative tropes and cultural concerns of bubble-era action, so let’s not waste any more time rambling. Onward to Angel Cop!

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Monogatari Off/Monster Season – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re diving back into Monogatari’s Off Season, as we explore Nadeko’s continuing efforts to pull herself back together. Having embraced Yotsugi’s brilliant idea of dividing her manga labors between four shikigami doppelgangers, Nadeko swiftly discovered that her old selves are an unruly bunch, and none of them have any interest in practicing drafting. Instead, they’re now rampaging all about the town, causing all manner of havoc for our unfortunate Current Nadeko to clean up.

It’s a pretty classic Monogatari problem: you hide the disliked aspects of yourself for long enough, and eventually they break free and run wild, demanding you acknowledge your full, unflattering identity for what it is. Nadeko’s numerous doppelgangers reflect her tendency to dramatically reinvent herself, to fully reject an old persona and embrace one she believes will make her happier. Given this tendency, it’s little wonder she has trouble truly believing in her current identity either, and was thus so shaken by her parents’ ultimatum. Like so many of Monogatari’s heroes, she must learn to embrace and forgive herself – to acknowledge that all these fragmentary selves are indeed sincere aspects of her identity, and that she should not be ashamed of either previously embodying them or now hoping to move beyond them. With Ougi’s needling “if you were happy, you wouldn’t seek such lofty dreams” and Sodachi’s well-intentioned “the world won’t end if you’re not sure what to do” both ringing in her mind, let’s return to the trials of Sengoku Nadeko!

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Dear Brother – Episode 10

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am happy to announce we are returning to the tormented halls of Seiren Academy, as Nanako endures a fresh collection of schemes and crashouts and ornately illustrated sorrow, all so she can achieve a god damn high school education. Do they even have classes at this school? I can’t imagine where they’d find the time for them, what with all the backstabbing and plotting and hopelessly draping themselves across school furniture all the students pack into their schedules.

Nanako is certainly receiving an education in something, though. As our last episode demonstrated, she is becoming a key fixture in the lives of both Kaoru and Saint-Juste, a confidant and tether maintaining their connection to this fragmentary, floating world. Though Nanako sees herself as perfectly ordinary, her ability to pierce the veils enshrouding Seiren’s three icons nonetheless makes her a unique quantity, as the one person able to see them as normal, reachable fellow students, rather than visions of Icarus that can only be glimpsed from a great distance. And in Dezaki’s hands, both the luxurious splendor and woeful melodrama of these stories is brought vividly to life; rather than abstracting Ikeda’s cast into caricatures, this adaptation simply realizes their feelings at the tenor they are experienced, offering the delightful two-cakes pleasure of both indulging in wild dramatic excess while still enjoying a story about recognizably human characters.

Well, except maybe Shinobu, that girl is something else. But that is also why we love her, and I’m eager to see what nonsense Nanako’s self-assigned nemesis is plotting as we return to Dear Brother!

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BanG Dream! Ave Mujica – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to the tormented saga of Ave Mujica, as Sakiko’s bandmates continue to enable her high-concept exorcism of personal demons. Though really, it doesn’t seem like she’s making emotional progress through any of this; rather, Ave Mujica is merely a vehicle for her to wallow in despair, framing her whole identity as a product of her trauma. By pinning her hopes on this melodramatic act of alleged liberation, she is only demonstrating how she is still defined and bound by her abandoned hopes. She is like Soyo cringing at that first-season performance of Haru Hikage, still too wrapped up in the pain of its associations to enjoy it as a fond memory.

Moreover, while MyGO’s post-CRYCHIC players had the good fortune of encountering Anon Chihaya, a sympathetic figure bearing baggage of her own, Sakiko’s associates seem far less inclined to guide her through this fraught period. Uika’s the only one who seems like a genuinely good influence, while Umiri is indifferent, Nyamu actively hostile, and Mutsumi clearly caught up in her own parental anxieties, clinging to her one friend even as that friend actively provokes her trauma. Is this the night that the doll Mortis cuts her strings, and can she even walk without those strings to guide her? Let’s get to it!

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Record of Lodoss War – Episode 2

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m happy to announce we’re returning to the majestic Record of Lodoss War, and checking in on the continuing adventures of Parn, Deedlit, and their motley crew of adventurers. This OVA series’ first episode offered pretty much the quintessential slice of Dungeons & Dragons adventure, prominently featuring both dungeons and dragons, and demonstrating most of the fundamental appeals of the format: exploring interesting locations, bonding with unlikely companions, applying your wits to various traps and puzzles, and ultimately facing off with mighty foes, collaborating to prove that together, you can survive and triumph over practically any obstacle.

In the early days, that was basically what DnD was all about; an exploration and battle simulator with a high fantasy coat of paint. It was up to the players to instill these basic actions with a sense of grandeur, and so they did, crafting massive fantasy vistas like our current war-torn island of Lodoss. Record of Lodoss War’s visual aesthetic is so strong, and its confidence in its mythcrafting so complete, that it has managed to maintain its place as the quintessential high fantasy anime for over thirty years, a living testament to the power of evocative art design. Let’s see how Parn’s journey begins as we return to the adventure!

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Yuri is My Job! – Episode 8

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! Today I’m eager to stop back in at Cafe Liebe, as our salon employees prepare for the upcoming Blume election. With Hime and Mitsuki having reestablished their friendship, our focus has turned to Hime’s friend Kanoko, who is tentatively confronting her fear of the admittedly intimidating Sumika. Of course, what Kanoko seems to perceive as “gyaru delinquency” is really just an expression of confidence in self; Sumika is happy with who she is, and thus does not feel compelled to mold her personality into precisely one internally coherent shape.

To our gallery of anxious and performance-bound heroines, Sumika’s confidence feels pretty close to a superpower. Hime knows how to please others, but her performance is not authentic to her actual feelings, which she generally keeps tightly buried. Mitsuki only knows how to commit herself to clearly defined tasks, and uses the formalized language of Cafe Liebe to substitute for her lack of casual conversational aptitude. And Kanoko can barely talk at all, only feeling comfortable expressing herself with Hime, and even there hiding the actual nature of her feelings.

Compared to them, Sumika’s comfort in her own skin and unapologetic embracing of her hobbies must indeed feel intimidating – for she has discovered the secret lying beyond the horizon, and understands that all of this adolescent performative roleplaying is only useful insofar as it leads you to a satisfying, authentic self. Fuck the haters, find your people, and let the rest take care of itself. Now let’s get back to the show!

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Blue Reflection Ray – Episode 7

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to the tangled drama of Blue Reflection Ray, a fact I announce with some trepidation, given the show’s recent turn towards genuinely harrowing personal drama. Princess Yuki’s experiences with online abuse served as a thoughtful exploration of both the promise and dangers of seeking community online, effectively capturing the contradictions of socializing in online spaces. For the many people feeling isolated in our increasingly atomized modern world, online communities are a crucial lifeline – but crowdsourcing your sense of self-worth is an incredibly fraught gambit, thus necessitating the forging of genuine, intimate connections like Yuki’s bond with Miyako.

Then we got into Niina’s story, which has proven even more devastating. Abused by her mother and eventually cast out on the street, Niina had lost all hope for the future when she was discovered by Hiori’s sister Mio, and drawn into the company of the red reflectors. Could any promise our team might offer sound like anything but fanciful, naive lies to one so mistreated by life? Regardless, I’ve been thoroughly impressed by Blue Reflection Ray’s refusal to pull its punches, and can only hope better things lie ahead for poor Niina. Let’s get to it!

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You – Episode 12

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we return to the amorous battlefield of 100 Girlfriends, having crossed into a brave new world from which I can see no hope of return. I had really thought Kusuri was going to define the peak of lunacy for this show, but “Rentaro rescues Hakari from her mother by agreeing to also date said mother” has outdone her and then some. I am sorry Rikito Nakamura, I was clearly unfamiliar with your game.

With Hahari now adopted into the Happy Rentaro Family, I imagine this new threshold of insanity will be subsumed into the group’s general dynamic with preposterous efficiency. Fortunately, there’s always the post-girlfriend cooldown episode to celebrate what some specific new arrival brings to the team, so buckle your seatbelts, folks. Will Rentaro dating both Hakari and her mother somehow illustrate this show’s general emphasis on open communication and attending to your partner’s feelings? I really can’t see how, but this production is nothing if not surprising, so let’s get back to the madness and find out!

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The Legend of Vox Machina S3 – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to be returning to the adventures of Vox Machina, as they attempt to flee the bowels of hell with a big nasty devil hot on their trail. Well, technically not the bowels of hell, since they’re actually pretty high in its layers – more like the esophagus of hell, I suppose? Regardless, in true devil’s bargain fashion, last episode’s daring feats of gambling by Pike were only enough to get them safely beyond Zerxus’ doors. For the rest of their journey, they’re now free game for Zerxus’ minions, who have been instructed that only Pike needs to return intact.

Meanwhile, my own party is making their escape from an equally oppressive pocket realm, as they charge forward towards the final battle against Strahd. Our DM has mercifully acknowledged our general frustration with Curse of Strahd’s limited venues for player expression and one-note tone, and thus we recently barreled through the last pre-climax hurdles at warp speed, gathering weapons, liberating allies, and hatching anti-Strahd schemes all in the course of one mammoth session. One of the most important skills you can develop as a DM is flexibility, and the understanding that you are collectively creating a living text – by fast-forwarding through material we clearly weren’t passionate about, they were able to create a version of Curse of Strahd that was actually paced such as to keep our interest.

As of now, we’re currently mid-battle with Strahd, with my peace cleric Tilly attempting to keep his attention off my friends by calling him things like Strahdy-wahdy and Strahdikins. Meanwhile, our noble bard Tulip keeps me alive, swashbuckling rogue Oberyn skewers him with the Sun Sword, and Uncle Fester-reminiscent wizard Dr. Bob does god knows what with his impressive magical faculties. I can vividly see the freeze frame of our ongoing battle in my head, and can’t wait to get back to the fight – but for now, we’ve got some hells to escape and a dragon to slay. Onward!

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Mezzo Forte – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out another unique artifact of anime history, from a creator with a truly singular career track: Mezzo Forte, the two-episode turn-of-millennium OVA directed by Yasuomi Umetsu.

Umetsu has jumped between production studios frequently throughout his career, serving as animator and character designer for a variety of productions before making his directorial debut with the exceptional “Presence” segment of Robot Carnival. That sequence is Umetsu at his best, demonstrating his distinctive, detailed style of character art alongside his exuberant, almost gaudy approach to color design. Since then, Umetsu has proven himself an exploitation cinema auteur, with his on-hands approach to every aspect of production marking works like Kite and Wizard Barristers as indelibly his. There is a solemnity and playfulness in Umetsu’s work, but these instincts share space with prominent threads of indulgent erotica and chaotic action; it is little surprise that Tarantino loves his work, and even less of one that Tarantino has not been able to win him a cultural reassessment on the scale of Battle Royale.

All of this is to say that Umetsu embodies the distinctive strangeness of anime as a medium, a man wholly dedicated to his grindhouse vision, and whose talent in design, direction, action staging, and animation are so undeniable that his works carry his obsessions into the spotlight. Whether they flatter my genre wheelhouse or not, I am always eager to expand my understanding of anime’s true originals, and Umetsu emphatically qualifies. Let’s see what awaits us in Mezzo Forte!

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