Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Ojamajo Doremi Sharp – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to be returning to Ojamajo Doremi Sharp, after far too long away from this outstanding magical girl production. Doremi is simply marvelous in all regards, demonstrating both the creative playfulness and emotional insight of top shelf children’s animation. Whether it’s a thoughtful vignette regarding one of the girls’ classmates, a fantastical exploration of this show’s charming magical world, or a dive into the complex home lives of characters like Onpu and Aiko, every episode of Doremi offers something new and special, demonstrating animation’s ability to enrich the lives of viewers of any age.

Our last episode was another top-shelf tearjerker, as we learned of the anxieties preventing Onpu’s mother from wholeheartedly endorsing her daughter’s next performance. Onpu episodes are always great, and that one fell into a particularly rich vein of Doremi Drama: the show’s sensitive articulation of its parental figures’ doubts and fears, a theme it has harnessed to remarkable effect in both Onpu and Aiko’s stories. Through its humanization of its adult characters, Doremi serves as a gentle guide for its viewers, leading them through the frightening realization that their own parents are not invincible – as well as the ensuing sense of pride and purpose found in giving back to your parents, and bolstering their slumping shoulders with your own emerging strength. I imagine we’re in for a lighter episode after that standout, but regardless of what’s ahead, I’m sure it’ll be an excellent time. Let’s return to Ojamajo Doremi!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 41

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into Hugtto! Precure, as we race towards the conclusion of this heartwarming, far-reaching journey. After coming to know our heroes, their ambitions, and their whole larger community over the course of various adventures, our last few episodes have seen histories unveiled and secrets revealed, as we came to know the fate of Harihari Village, the true identity of Listol, and the nature of the bond uniting Lulu and Dr. Traum.

Beyond simply filling in our missing backstory, those episodes have also proven some of the most emotionally impactful of the show so far. Our last episode in particular was a major highlight, merging Lulu’s consistently poignant personal growth with Traum’s misguided yet deeply human desire to regain his lost daughter. The two of them struggling towards a shared idea of family was a painful, hesitant, and deeply sincere process – in other words, it was Hugtto at its best, hoping for a happier future while acknowledging the road forward is littered with hurdles and disappointments. Let’s see what awaits our crew next in a fresh episode of Hugtto!

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Skip and Loafer – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d stop in on the eminently charming Skip and Loafer, and see what stray child Mitsumi ends up adopting this time. So far her straightforward nature, positive spirit, and can-do energy have successfully charmed a varied array of foundlings, from the reserved but socially savvy Yuzu to the ball of screaming anxieties that Kurume. In the sea of insecurities that is high school, Mitsumi represents something rare and powerful: a person who knows who she is and who she wants to be, whose earnest pursuit of friendship and career goals assures others that they too might find such comfort in their own skin.

It’s been a delight watching Mitsumi integrate into her new school, as understandable anxieties have melted into her being the nexus of a new social group. Skip and Loafer’s articulation of warm friendships and veneration of everyday pleasures position it alongside the best slice of life productions, while its careful study of interpersonal dynamics offer the depth and insight of a dedicated character drama. It’s an altogether lovely combination, and I’ve wasted enough time already rambling about its effectiveness, so let’s get back to school!

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Star Driver – Episode 19

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am beyond impatient to get back into Star Driver, and see what fresh calamities are besetting the inhabitants of Southern Cross Isle. After a brief flash of normalcy guiding us into the story’s third act, the last episode saw us again off to the races, as fresh secrets were unveiled and Kate’s ambiguous role in our story came into focus.

As it turns out, Kate has been lying about basically everything to basically everyone. Her friends have little idea of her role within Kiraboshi, while her identity as a shrine maiden is a secret kept even from her Kiraboshi collaborators. And it’s little wonder why – shrine maidens here are not active actors, they are tools, beings kept both metaphorically and even literally in bird cages. It is the wielder of the King’s Pillar who acts, affirming the conservative world order that has caused one after another shrine maiden to flee the island, seeking their own identity outside of the confines of Southern Cross.

In this way too has Kate been an irrepressible liar, lying about her desires even to herself. Though she scorns Wako for holding onto dreams of stardom, her own yearning for that dream is clear in her rigorously practiced karaoke performances. And though she claims to have accepted Wako’s status as Sugata’s betrothed, her nightly visits with the King’s Pillar prove she has not given up on her first and only love. It’s an intriguingly anguished position she’s found herself in, and I’m eager to see what happens as her tangle of deceptions come to light. Let’s dive into Star Driver!

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The Tatami Galaxy – Episode 3

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Returning to The Tatami Galaxy feels a bit like returning home. It was a show I initially watched early on in my post-college return to anime, and even wrote about for reddit back when I was writing for upvotes rather than rent. It, like basically all Yuasa productions, embodies the intersection of animated creativity and thematic inquiry that specifically enthralls me about anime – an intersection frequented entirely by creators who simply cannot suppress their own artistic inquisitiveness, who are working in animation specifically because it offers more fanciful freedom than any other pursuit they could imagine, more ability to capture life as experienced rather than simply as recorded, more potential for bending narrative and art design to unimaginable, transcendent purposes.

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You – Episode 2

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am pleased as punch to be returning to The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You, a show whose first episode proved its clear and compelling candidacy for the “heartwarming harem” subgenre. Though harem anime don’t exactly have the most sterling reputation, the field’s superior entries are actually quite endearing, featuring varied casts of characters who are all having an excellent, intermittently horny time together. Romance doesn’t need to be serious or melodramatic; it can also be energetic and silly, and shows like 100 Girlfriends demonstrate the clear merits of such an approach.

Perhaps most crucially, 100 Girlfriends understands that for a harem to be compelling, the actual nexus of that harem must be as engaging or endearing as their potential paramours. And indeed, Rentaro has proven at least as cute as his first two girlfriends, charting a charming course between “bewildered everyman” and “perfect boyfriend.” Let’s see what madness awaits him next!

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BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! – Episode 8

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am impatient to return to the thunderous drama of MyGO, in the wake of the casual all-timer that was the band’s first live performance. Like MyGO’s third episode, the seventh was a masterclass in focus and perspective, drawing the audience into the band’s precise headspace through its patient evocation of the tension in the green room. And then that performance! Their two songs proved a staggering celebration of how far our heroes have come, with Anon’s diligent practice and Tomori’s courage leading them through a genuinely impressive concert set. And unlike many musical dramas, it never felt like we were switching a flip into confident “performance mode” – these were the characters we’ve come to know on-stage, insecurities and limitations and regrets included.

Of course, some of our bandmates were carrying more regrets than others. This performance was a great victory for most of our group: Anon proved to herself and the others that she can actually keep up with them as a musician, Taki’s anxieties about leadership were put to rest by the success of the final result, and Tomori was able to affirm the validity of this new sunny spot, this Haru Hikage that sounds different, but still feels like home. But for Soyo, this band has never been its own reward. It has been a means to reunite with the members of CRYCHIC, a placeholder bearing stand-ins soon to be replaced by Sakiko and Mutsumi. With the new group’s rendition of Haru Hikage essentially confirming Tomori has replaced Sakiko, and Sakiko acknowledging this statement with a tearful exit, Soyo’s cheerful façade has shattered. Soyo’s out for blood, and I can’t wait to see the fallout; after all, one of my favorite character arcs is “guarded cynic learns their friends still appreciate their true self,” plus Anon’s sure to be delightfully unbearable about Soyo finally showing some earnest feelings. Let’s get to it!

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Kaiba – Episode 10

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With Neyro and the Warp she knew as Kaiba tragically reunited, our tenth episode begins just before their first meeting, at the moment their story began. We open with Warp flying high above his planet of swirling canyons and grasping towers, his strange and claustrophobic kingdom. Dirt below and smog above; it is an oddly insular world, in spite of his position on the throne of this transhumanist empire. The more you seek to control your world, the more narrow that world will become; we cannot hope to claim ownership over humanity’s sprawling potential, only limit that potential to the point where it can fit within our grasp. Humanity can only express its true vibrancy unchained; we have seen the brightness of humanity struggling onward in the private margins of this world, but here in the seat of Warp’s power, there is nothing but refuse and resentment.

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Spy x Family – Episode 26

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am tossing and turning in the maelstrom winds of the apartment hunt process, which has understandably got my nerves a-frazzling. As such, I’m feeling hungry for some animated comfort food, and fortunately the second season of Spy x Family has arrived just in time to wrap us all in a collective blanket of familial cheer. Spy x Family’s first season was consistently funny, often surprisingly thrilling, and perpetually brimming with love for its awkward protagonists. Tatsuya Endo has proven to be an inventive sculptor of both spy and family drama, and the combined talents of Cloverworks and Wit Studio have made for a persistently generous animated adaptation. With last season having concluded on the fateful first encounter between Loid and his target Donovan Desmond, I’m eager to see both the continuation of Operation Strix and the Forgers’ further cohesion into something resembling a functional family. Let’s get to it!

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Yuki Yuna is a Hero – Episode 6

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d check in on the continuing adventures of Yuki Yuna and her hero club, and satisfy my intense curiosity regarding what exactly we’ll be doing with the rest of the season. You see, the normal procession with magical girls is generally one antagonist an episode, all leading up to an eventual showdown with the big boss somewhere near the end of the production. However, Yuki Yuna has casually flouted this assumed structure, piling the entirety of its remaining antagonists into its fifth episode, and having our heroes claim their grand victory before we’d even reached the season’s halfway point.

This is all quite exciting stuff to me, as you might guess. There’s nothing wrong with reliable narrative templates; sturdy scaffolding can allow artists to hone in on smaller details of presentation, characterization, or whatever else a story prioritizes. However, it is through breaking with convention that you often find new intersections of structure and dramatic impact, while unmooring your audience such that they experience your twists with the intensity of true surprise, no more certain of their destination than your characters. Let’s see what the horizon holds in a fresh episode of Yuki Yuna!

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