Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Dear Brother – Episode 7

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into the nest of vipers that is Seiran Academy, as we bear witness to Nanako’s continuing misfortunes in the marvelous Dear Brother. The injustices of last episode, including the continuation dissolution of Nanako’s friendship with childhood confidant Tomoko, seemed to actually push our beleaguered heroine to a breaking point, prompting her to consider abandoning the Sorority altogether. Unfortunately, Miya-sama appeared to sniff out her intentions even before she did, offering her a pledge of loyalty that seemed to carry an undertone of yet another ominous threat.

So basically, it was just another day at Seiran, as larger-than-life titans like Kaoru and Miya-sama strode across the wreckage wrought by their tectonic movements, and underlings like Shinobu and Misaki scrambled for purchase upon their lofty, trunk-like garters. Riyoko Ikeda’s drama continues to wind in delightfully tortured directions, and Dezaki continues to elevate her tale with all manner of distinctive animated embellishments. It seems we’re on the cusp of Nanako beginning to seize her own destiny, rather than simply spin in the eddies prompted by larger forces, and I’m eager to see whatever fresh horrors await her. Let’s return to Dear Brother!

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Skip and Loafer – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to be returning to the charming and quietly thoughtful drama of Skip and Loafer, as Mitsumi continues to integrate into life in the big city. After receiving some contrasting advice from her new classmates regarding Sousuke and Mika, Mitsumi soon realized that second-guessing the motives of everyone simply isn’t for her; she is happy to be herself, and the classmates who can appreciate her earnest, exuberant personality will naturally congregate around her. Her first group karaoke outing was thus a roaring success, as she fostered new bonds and solidified old ones through her selection of a classic childhood anthem.

It’s frankly refreshing to watch a character drama that takes so much care in articulating the nuances of someone like Mitsumi, who is fundamentally a pretty normal, well-adjusted person. Anxious and neurotic people tend to spend a whole lot of time actively stressing over their emotions, which leads to a whole lot of fiction about anxious and neurotic people – but the fact of it is, anxiety and self-doubt don’t inherently make for any richer of an internal emotional life, they just tend to make their bearers more likely to scream that emotional life from the literary rooftops. I always appreciate when shows like Oregairu celebrate characters like Hayato, and I’m thrilled to be following Mitsumi as well. Let’s see where her journey leads next!

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BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! – Episode 6

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today there’s simply no avoiding a return to the delightfully messy band drama of MyGO, as I absolutely must find out what a genuinely inspired Anon might look like. Having spent half the series attempting to pull a band together for the most superficial of reasons, and ultimately fleeing when Taki called her out on her lack of conviction, we have at last learned of the great defeat that shattered her initial self-confidence. After easily gliding through the trials of middle school, Anon felt basically invincible, but the scholastic challenges and social isolation of England brought her crashing down. Since then, she’s steered clear of anything that’s seemed too difficult or too painful, hoping to construct a comforting high school life with none of the harsh edges of challenge or intimacy.

Unfortunately, the first classmate she established a bond with was Tomori, setting her on a rollercoaster ride of fraught emotions and desperate ambitions. While Anon could almost certainly have lived out a successfully superficial high school life, she instead found herself planted in the smoking ruins of CRYCHIC, with all of her anxieties and self-loathing laid bare. Sincerity might not come naturally to Anon, but having found an unexpected confidant in Tomori, she might just be the exasperated irritant this group needs to truly, honestly come together. Let’s find out!

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Kaiba – Episode 9

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Kaiba’s ninth episode begins much like its predecessor, with the alleged “King Warp” in the shower, gingerly dressing his wounds while his mechanical overseers question him on what went wrong, and why they can sense blood. As before, words that could theoretically be meant kindly are here known as anything but – though they masquerade as caretakers, his robot guardians are more like sharks, smelling weakness and circling for the kill. To stand at the pinnacle of this world is to surrender all privacy, all anonymity. He is in truth not actually the ruler of this world, but merely its most elevated cog: the crown-shaped screw adorning a machine that is fundamentally indifferent to all of its component individuals, knowing each of them are just parts that will eventually be replaced.

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Spy x Family – Episode 25

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d treat ourselves to a fresh episode of Spy x Family, and see what cozy shenanigans our diversely talented found family are getting up to. Spy x Family has proven itself a warm security blanket of a show on the whole, exploiting Tatsuya Endo’s keen talents for comedic timing and anticlimax in order to spice up a fundamentally heartwarming exploration of three strange outsiders discovering trust and community in each other.

It’s a show that never fails to buoy my spirits in difficult or anxious times, and that is an eminently honorable pursuit. I’m sure you all know I love the shows that break my heart, but equally precious to me are the shows that offer comfort in the storm, speaking to both our common humanity and the glory of talented artists celebrating all that is warm and beautiful in life. I’ve greatly enjoyed our time with the Forger family, and am thankful that our journey through Spy x Family’s first season has carried us all the way to these goofballs’ triumphant return. Let’s see what nonsense awaits at the end of Spy x Family’s first season!

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Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 6

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to journey back into the harsh lands and bitter grudges of Thunderbolt Fantasy, as Shang finds himself with not one, but two separate demonic entities intent on his destruction. With Xing Hai and the Seven Blasphemous Deaths now reunited in form and focus, the Sorcerous Sword Index has never been in greater peril, to say nothing of the continuing efforts of the Divine Swarm, our recently cyborg-upgraded monk, or the murder princess and her courtly underlings.

All of this is nothing but a source of aggravation to our reluctant hero, though I imagine Lin is absolutely in his element. After so recently lamenting the lack of any good villains lately, he now finds himself at the fulcrum of a conflict featuring no less than four nefarious factions, and cozying up to an organization whose ambitions are only matched by their inflated sense of righteousness. Let’s see where his schemes lead him next as we check out a fresh episode of Thunderbolt Fantasy!

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Yuki Yuna is a Hero – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today it seems like we’re past due for a check-in on Yuki Yuna and her brave companions in the Hero Club, as they continue to fend off all who would do harm to the Divine Tree. In spite of lacking any high-tension battle scenes, Yuki Yuna’s last episode was undoubtedly my favorite so far, as its exploration of Fu and Itsuki’s unequal yet cherished bond felt thoughtful and convincingly true-to-life, grounding the generalities of the show’s genre structure in the specificities of one family’s circumstances. Believing in the distinct humanity of a show’s characters is what elevates sterile narrative beats into emotionally resonant drama, and episode four did a fine job of convincingly articulating that humanity.

Getting all this personal context was well appreciated, but judging by episode four’s dramatic stinger, the time for singing lessons and cat-ferrying assignments is now behind us. As expected, the death of the sisters’ parents was revealed to be linked to the vertexes, meaning Fu has ultimately dragged her classmates into a mission of personal revenge. Between that, her existing issues with leadership, and the ominous flipping of Itsuki’s death card, I expect some troubled times ahead for our young heroes. Let’s get to it!

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BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into the drama of BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!, after an episode that saw Anon doing her best to resolve the roiling emotions and profound regrets left in CRYCHIC’s chaotic wake. It appears Soyo was indeed correct to choose Anon as her instrument of conciliation; after hearing the whole story from Tomori, Anon was swift to plant Tomori, Taki, and Soyo down in a café together, and demand these woebegotten teenagers Talk This Shit Out.

The resulting conversation was refreshing in its specificity of perspective and authenticity of character voice, but that’s frankly what I’ve come to expect from MyGO. This production’s script is one of the best I’ve seen in years, capturing the nuances of character voice and the inherent friction of motives and personalities in conflict with a grace that puts it in the upper echelon of high school dramas. Coupled with storyboarding and character acting dedicated to conveying the finer unspoken fault lines within these relationships, the overall effect is utterly gripping; with characters this fully realized, it’s fun just watching them bounce off each other. Let’s see how new guitarist Raana secures her place in the band with a fresh episode of MyGO!

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Toradora! – Episode 11

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There are few scholastic touchstones more beloved by anime than the vaunted high school cultural festival. And it’s not hard to understand why; such festivals provide a natural disruption of their attendees’ standard, frequently unconsidered school activities, offering events that both force collaboration between unlikely student alliances and also challenge characters to move outside their comfort zone, prompting reflection on how they’ve changed over the preceding year. 

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Sherlock Hound – Episode 6

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am utterly thrilled to be returning to Sherlock Hound, that shimmering jewel of ‘80s anime elevated by a rogue’s gallery of all-time artists and animators, including both Hayao Miyazaki and many of his eventual Ghibli compatriots. The show has so far provided a buffet of riches on both the aesthetic and narrative front, marrying playful animation and sumptuous background art to capers that jump-start Arthur Conan Doyle’s original material with a healthy dash of Lupinism, alongside an abiding love for convoluted mechanical contraptions. The adventures of Sherlock, Watson, and the perpetually amused Mrs. Hudson have been a delight so far, while simultaneously filling out one of the key gaps in my post-Toei, pre-Ghibli education on the scions of animation. Let’s see what madness this marvelous production team cook up next!

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