Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Dagashi Kashi – Episode 9

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Editor: Woops! I apparently forgot to post this last week, so here it is.

And making it an even three for three, this week’s third episodic review show also had a pretty lousy episode. This one was lousy in a way I’ve come to expect from Dagashi Kashi, though – it tried to be funny the whole time, and Dagashi Kashi isn’t particularly funny, and so that didn’t turn out well. The show stretched what were essentially four simple jokes out across the four segments that composed the episode, making me feel as exhausted as Kokonotsu by the end. It’s kind of unfortunate when a show is so totally confident in a strength it just doesn’t possess.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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Active Raid – Episode 11

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Active Raid had a relatively successful but also kinda bland episode this week, moving its pieces towards the end without much flair or energy. But that’s kind of the deal here – Active Raid has very rarely been an actually good show, it’s basically always just been a reasonably competent one. I never mind watching it, but also never feel legitimately invested in it. The giant robot episode was quite good, most of Rin’s material has been excellent, and that episode focused on Miho was also solid – outside of that, it’s just kind of a thing you can watch. Hopefully next season offers enough legitimately strong contenders that something like Active Raid’s bare competence wouldn’t put it near the top of the pack.

You can check out my full review over at ANN. No notes this time, I just watched this episode straight through!

Active Raid

ERASED – Episode 11

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ERASED was definitely much better this week, though a performance like last episode isn’t something a show can really recover from. I get into it in my review, but ultimately, it feels like ERASED would have been better off just not having a serial killer at all. The cat and mouse stuff in both timelines is almost uniformly worse than the rest of the show’s material, and the show doesn’t actually need a killer for this story to work. But either way, this episode was relatively low-key and full of nice character moments, so it falls in the good column even if it also included a speech about murdering hamsters. You take what you can get.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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Garzey’s Wing – Episode 1

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Why. Why would you have me watch this. What are you trying to prove.

I sit down after having watched the first episode of Garzey’s Wing and think “how should I write about this, in a tactical sense?” Not in the sense that I’m having difficulty thinking of an angle to take it from – in the sense that I want to write a piece that is just funny enough so that you people feel you’ve gotten your money’s worth, while not funny enough to tempt any of you assholes to pay for another one. This show is terrible.

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Puella Magi Madoka Magica – Episode 1

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Note: it’s pretty much impossible to fully discuss Madoka without getting into some spoilers, so be aware that later events will occasionally be referenced in these writeups!

Considering its placement on my top shows list, it would not be presumptuous to say I’m probably a fan of Madoka Magica. I’ve watched the show several times, and enjoyed it more each time; I’ve written a rambling essay on its film sequel that only touched on the things I loved about the show proper. It seems perhaps slightly unwise to jump from a project as ambitious as Hyouka right into something I’m as attached to as Madoka, but this whole Wrong Every Time experiment has been a series of unwise decisions, so here we are. Let’s get right into it.

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One Piece – Volume 3

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The battle between Luffy and Buggy’s pirates concludes in this volume, across a trio of chapters that basically split the difference between slapstick and traditional action. While Buggy came across as intimidating in the earlier Nami chapters, Luffy outclasses him pretty handily, and so any attempts at tension here are mostly about Buggy putting either Nami or Luffy’s hat in danger. Even Buggy’s special power no longer comes across as dangerous – it’s more a tool for slapstick, where Buggy’s ability to send his top half flying becomes a lot less powerful when Luffy can still kick his bottom half in the junk. Buggy’s power kinda sucks, but it sure is good for gags.

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ERASED – Episode 10

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Noooooo. Nooooooooo. Noooooo o o o o o ooo.

ERASED did it. It did the worst thing it could do, and it did it bad. Holy crap this episode. What a mess.

I’m so sad. This show was really good. Why would it do this.

noooooooo

review here, losing-it notes below

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Active Raid – Episode 10

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Active Raid had a uniquely disappointing episode this week, and that was pretty much the only unique thing about it. This was basically the platonic ideal of “phoning it in” – there was no personality or creativity in any element of this episode’s construction, it was just one hundred percent an episode designed to get the characters from one narrative point to a different one. I’m a character person, so I don’t generally watch the kinds of shows that traffic in nothing plot beats like this, so I guess that at least made it a somewhat novel experience for me? Crap episode, though. Real bad.

You can check my full thoughts on The Nothing over at ANN, or my notes below!

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Hyouka – Episode 22

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And here we are, at the very last episode of Hyouka. It’s a tremendous episode, but I almost don’t want to write about it – after several months of cataloging all of this show’s beautiful twists and turns, I really don’t want it to be over. Rewatching this show has reaffirmed my opinion of it as Kyoto Animation’s crown jewel, a masterpiece of a production that’s about as good as any show can be. It’s understated and graceful and grand, a full-bodied production that marries intimate character work to some of the most consistently great framing and animation in any television anime ever. It’s a show worth holding close, an achievement I can only hope they’ll one day match again.

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Dagashi Kashi – Episode 8

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This week’s Dagashi Kashi was another episode of Dagashi Kashi. The first half here was actually one of the show’s most endearing segments, as the gang got together to hang out and tell ghost stories while a typhoon raged overhead. It was nice to see how the overall group dynamic has settled at this point, as all four of the friends seem very comfortable with each other, and all contribute something different to the group. Based on the show’s advertising, I’d expected Hotaru to be more of a comic device/unreachable love interest than just another slightly weird main character, but the show is much stronger for the choices it’s made. The second half here was weaker, but Dagashi Kashi is still a fine time.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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