Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Trigun Stampede – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to the sand-blasted wastes of Trigun Stampede, as our reluctant hero and his companions suffer the fallout of Knives’ calamitous appearance. The two brothers are opposing reflections; Vash sees himself as no more than a rootless drifter, but cannot help cherish and protect the lives of those he meets, while Knives sees himself as a new god, and the humans of this planet as no more than supplicants and sacrifices. Even while falling from heaven, we can always make a choice; while Vash has become a reluctant savior, Knives has clearly decided it’s better to rule in hell than serve in heaven.

I’m intrigued to see both how this metaphor is carried forward, and also simply how the main cast interact in the wake of these revelations regarding Vash’s nature. Additionally, having munched through the entire original Trigun adaptation in the time between Stampede viewings, I’m all the more curious to explore this rendition’s twists on the original formula. The two shows are so different that they basically fall into distinct subgenres; the original Trigun was far more episodic, and actually revealed even less of Vash and Knives’ history in its entire run than this version has in the first three episodes. That means whatever’s coming down the line will still be new to me, and given how generous this production’s been so far, I can’t wait to greet it. Let’s get back planetside!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 47

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. It’s been a long and richly rewarding journey, but I am afraid the final battle of Hugtto! Precure is upon us. Our heroes have found lifelong friends, challenged scores of villains, and reckoned with that alluring horizon that is adult life, considering, pursuing, and reassessing the futures that might await them. Though seeking a happy place in the adult world is an intimidating process, they have been comforted along the way by the many confident examples around them, as well as those who’ve demonstrated how personal reinvention is a lifelong process, and that no unhappy ending needs to last forever.

Having struggled and fought to find peace with their own futures, our Pretty Cures must now fight for the futures of all, squaring off against a villain who believes a certainty of peaceful stasis is preferable to the chaos of an uncertain future. Criasu Corp’s ranks have been reduced to two misled hamsters and one nefarious overseer, but a great beast now stalks the shoreline, George’s cynical will made manifest. Let’s charge once more into brave battle, as Hana and her companions fight for a brighter tomorrow!

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Blue Reflection Ray – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re diving back into Blue Reflection Ray, which most recently offered us the stinger of our delinquent Momo straight-up joining the rest of the cast’s high school class. Apparently no longer content to drive her motorcycle around looking cool all day, Momo has rejoined productive society, which will presumably give her far more chances to bond with Ruka, Hiori, and Miyako. Our team in general are starting to grow far closer; though Momo and Hiori are extremely different people, their contrasts are proving a fine basis for communication, a process facilitated through Miyako’s charmingly annoying provocations.

Aside from that, our recent drama has hewed to a reliable magical girl template, offering episodic dilemmas centered on the team’s schoolmates much in the manner of Sailor Moon or Ojamajo Doremi. Such conveniently resolved challenges are a natural complement to this “getting to know you” phase of the narrative, and if I were to guess, I’d hazard that we’re in for another side drama intended to push forward Momo and Miyako’s relationship. That’s perfectly fine by me; both of them are endearingly messy characters, with Miyako in particular proving the show’s standout so far. Let’s see how our team is evolving as we return to Blue Reflection Ray!

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Spy x Family – Episode 36

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to check back in on the Forger family, and see what new threats are lurking in the shadows. Although to be honest, it feels like the Forgers could still use a break from all the scheming and skullduggery; given their recent vacation involved murdering a small army of assassins while also defusing half a dozen bombs, they’ve clearly earned a vacation from their vacation, perhaps centered on a school festival or other similarly low-stakes excursion.

Regardless, I’m sure Tatsuya Endo and our reliable dual production studios have us in good hands. Spy x Family is basically the definition of comfort food, a show combining an inherently robust comedic premise with enough earnest, charming sentimentality to ensure every episode feels like a cozy afternoon nap. It is a perennial joy to return to, and I’m quite grateful I get to explore it with you all. Let’s see what’s next on the Forger itinerary!

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You – Episode 10

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re dropping back in on 100 Girlfriends at a moment of crisis, with Hakari having been cruelly stolen from her beloved Rentaro and his four other girlfriends. Upon learning that Hakari had taken up with a five-timing Lothario who was clearly up to no good, her mother stole her away from school altogether, and now plans to abscond with her daughter to god knows where. It’s thus up to Rentaro and his four committed compatriots to infiltrate Hakari’s mansion, confront Hakari’s mother, and convince her that Rentaro is actually a pretty nice guy.

Admittedly, the nature of Rentaro’s relationships would likely have any parent side-eyeing the situation, but that’s simply because they don’t understand how fulfilling a bond with Rentaro and roughly thirty to fifty other women can be. 100 Girlfriends’ essential insight is that for this story to work, the audience has to also be sort of in love with Rentaro, and he’s certainly worked his charms on me at least. With nothing but a spirit of pure mutual love in their hearts, let’s join the team as they set off to rescue Hakari!

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The Legend of Vox Machina S3 – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am eager to return to the adventures of Vox Machina, who just recently found themselves hellbound in search of a plate armor vestige. Determined to avoid letting the relic fall into the Chroma Concord’s hands, J’Mon Sa Ord apparently tucked it away with an accommodating demon, who now holds it within the infernal City of Dis.

This seems about on-pace for their adventure so far, as we enter the third act of their overall journey. DnD’s leveling system naturally accommodates a certain scaling of challenges; characters between levels one and six generally confront local villains, seven through twelve constitute the “wandering age” of traveling do-gooders, and anything beyond that is the realm of seasoned heroes, characters who, like Vox Machina, are coming into their own as history-shaping figures. Among DnD’s many efforts to square mechanical and narrative drama, its leveling system is one of the most concrete and coherent, and smart DMs will scale the scope and threat of their stories accordingly.

Of course, things get a little wonkier even higher in the level scale, once you reach the mid-teens and beyond. At that point, things like physical environmental challenges and most mundane foes are simply no threat to a party of properly equipped heroes; they have scaled beyond the fundamentals of your average adventure, and most campaigns will accordingly retire them well before they hit twenty. This is the challenge I am currently facing, with my players demanding post-game content even after their victory over the forces of hell. I’ve been doing my best to accommodate these requests, and am currently in the process of weaving in an eldritch adversary that expresses itself largely within the most fraught landscapes of the world, be they magically corrupted cities, temples at the bottom of the ocean, or active volcanoes. It’s a tricky thing to balance pacing and tone at this scale, particularly since I’m now one among several writers, basically just handling the big plot-centric beats while my players take turns running side quests. But anyway, I’ve rambled enough about scaling – let’s go to hell!

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Monogatari Off/Monster Season – Episode 2

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to Monogatari’s Off Season, as Isin continues to explore the wandering lives of Araragi’s various associates. Isin has clearly found an effective way to have his cake and eat it too, as Monogatari already arrived at a thematically cohesive conclusion back during Final Season, yet charting these continuing adventures nonetheless also fits within the show’s general philosophy. After all, one of the major points of Monogatari is that people are not fixed points, and our psychological development does not comprise clean, conclusive emotional arcs. We are all works in progress, liable to backslide or be stymied by new challenges, and exploring these Hanamonogatari-esque further hurdles has given the franchise life beyond its original protagonist.

With Yotsugi’s self-inflicted crisis now presumably handled, it seems we are turning to Nadeko, who has become something of a shut-in now that she’s found a passion worth pursuing, a source of pride that embodies her chosen identity, rather than the persona initially foisted upon her. Though Kaiki did a magnificent job back in Hitagi End, one push in the right direction does not a self-actualized person make, so I’m guessing we’ll still be grappling with Nadeko’s relatively unmoored sense of self. Let’s see how our passionate young mangaka is faring!

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Galaxy Express 999 – Episode 6

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am absolutely thrilled to be returning to Galaxy Express 999, and continuing the journey of the intrepid Tetsuro and mysterious Maetel. Though the anime community at large tends to be interested only in following the latest and flashiest of productions, my excursions into classic anime have regularly proven the most rewarding of all, with Galaxy Express 999 already establishing a place of honor among my ongoing projects. In fact, I’m enjoying the show so much that I actually munched through the first five funded episodes all in a row, meaning I’m now returning to the express for the first time in months.

When last we left off, Tetsuro and Maetel had just escaped the icy planes of Pluto, a cold and lonely planet harboring the bodies of those who could never escape the solar system, or who did so only by leaving their old shells behind. Many travelers in this world seem desperate for the eternity of a metal body, but our representative cyborgs seem no happier than our flesh-and-blood humans, most of them craving a return to the bodies they once discarded. Happiness is elusive in this world, a hope we pin on distant stars, knowing only that this planet holds nothing but regrets. And so the express journeys from station to station, each new destination reiterating the capitalist barbarism of society and the insatiable emptiness of the human heart. Shall we take our seats?

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Yuki Yuna is a Hero (Washio Sumi Chapter) – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d check back in on Togo and the gang with a fresh episode of Yuki Yuna is a Hero, as we all collectively wait for the other shoe to drop. Honestly, it feels a bit cruel just to be watching this show; with every episode viewed, we march further away from the charming friendship our leads have established, and closer towards the prophesied violent end of their heroic tenure. The inherent dramatic irony of this prequel saga means we cannot even hope for a happy ending; the “happiest” conclusion here is that the end comes swiftly, and our heroes aren’t strung along bearing false hopes.

In that, Washio Sumi Chapter is cleverly succeeding in further aligning us with Togo’s headspace at the end of the first season, wherein her certainty of eventual destruction led her to rebel against the Divine Tree itself. With failure preordained, the full cycle of the Divine Tree’s cruelty is certain to be realized, and we can witness firsthand how the deterioration of our heroes is interpreted by the true believers of this society. If they cannot be rescued, then they can at least be recognized for their sacrifice – so let us return to the battle, as the gods make their plans and us mortals suffer the consequences!

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Yuri is My Job! – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re diving back into the thorny drama of Yuri is My Job!, having at last borne witness to the full prior relationship of Hime and Mitsuki. Back in grade school, each of them were outsiders of their own kind; Mitsuki was rejected as a too-serious weirdo, and though Hime was popular, she had no one with whom she could share her actual, honest feelings. The two found a brief sanctuary in each other, where Mitsuki could embrace her passions without judgment, and Hime could admit to the ungenerous feelings that simmered beneath her persona. But tragically, while they cared about each other, they never truly understood each other – thus Hime abandoned music to protect Mitsuki from the bullying she already expected, and Mitsuki responded by robbing Hime of the facade she herself couldn’t respect.

Thus we arrive at our current state of affairs, with Hime still traumatized by the consequences of revealing her true self, and Mitsuki seeing Hime as everything she despises about social performances. The two have arrived at Cafe Liebe from opposing poles: Hime sees Liebe’s performances as simply a quirky variation on her own affectation, while Mitsuki takes comfort in the regularity of these interactions, the rules she can internalize such that her passion makes her a star, not an outsider. Each of them has learned to feel ashamed of the person behind the mask, but at Cafe Liebe, they have the chance to hone their performances such that they need never look at their true selves in the mirror. Let’s see how this deeply unhealthy “solution” proceeds!

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