Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Apocalypse Hotel – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d head downtown and check out the Gingarou Hotel, which I hear has recently expanded its clientele base and diversified its catering options. With the addition of Ponko and her chaotic companions, Apocalypse Hotel has bloomed into a delightful found family drama, expanding beyond the gags and melancholy of its opening act through the strength of Ponko and Yachiyo’s relationship.

Our last episode was a clear standout, as the pair were forced to square off with a gargantuan space worm in order to protect the earth’s fragile ecosystem. With lots of dynamic storyboarding and flourishes of animation, the episode was likely the most visually ambitious so far, while also furthering Yachiyo and Ponko’s collective interrogation of what it means to be human. Yachiyo’s directives are essentially the end result of thousands of years of attempted coexistence, the guard rails placed atop a presumed understanding of what we owe to each other – now, with Ponko at her side, the two are steadily filling in that underlying sense of collective responsibility. Let’s see how their journey fares as we return to the Gingarou!

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Journal with Witch – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I think I’m feeling emotionally secure enough to weather another stab directly in the heart, meaning it’s obviously time to revisit the sumptuous melancholy of Journal With Witch. Asa’s journey through grief has so far been articulated with precision and compassion, as her reflections on surviving the intolerable are balanced against Makio’s struggles with merely surviving. You never really “figure it out” as a human being, never get handed a rulebook that makes sense of our unfulfilled longings and daily tragedies. You just keep living, one day after another, while making sure to offer whatever kindness you can spare to the companions who make that march tolerable.

Our last episode offered a fine contrast of two such companions, as Asa’s feelings of betrayal towards her friend Emiri were assuaged through Makio’s reflections on her long-time friend Daigo. Makio’s assertion that “fighting is reserved for outgoing people” could be taken in two equally appropriate ways – either emphasizing how Makio lacks the social batteries to engage in such exhausting theater, or how the solitude of the introvert means that every single relationship is that much more precious, and worth more than the fleeting vindication of indulging your anger. The future seems endless from a teenager’s eyes, but in truth, we don’t actually get that many second chances in this life – and for particularly precious treasures like “friends who knew you before you were you,” one chance is often all you have. It’s a tough world out there; we must do all we can to make sure we face it together.

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Big Windup! – Episode 24

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am pleased as punch to announce we are returning to the mound for a fresh episode of Big Windup!, as our Nishiura boys attempt to pull one over on the top-seeded Tosei players. This game has ended up consuming Big Windup!’s entire second cour, and I for one couldn’t be happier; by honing in on the individual plays and counterplays of these two variably talented lineups, the production has brought the exceedingly complex strategic drama of baseball to life, going far beyond the battery-versus-batter standard to explore how every player, every gambit, and every twist of fate might influence the game’s eventual outcome.

Rather than focus on either player psychology, mechanical ability, or tactical ingenuity, Big Windup! has taken the sensible choice of emphasizing all three, resulting in a thrilling yet consistently parsable, mechanically grounded road to the bottom of the ninth. And now, with a one-run lead courtesy of our boy Tajima, it all comes down to Mihashi to at last shut Tosei down. Let’s take it home, Nishiura!

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Umamusume: Pretty Derby S2 – Episode 2

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re taking a trip down to the race track, as we return to the equestrian escapades of Tokai Teio and her fellow horse girls. That’s right, it’s time for more Umamusume: Pretty Derby, and I have a feeling that this will be a particularly rough installment for our would-be champion. Having conquered the latest challenge in her pursuit of her idol Symboli Rudolf, she currently appears on top of the world – but given the ominous focus on her ankle that concluded our first episode, it’s clear she’s barreling towards a disastrous injury.

As for my own thoughts on all these urgent proceedings, I must say I’m still waiting to be hooked. I’ve enjoyed a fair number of comedy sports dramas, but so far remain unconvinced by Umamusume in terms of either its comedy or drama. I assume part of that comes down to the first episode’s busyness in terms of establishing all its players; the premiere’s endless procession of intricately designed horse girls felt like a perpetual reminder this is based on a gacha game, which is one of the surest ways to pull me out of a narrative. It’s also hard to believe in this world even on its own terms; our characters’ lives and aspirations feel so abstracted from human experience that I can’t really relate to Teio’s trials, and the show feels unconcerned with offering enough Girls und Panzer-style incidental pleasures to entertain if I’m not compelled by the character drama.

All that said, overstuffed first episodes are a common and entirely forgivable issue, and I imagine this season’s true strength will only be revealed once Teio’s wax wings start to melt. I’m not counting out these horse girls charming me yet, so let’s get back to the action and see what Teio gets up to next!

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Trigun Stampede – Episode 11

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re racing towards a second extinction event, as the huddled humans of No Man’s Land await the judgment of either Million Knives or the very planet itself. Having fled our own home in arc ships after destroying its ecosystem, we sought refuge among the stars – but our reliance on the life-giving Plants sparked the ire of the young Knives, and we were thus struck down from heaven, and forced to survive among the wastes of a planet where safety is a fantasy and solidarity a lie.

But while Knives sees in us only brutality and greed, his brother Vash believes we possess something worth saving. A higher calling, a compassion hidden under rust, or perhaps simply the same right to exist as any other creature that suffers and strives, desperate to propagate its own tiny spark. Thus we arrive at a collision of near-gods, as the inheritor of our suffering faces the adjudicator of our sins, lost in the bowels of a city whose extravagance defies the planet itself.

Y’all ready for some Trigun?

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CITY The Animation – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. It’s a beautiful day today, as the last holdouts of the winter frost melt in the warm spring sun, and birds trill and respond across the budding bows of my neighborhood. I’ll likely be treating myself to a walk through the park later on, but for now, I’m eager to dig into the next best thing: a fresh episode of CITY The Animation, wherein all the manifold pleasures of urban living are celebrated with delirious enthusiasm.

Our last episode reveled in the interconnected vitality of all its players’ various adventures, highlighting the charming relationship between Tatewaku and the middle school duo, as well as the community-uniting power of our playwright’s admittedly confusing performances. But that’s the thing about giving back to the community; the precise nature of your contribution is far less important than simply getting out there, connecting with your neighbors and sharing your passions. CITY embodies a view of local society that feels desperately needed in our increasingly atomized world – between that noble ethos, its absurd aesthetic execution, and its regularly hysterical payoffs, it’s proven itself a much-needed comfort in these past months. Now let’s see what those fools are up to today!

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Birdie Wing – Episode 2

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’ve got a hankering for some high-octane sports nonsense, and thus feel it’s about time to get back to the course with Birdie Wing. The show’s first episode introduced us to underground golf ace Eve, who employs her devastating “Blue Bullet” drive to raise money for her family of orphans. After handily defeating two professional contenders, Eve ultimately met her match in the form of Aoi, an apparent legacy golfer whose diminutive stature belies her ability to smack balls really, really hard.

Eve’s preposterous concept aside, that blunt summary does little to evoke the delightful silliness of Birdie Wing in action. Eve has so far fired off golf balls between train cars and straight through trees, faced off with masked golf jesters, and even shot a pensive music video detailing her rough life on the fringes of Golftopia. The production is hitting that precise golden ratio of absurdity of concept versus commitment to mechanical drama, and I only imagine things will be getting even more charmingly preposterous as Eve is drawn further into the cutthroat underworld of high-stakes golfing. Let’s see how her bout with Aoi continues as we return to the course!

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Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m happy to announce we’re diving back into Thunderbolt Fantasy, as a half-dozen nested schemes stand ready to collapse into open violence. While Shang prepares to return from the demon realm to the Void Junction, each member of the Divine Swarm’s alliance stands with daggers bared, ready to either charge their collective foe or simply kill each other.

And of course, much of the credit for this fraught state of affairs goes to our friendly neighborhood wizard, the Enigmatic Gale. Having somehow insinuated his way into the company of villains, Lin has swiftly planted an entire sowing season’s worth of doubt-seeds, manipulating the understandable apprehensions underlining this alliance of cultists, witches, demons, madmen, and well-meaning yet severely misguided soldiers. Their mutual enmity towards the sword-sealing, fun-spoiling Shang has kept them tenuously aligned so far, but with Xing Hai’s scheme on the verge of fruition, it’s clear either Jun Po or Lou Zhen is about to crack. Let’s see what allies become enemies and enemies become allies as we return to Thunderbolt Fantasy!

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Kamiina Botan – Episode 2

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m feeling a need for some solid stress-relieving shenanigans, and thus feel it’s a perfect time to check back in on Kamiina Botan. Having at this point settled into the peculiarities of dorm life, Kamiina has already forged friendships with her RA Ibuki and post-grad senpai Gujo, drawing together the standoffish inhabitants of her cozy home. Of course, this is Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk, so that process has necessarily involved a fair amount of whiskey, red wine, and sake, alongside some decidedly unsubtle advances from our dear Kamiina.

Director Takashi Sukuma’s team have so far done an excellent job of bringing Kamiina’s world to life, offering inviting watercolor backdrops and plenty of dynamic character acting. The show has thus been a pleasant watch on the whole, though I’m still hungry for a bit more of a hook, be it through the show’s interrogation of different liquors or perhaps the progression of its central relationships. Drinking as a concept just doesn’t offer as much of an aesthetic payoff as music or dance or exploring the countryside; nonetheless, given the show’s generally exceptional execution, I imagine it’s still got plenty of visual pleasures in store. Let’s not waste any more time then, and get straight to lounging!

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Blue Reflection Ray – Episode 15

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to the fast-evolving drama of Blue Reflection Ray, as blue reflectors, red reflectors, and reflectors of indeterminate denomination all spin and collide through the buildup to another imminent apocalypse. Having learned that Mio abandoned her family and friends because the outcome of their collaboration was certain destruction, our blue reflectors must now find a way to ensure this repeat convergence resolves in a happier outcome, all while fending off the malicious meddling of Shino and her masochistic minion Uta.

Of course, Blue Reflection Ray is fundamentally more about individual human emotions than apocalyptic fantasy, and our most recent episode offered plenty of that, as we dug into the bond between newcomers Ryoka and Amiru, as well as the guilt that has driven Niina to believe she is unworthy of happiness. Ryoka and Amiru embody a common second-act magical girl convention, with the increasingly complex fantastical drama being echoed through the introduction of characters who themselves seem more complex and world-weary, new foils to shepherd our protagonists through their own evolving emotions (as Ryoka demonstrated through her talks with Ruka). Meanwhile, Niina at last seems like she might be willing to forgive herself, assisted greatly by our reliable ball of sunshine Hiori. It’s a complex stew of variables we’ve got cooking here, and I’m eager to see how our core team handles all these new arrivals. Let’s get back to the battlefield!

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