Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Hugtto! Precure – Episode 39

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today an overbearing cloud bank promises an altogether gloomy afternoon, so I’ve decided to rally against the weather with a sunny episode of Hugtto! Precure. Our last episode offered a generous buffet of Halloween-centric designs and festivities, while once again offering a humanizing splash of frustration and regret to the show’s former villains. While Hugtto’s young leads are largely preoccupied with the intimidating open canvas of their encroaching adult lives, its older villains serve as an encouraging reminder that even adulthood is a process rife with mistakes and reinvention, and that nothing about our future is ever truly set in stone.

Whether in context of the Precure’s villains or their parents and community guardians, I remain greatly appreciative of Hugtto’s acknowledgment of the conflicts and anxieties that carry on into our adult lives. The show celebrates finding a place you belong without framing dreams as destiny, a balancing act that encourages exploration and self-discovery rather than anxiety over your “one true path.” Let’s see where their passions take our heroes next as we return to Hugtto!

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The Legend of Vox Machina S2 – Episode 11

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m thrilled to be diving back into the adventures of Vox Machina, who most recently joined Grog in clobbering the shit out of the Storm Herd, and bisecting his Vestige-clad mountain of an uncle in the process. The battle against Kevdak saw our heroes united for the first time in half a season, flexing their powers as Grog resolved both his lingering backstory and emotional journey. It was a fine demonstration of how DnD’s narrative and mechanical elements can be harnessed to work in service of the players’ character arcs – of course, such a collaboration requires a player who’s interested in portraying a character arc, which brings us to the current conundrum of our irreverent Scanlan.

Scanlan has time and again been offered a call to grow into a greater sense of responsibility as a character, and has time and again resisted the offer to be anything more than an irreverent prankster. That’s a fine approach to DnD in a campaign where the players are intended to be static reactors to external conflict, but Vox Machina’s campaign is clearly designed around the player avatars overcoming their fatal flaws, be they Percy’s obsession with revenge, Grog’s heedless pursuit of strength, or Vex’s lingering regrets regarding her father. While most of the players have taken to this process with enthusiasm, Scanlan has time and again turned away from the brightly lit signs stating “character growth this way,” prompting the eventual introduction of Kaylie as a daughter-shaped representation of the consequences of his actions.

Meanwhile, I’m happy to report that my own campaign is again chugging along, with my Cloud-based player having recently triumphed in the final battle against their Sephiroth-esque nemesis. Though my initial thinking ran along lines like “how can I integrate my players’ desires into the narrative I have planned,” the course of our campaign has revealed a pretty obvious truth: player desires will always inform the most passionate and effective collaboration, so they should be built as centrally into the campaign’s structure as possible. With our next session coming this very afternoon, my mind is abuzz with further plans for paying off my players’ desires, but this intro has already run too long as it is. For now, let’s dive back into the journeys of Vox Machina!

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Spy x Family – Episode 24

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d say we’re about due to check back in on the Forger family, after a two episode arc that saw Loid and Frost competing in the most high-stakes and dangerous of semi-professional tennis tournaments. Their participation in the Campbellian offered an opportunity for both Wit and Cloverworks’ animators to really flex their muscles, while also reveling in the sincere spy drama trickery Tatsuya Endo clearly loves.

Of course, focusing so completely on a “Spy” escapade has left this production’s “x Family” element by the wayside, so I’m looking forward to a return to our heroes’ fraught domestic life. I am happy to admit I’m an easy mark when it comes to found family drama, and the gradual transformation of each of our leads as they come to trust and rely on each other never fails to warm my heart. Loid has come to care for and even take pride in his daughter’s accomplishments, Yor is gaining greater confidence in her worthiness as a partner and mother, and Anya is beginning to believe that her parents really are her stalwart protectors, spy mission or not. It’s always a pleasure seeing lonely people find their missing pieces in each other, and Spy x Family’s eminently likable crew are seeming more unified and whole by the episode. Let’s get to it!

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BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d say it’s past time to return to the tortured drama of BanG Dream! It’s MyGO, after a third episode that ripped my heart out and tore it to pieces. After two episodes of watching Anon stumble around the periphery of CRYCHIC’s messy fallout, MyGO’s third episode offered an intimate detailing of not just that particular catastrophe, but also Tomori’s entire life story leading up to it. Literally trapped in her headspace via the episode’s relentless perspective, we got to experience a lonely lifetime of knowing you can’t quite interact on the wavelength of your peers, but still desperately wishing to form meaningful connections. And then came Sakiko, with her promise of understanding and praise for your unmediated confessions, with her offer of a place where you truly belong.

Episode three was a tiny masterpiece of perspective and characterization, and also a welcome explanation for the former CRYCHIC members’ current circumstances. The light Sakiko brought into Tomori’s life, and the subsequent crashing fall when she suddenly decided to leave the band, have more than clarified Tomori’s hesitance to form a similar bond with Anon, as well as Taki’s violent reaction to any such suggestion. Whatever prompted Sakiko to kill the band, it feels difficult to forgive her for exploiting Tomori’s isolation and then thoughtlessly casting her aside; Sakiko is clearly socially savvy enough to understand just how much Tomori invested in her promises, pushing her unilateral separation beyond the realm of selfishness and into outright cruelty. In contrast, Anon’s interest is genuine, but idle; she may want to be in a band, but I’m not sure she’s prepared to take on the weight of the hopes that Sakiko left behind her. Let’s see how this messy crew fumbles forward as we return to MyGO!

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out a brand-spanking new production, as we explore the first episode of the currently airing 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You. Just by that title, it seems we’re in for a tongue-in-cheek take on the distinguished harem genre, a genre that was actually instrumental in both my original induction into anime fandom (Love Hina), as well as my migration to professional anime writing (Bakemonogatari). Though the base concept of “one protagonist surrounded by a crowd of romantic prospects” might not seem like the most thoughtful or poignant of premises, the genre frequently exhibits uncommon flexibility, ranging from hilarious sex comedies to trenchant explorations of the human condition.

As for The 100 Girlfriends, I’ve heard plenty of positive things about its manga, which fans praise as both funny and frequently heartwarming, with a cast who all seem to like each other on the whole, and not just exist in parallel orbit of our central protagonist. That all sounds like a good time to me, so let’s dispense with the preamble here, and see what these hundred girlfriends have in store for us!

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Kiss x Sis – Episode 2

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Honestly, at this point, bring on the little sister fetish shows. I at the time thought they were generally as artless as television anime was going to get – utterly lacking in any sort of meaningful character writing or thematic intent, but at the very least siloed within a specific realm of fetish-driven content, proudly offering no reason or incentive for actual critics and art enthusiasts to engage with them. They were valueless, but they were also harmless; a clear reflection of a particular sub-subculture’s fetishization of their difficulties connecting with the opposite sex, nothing more or less.

I was wrong. Dear reader, I was so, so wrong.

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Bocchi the Rock! – Episode 12

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ve got a bittersweet spectacle ahead of us, as we journey through the final episode of Bocchi the Rock! I’m eager to see this last performance, but sad to say goodbye; Bocchi has been a delightful journey from start to finish, owing both to the inherent strength of its material and the inventive passion that Keichiro Saito and his team have brought to its adaptation.

Bocchi shines from pretty much whatever angle you choose to approach it. As a character-driven slice of life or situational comedy, the show possesses an uncommon understanding of anxiety’s variable manifestations, and realizes the halting, often circuitous process of acclimating yourself to social confidence and even performance with grace. But the show’s sensitivity of characterization isn’t limited to Bocchi herself; though they’re obviously given less screen time, her bandmates also come across as fully realized teenagers, convincing in both their oddball competencies and emotional blind spots.

Then there’s the show’s articulation of the music club scene: a quietly fading world of basement venues and found families, where weirdos who’ve found community in chord progressions assemble to bleed their hearts out on the stage. From the care taken in visually realizing these spaces to the tenderness with which characters attest to their worth, Bocchi the Rock serves as a loving tribute to local music scenes of all stripes, affirming how even those who have trouble speaking their feelings can feel at home strumming them on guitar.

And then, there’s of course Bocchi’s luxurious production merits, from its spacious, often thematically purposeful layouts to its countless stylistic digressions and animation flourishes. It seems like every moment spent with Bocchi offers some fresh reward, so while I’m loath to say goodbye, I’m thrilled we’re finishing on one last performance. Good luck up there, Bocchi!

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Yuki Yuna is a Hero – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m thinking it’s about time to check back in on the continuing trials of Yuki Yuna, as the Hero Club celebrates their recent domestication of transfer student-slash-Divine Tree guardian Karin Miyoshi. In spite of her efforts to live a life of spartan dedication to her martial duties, Karin was unable to resist the charms of her new companions, and was last seen sharing in the celebration of her recent birthday. I’m sorry Karin, but this show’s slice of life predilections are at least as significant as its action ones, thus there’s simply no way you’re avoiding a lot of snacks and club meetings.

With Karin now integrated into the overall group dynamic, I suspect we’ll be turning back to matters of Divine Tree defense, and am curious to see what new wrinkles this narrative phase might provide. Outside of the understandable tension provided by Fu unilaterally conscripting her friends into a deadly supernatural battle, our cast have so far been largely unchallenged and on the same page regarding their current circumstances, so I suspect complications will be arriving soon. Let’s see what Uezu has in store for our heroes as the battle for the Divine Tree continues!

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Land of the Lustrous – Episode 12

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Perhaps it would be easier if Phos had simply failed. Was their life so very bad to start with? They lived smiling and carefree, beloved by their fellow gems in spite of, or perhaps even because of their physically useless nature. They possessed few questions and fewer doubts about their world, were looked upon kindly by Sensei and Dia, and had no end of species to catalog in their encyclopedia. If they had simply been a little less curious, or perhaps a little less moved by the plight of Cinnabar, they could have lived happily within the gems’ peculiar terrarium. Happiness need not require answers to all of life’s difficult questions – it only requires the absence of doubt.

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 38

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Hey there folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into Hugtto! Precure, which most recently dazzled us with a two-part crossover event featuring dozens upon dozens of other Pretty Cures. There were witchy Precures and pâtissière Precures, Precures by the twos and threes and sevens. It was an undeniably bewildering but nonetheless engaging introduction to the wide, rambling history of this venerable franchise, capped off by some phenomenal cuts of animation as our collective heroes squared off against a monster the size of a planet.

It was a lot of fun seeing both the vast diversity and points of commonality across all these generations (it seems like pink cures are always a little stupid, huh?), and provided further incentive for me to check out the much-lauded Heartcatch after Hugtto is concluded. But for now, I’m quite happy to return to some smaller-stakes drama back with our own team, and perhaps dig further into the intriguingly melancholy circumstances of our dear Dr. Traum. Hugtto’s villains have been just as engaging as its heroes, driven by sympathetic regrets and fears of abandonment, and I suspect Lulu’s “father” will prove one of the best of them. Let’s find out in a fresh episode of Huggto!

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