Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Star Driver – Episode 3

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Alright Star Driver, what’s your plan here? It seems clear that we’re setting up our thematic conflicts along lines of sexual agency, but the details are a little less certain. Southern Cross Isle’s fated shrine maidens feel like a very near reincarnation of Utena’s Rose Bride: icons of the feminine, passive figures that are acted upon in the fulfillment of some ancient, patriarchal ritual. By “breaking the shrine maiden’s seal” (ie taking her virginity through the imposition of masculine power), Star Driver’s equivalents of Utena’s student council hope to extend the theoretical power of the Cybodies into the physical world.

All of that is well and good, and pretty much maps to a neo-Utena interpretation of the action so far. But calling out this show’s parallels with Utena is easy; at the moment, I’m more interested in pinning down the ways Star Driver differs from Utena, and thus might be proposing a different argument. I’d initially figured the two sides of this conflict mapped cleanly to traditional versus progressive gender presentation and sexual agency, but if anything, the nefarious student council seem more uninhibited than our fairly chaste lead pair. Of course, everyone involved here is a teenager, and thus none of them really know what they’re doing; the stark contrast of their self-presentation and stated goals might itself be part of the point, reflecting their attempts to aesthetically embody a sexual maturity that they can’t emotionally reach yet. And of course, this complex stew of thematic variables is pure candy for me, so I’ll be happy as long as the show stays weird, layered, and ambitious. Let’s get right to it!

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Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 52

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am happy to announce that we’re charging back into Sun and Moon, as we near the climax of this production’s first major arc. We’re not due for another Misaaki Iwane episode for a while yet, but I’m still anticipating a glorious display of animated action as our team enter The Twilight Zone. I mean, does the zone on the other side of these wormholes have an actual name, or can we just call it The Twilight Zone? Look, it’s already taking all my strength not to make any terrible jokes about the term “Ultra Hole,” so you can at least give me this one.

Ambiguous multidimensional nomenclature aside, the team has gathered and the conditions have been met. Let’s continue our journey through Sun and Moon’s most exciting act so far!

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The Demon Girl Next Door – Episode 6

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to be returning to The Demon Girl Next Door, where we last left off with Shamiko wishing for a donut pillow, so her horns won’t hurt so much when she sleeps. I feel like that wish basically sums up the Shamiko existence: even lying down to sleep is a painful and difficult task, replete with dangerous hurdles to traverse. But at the same time, that wish also illustrates her humility and indefatigable spirit. Life being tough is just how it goes for Shamiko, and though she could really use a donut pillow, she’ll surely muddle through regardless.

A girl like Shamiko could really use a friend to spoil her, and we may have found one in the reluctant Magical Girl Momo. While Momo seems to be well-off and competent in most things, she lives alone, and appears to have no friends beyond her incompetent nemesis. Her life as a magical girl has been one of austerity, loneliness, and obligation, and it seems like Shamiko might be the first good thing that’s happened to her in a long time. The two of them clearly need each other, so let’s not keep them apart any longer, as we dive back into The Demon Girl Next Door!

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Oregairu S3 – Episode 11

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be diving back into Oregairu’s final season, where when we last left off, Sensei had finally stepped in to help guide our severely mixed-up protagonist. Both Hachiman and Yukino have been laboring under Haruno’s prognosis of “codependency” all season, assuming that their implicit methods of supporting each other were in some way fundamentally childish or unhealthy.

Of course, what Haruno is actually describing is “friendship” and “mutual trust,” concepts which are undoubtedly foreign to her world, but which are nonetheless healthy aspects of any developed social life. In truth, the only thing holding Hachiman and Yukino back is their own insecurity; they’ve actually discovered the sincere bonds they were seeking, they just don’t have enough faith in their feelings to believe it. Hopefully that push from Sensei will provide Hachiman with the confidence he needs, as our long-suffering service club members only have two episodes left to sort things out. Let’s get to it!

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Simoun – Episode 23

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be reviving a long-dormant article series, as we continue our journey through the fascinating world of Simoun. I didn’t really intend for this gap between entries to get so enormous; I was up to date on articles for quite a while, and by the time a new article was funded, I was far enough removed from the show that it seemed hard to reconnect with. But having read my last few episodic posts to refresh myself, I feel more or less reattuned to the trials of Chor Tempest, and ready to see this journey through to the end.

When last we left off, Chor Tempest had struck a crucial victory, having won the battle for the capital so decisely that their enemies were forced to accept a peace treaty. But given the rapid advancements of their foes in the wake of acquiring their own Simouns, as well as the plain fact that Simulacrum’s continued existence serves as a foot on the neck of all poorer nations, I can’t imagine that peace will be a lasting one. Fortunately, outside of the members that are either dead or flung into the distant past, Chor Tempest has never been more unified. Let’s see how they weather the potential end of Simulacrum society!

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The Legend of Vox Machina – Episode 2

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d continue the story of Vox Machina, and see if this story has found its footing. The show’s first episode was handicapped by an insecurity that I see in a lot of these “American fantasy for adults” properties, an insecurity that tends to express itself as a reliance on vulgarity and ultraviolence as shorthand for seriousness. Along with showing off their “mature bona fides,” these displays demonstrate irreverence or contempt for the generally self-serious tone of such properties, assuring audiences that it’s okay to like this one.

If you can’t tell, I have nothing but disdain for this instinct. It is far less shameful to earnestly invest in your story than continuously apologize for it, and the instinct to associate maturity with ultraviolence seems deeply juvenile in its own right – the plaintive cry of “it’s not cartoons, it’s anime.” Fortunately, the second half of this show’s premiere saw the story finally stepping off its own cloak, and demonstrating some earnest drama across the main crew. We’re still in pretty by-the-books fantasy territory, but that’s how all D&D campaigns start; the nuance is found in how your story blooms, and I’m eager to see it happen. Let’s get back to the trail!

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Symphogear XV – Episode 9

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Hello everyone, and welcome the fuck back to Wrong Every Time. Are you ready for some Symphogear? We’re currently barreling towards the climax of one of anime’s most bombastic productions, having just run through a gauntlet of familiar and much-loved faces. With Miku’s life on the line, the villains of season three rallied for a dramatic counterattack, as both the Autoscorers and Carol herself squared off with the beleaguered Noble Red. Inevitably, of course, all their efforts were in vain: the beating heart of this series is the bond between Miku and Hibiki, and thus there’s no way it could end other than a reprise of Evil Miku.

Frankly, if Symphogear’s team had known from the start that they would last for five seasons, I doubt they’d have expended a dramatic resource as emotionally charged as “Evil Miku” back in season two. Miku has always been Hibiki’s emotional rock, and thus Hibiki’s story was bound to end on an interrogation of their relationship, with their feelings illustrated through grand acts of visual mayhem. Let’s see just how love conquers all, as we return to the grand finale of Symphogear!

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The Legend of Vox Machina – Episode 1

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Hey folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be exploring a property that’s a little different from our usual fare, as we check out the first episode of the recently released Legend of Vox Machina. Apparently, this show is actually an animated adaptation of the web series Critical Role, which follows a group of friends through a variety of Dungeons & Dragons campaigns. I’m presuming that Vox Machina will in turn be abstracting the gamified elements into fiction, presenting this campaign as a fantasy narrative in its own right.

That sounds pretty interesting to me! As for my own experience in this field, I’ve never watched Critical Role, but I did check out a few episodes of Adventure Zone some months back. I like the concept of following along with a D&D campaign, but didn’t really find Zone’s banter gripping enough to stick with, so I eventually fell off it. My greater chunk of relevant experience is simply playing D&D; I never got the chance to play consistently as a teenager, so it’s been delightful to participate in a campaign with my housemates over the past year. I’m quite fond of my surly warlock Taliandrel, and more broadly find D&D’s mixture of game design, narrative design, and improv theater absolutely fascinating. Of course, like with all tabletop activities, the most important thing is the company you’re sharing it with – so let’s see what to make of our present company, as we tackle the first episode of Vox Machina!

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Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S – Episode 1

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Hello everyone, and welcome to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be checking out a new production, one I’ve been deliberately holding off on for a while now. My complicated feelings about this property and its circumstances have been hard to pin down, but I suppose brooding over it hasn’t resulted in any conclusions, so here we are. Writing is what I do, so let’s do some writing about my relationship with KyoAni and Kobayashi.

Kyoto Animation’s Chuunibyou was one of the shows that first got me writing about anime, back when I was just posting comments on reddit. Learning to appreciate their larger catalog served as a substantial portion of my “anime education,” as shows like K-On! taught me the power of animation in the abstract, while dramas like Hyouka embodied all of cinema’s highest callings. Even as I grew fatigued with the narrative limitations and audience-view assumptions of anime’s seasonal output, KyoAni’s productions continued to accelerate beyond such limits, resulting in masterpieces like Liz and the Blue Bird. Anime’s core audience would never grow up, but Kyoto Animation could, and with directors like Yamada and Takemoto at the helm, they might even herald animation’s critical reappraisal on the global stage.

Admittedly, my hopes were largely based on my own desires; I was tired of anime’s limitations, and hoped that my favorite creators were tired alongside me. But with the Kyoto Animation fire, any hopes of their future global output were transformed to hopes for their very survival, for swift recoveries and good health to all that had lived on. What does the precise nature of their output matter in the wake of that tragedy?

Since then, many creators have moved on from the studio. Others have moved on from the industry entirely. But Kyoto Animation survives, still maintaining their commitment to collective creation, still serving as a beacon of positive business practices in an incredibly exploitative industry. And here we are with their first full post-fire production, and I’m simply not sure how to handle it.

Kyoto Animation is a studio of master artists, but anime is not a field that consistently rewards such mastery. It harnesses that mastery to frequent ill purpose, tasking the best animators in the world with illustrating how a man in the body of a child might sexually harass a woman, or exactly how much blood a human-shaped blood bag could really contain. Anime’s visual achievements are matched only by its narrative handicaps, and in season two, I’ve been told that Dragon Maid will embrace significantly more of the things anime is damningly known for. The entire character of the new dragon seems like an embodiment of everything I dislike about anime, and the things I’ve heard about the story… the fact of it is, I just can’t separate form from content any more. And though the original Dragon Maid had plenty of great moments, it also had plenty of stuff that at this point would be a hard veto on my continued investment.

So that’s more or less the source of my trouble. I will always love Kyoto Animation, but I’m just plain fatigued with anime’s bullshit, and thus am prepped and ready for a somewhat bittersweet experience. With both my hopes and fears established, let’s explore the first episode of Miss Kobayashi’s Maid Dragon S!

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The Woman Called Fujiko Mine – Episode 12

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be diving into The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, as we continue the last act of this fascinating production. Last episode saw the self-hating Oscar meet a tragic end, as he found himself impossibly stretched between who he truly was and the person his idol Zenigata thought him to be. Forced to choose between a disappointing reality and a perfect ideal, Oscar embraced the ideal, and sacrificed himself to preserve Zenigata’s image of him as the spotless subordinate.

Oscar’s story serves as a fitting complement to Fujiko’s, as each of them suffer abuse for their inalterable nature, and each of them cloak themselves in the expectations of society in order to hide in plain sight. It is clear enough that Oscar harbored romantic feelings for Zenigata, but felt incapable of admitting to those feelings. As a result, he projected his self-hatred outward as anger at all women, and in particular anger at the woman who had claimed what he could not. As someone whose guiding light embodied civil order and the default expectations of his society, Oscar was doomed to be torn apart, his every step towards Zenigata demanding a further denial of self.

Fujiko, at least, has embraced the option of saying fuck-all to society’s expectations, and living precisely how she pleases. Social expectations are not inarguable guidelines to be minded, but simply limitations that society inflicts on itself; useful for manipulating others, but possessing no greater moral authority. The only restraints binding Fujiko lie within her own mind: the terror of her past, and the fear that her current existence is still defined by that past, if only in reaction to it. As someone who has used every reductive feminine persona in the book to manipulate her prey, I’d consider it somewhat unfortunate if this production ended on the predictable “her personality is a product of her trauma,” but I’ve learned never to underestimate Sayo Yamamoto. Let’s return to the climax of Fujiko Mine!

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