Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d check back in Frieren and Fern’s rambling journey, as they pay back the debts of the past and chart out an unknown future. A lifetime is a very long thing for an elf, but with Fern at her side, Frieren is being forced to embrace at least a touch of urgency. Is life best appreciated as a long arc towards an uncertain destination, or as a series of individual challenges and experiences? Frieren’s perspective invites us to consider both, with a melancholy assurance that no matter your perspective, precious things will inevitably slip through your fingers.

Our last episode explored the vagaries of time’s passage from a new angle, emphasizing how the grand lifespans of fantastical beings can make them ill-equipped to counter the curiosity and industry of mankind. Time moves slower when it is in abundance, as the young blithely accept and the old are unfortunate to know well. An ageless being might see its power as similarly ageless, but the returning Qual found himself outgunned by progress, his once-singular powers now incorporated into the bedrock of magical inquiry. You could take that as a lesson in clinging to past glories, an assurance that seemingly insurmountable hurdles often just require dedicated consideration, or a rueful acknowledgment that mankind will always find a way to build a better gun – regardless, it serves as a fine extrapolation of Frieren’s fundamental questions. With an open road before them, let’s see what new questions await the mage and her apprentice!

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Scum’s Wish – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d check back in on the bedraggled stars of Scum’s Wish, who are presumably hard at work doing the most mutually destructive things they can do to each other. Though to be fair, they were actually on the right track going into our last episode, with both Mugi and Hana having resolved to announce their crushes and thereby move past them. Unfortunately, Akane would never turn down such a ripe opportunity for chaos, and thus answered Mugi’s confession by manipulating him into sleeping with her.

That’s all of a course with Scum’s Wish’s usual style, wherein youthful dreams are left to rot into festering obsessions, and every day stacks fresh sorrows upon the old. In the context of Mugi and Hana’s somber perspectives, I actually quite enjoy Akane’s proud “I am going to cause problems on purpose” attitude, a callousness and whimsical cruelty that positions her in a long and illustrious line of bodice-ripping baddies. Akane is a Dear Brother character in a world with no melodrama antibodies, offering a perpetual promise that things could always be worse. Let’s see how her latest crimes play out as we return to Scum’s Wish!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 44

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Hello folks, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to the drama of Hugtto! Precure, after an episode that was largely preoccupied with Homare resolving her crush on a shape-shifting, time-traveling hamster. That’s just sometimes how it’s gonna be in the land of Precure, and to be perfectly honest, it actually made for a surprisingly poignant adventure. Rodent-related specifics aside, Homare’s feelings offered an endearing portrayal of how even unrequited love can be emotionally enriching, and her journey towards that realization was adorned with all sorts of lovely visual compositions.

With Henri and Homare’s skating performances now behind us, the slate is once again clear as we march towards Hugtto’s endgame. Is it time for George’s plan to be unveiled, or can we still sneak in some seasonal shenanigans with Hana and the gang? I’m sure whatever we’ve got coming will be delightful in its own way, so let’s dispense with the preamble here, and dive into the continuing adventures of our hug-happy heroes!

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Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episode 24

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The words of Cruel Angel’s Thesis speak of a boy on the threshold of greatness, the wind of destiny wafting through the open door, wings only waiting to be unfurled adorning his shoulders. And yet the boy hesitates, “desperate for that gentle touch,” his gaze focused solely on the protector beside him. Generations of audiences have interpreted this metaphor of awakening in their own ways, whether to point out Anno’s clear antipathy towards the perpetual adolescence of fandom, the ways in which Evangelion echoes and reifies the heroic journeys of prior mecha pilots, or Evangelion’s own obsession with human connection and distrust of “adulthood.” Of course, Anno did not write Cruel Angel’s Thesis; if he did, I somehow doubt the song would proceed with such confidence, such assurance that any hesitant boy will one day learn he has the wings to take flight.

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Anne of Green Gables – Episode 16

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to Anne of Green Gables, wherein our young heroine is still embroiled in a brave battle against public education and its attendant indignities. With both the peabrained Mr. Phillips and intolerable Gilbert Blythe arrayed against her, it is no wonder Anne simply cannot countenance the thought of returning to her public studies. Fortunately, Marilla has been largely accommodating of this moral crusade, clinging to the perhaps unwise hope that Anne will at some point get over herself.

Sadly for Marilla, Anne is nothing if not stubborn, and I doubt even the shame of having served their guests a dead mouse for tea will have convinced her that some time out of the house might be for the best. Still, between Diana’s pleading and Gilbert’s continued demonstrations that he’s not actually the tyrant she has made of him, a hope remains that she might return to the world of socialization and scholastic achievement. With tempers flared and stakes high, we return to the delightful Anne of Green Gables!

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The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You – Episode 6

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Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d drop back in on the drama of 100 Girlfriends, and see how Rentaro’s faring with his rapidly expanding collection of girlfriends. Our last adventure saw the reticent Nano joining the crew, who in spite of her professed preference for “efficiency” was unable to deny our boy’s earnest, compassionate affection. And thus our polycule gained its latest addition, furnishing the shy Shizuka, tempestuous Karane, and eternally horny Hakari.

As with the addition of Shizuka, Nano’s arrival necessitates another cooldown adventure, as the expanded group work to discover their new collective social dynamic. This is not simply a way to space out the addition of supplementary girlfriends, nor a method of “dragging out” the story – these intermediate escapades actually embody the heart of 100 Girlfriends, which is fundamentally dedicated to ensuring partners don’t feel simply like prizes to be won and then forgotten about, but new arrivals to an active and collectively loving community. It is as important that Nano feels just as comfortable with Shizuka, Karane, and Hakari as she does with Rentaro, and I’m guessing this poolside nonsense will affirm exactly that. Let’s get to it!

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Wonder Egg Priority – Episode 12

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we dive into the last chapter of a tangled and frequently devastating drama, with the final plus-sized episode of Wonder Egg Priority standing before us. There is much left to resolve, but after our triumphant preceding episode, I have more hope than ever that Ai will be able to reach and rescue her friends from whatever fate Plati, Frill, or the wonder egg arbiters have in store for them. Isolated within a demeaning, misogynistic culture that seems all but indifferent to their pain, Ai and the others briefly found community in each other – but in the wake of Frill’s rebellion against her cruel parents, their bonds have frayed and left each of them painfully alone.

Or at least, so they believed. Our last episode offered a quiet, insistent challenge to that feeling, that understandable instinct to crawl up within yourself and reject all external stimulus, determined to at least avoid the pain of judgment and disappointment. It is a cruel contradiction that in the depths of depression, it actually becomes all the more important to open ourselves up to potential pain, to seek the validation and unconditional support that might remind us of emotions beyond self-loathing, fatigue, and certainty that life will always be this way. For Ai, that realization came in the form of her own alternate self, the version of her who never found a friend with whom to share her feelings, and thus never wavered from the path towards self-annihilation.

To this new Ai, our own uncertain heroine seemed like a figure of confidence and wonder, a model inspiring her to genuine hope for her own future. And through those unclouded eyes, the Ai we’ve followed was able to recall the gentle, unerring support of her mother, who pledged to love her daughter no matter what path she chose. Spurred on by these unexpected allies, Ai vowed to believe in her own future, knowing that it is only through that irrational, desperate hope for tomorrow that she can find the strength to protect those she loves. With Ai’s own personal trials completed, let’s charge towards the future!

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Galaxy Express 999 – Episode 2

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am beyond excited to be embarking on the Galaxy Express, and once more exploring the sights of Leiji Matsumoto’s fantastical adventure. The first episode proved more action-packed than I would ever have predicted, with our young hero Tetsuro responding to the death of his mother through a fit of righteously murderous fury, destroying the contemptible Count Mecha and fleeing the police with the mysterious Maetel. Escaping the earth as fugitives, the two now rest aboard the Galaxy Express itself, ready to experience the wonders of the universe.

Alongside the obvious excitement of so much immediate dramatic commotion, it’s also clear that, in spite of its fantastical embellishments, Galaxy Express is deeply concerned with the inherent injustices of modern society. Both Megalopolis’ stratified pleasures and the allure of cyborg bodies serve as clear illustrations of capitalism’s cruelties; the hope of “work hard and you’ll succeed” was immediately proven a false idol through the death of Tetsuro’s mother, emphasizing how class is for most people an inescapable life sentence. Whether Galaxy Express continues elaborating on that theme or uses its rambling structure as a vehicle for new meditations, I’m eager to experience whatever wonders are up ahead. Let’s get to it!

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Yuri is My Job! – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re embarking on a brand new adventure, as we check out the first episode of Yuri is My Job! I doubt I need to explain to any of my readers that “yuri” generally refers to lesbian romance in anime or manga. Yuri has a long and storied tradition in these fields, with the early 20th century Class S dramas that were often focused on all-girl schools informing the works of the Year 24 Group in the 1970s, including such enduring classics as Riyoko Ikeda’s Dear Brother. These stories influenced the next generations in turn, with ‘90s highlights like Maria Watches Over Us and Revolutionary Girl Utena paving the way for modern, somewhat more grounded stories like Bloom Into You or Adachi and Shimamura, as well as lighter romcoms like The Demon Girl Next Door.

Anime and manga have often been a haven for society’s outsiders, realizing the hopes and aspirations that would invite censure in a rigid, conservative culture. And even as we’ve begun to break the shackles publicly inhibiting expressions of homosexual love, yuri dramas have continued to evolve with the times, even hopping aboard the isekai boom through stories like I’m In Love With The Villainess. Yuri is My Job seems to fit neatly within the modern self-aware paradigm, with its genre-savvy title and heroine whose name is literally Hime, meaning “princess.” It apparently takes place at a cafe themed after those classic Class S dramas, making me curious as to both how it might comment on genre convention, and how it will express earnest character drama in its own right. Let’s find out!

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Ojamajo Doremi Sharp – Episode 12

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d like to check back in on the trials of Doremi and the gang, as our crew continues their magical training and witch baby-raising under the dubious tutelage of Majo Rika. Of course, there’s plenty of room for detours along the way, along with self-imposed trials like messing with Hadzuki’s dance lessons. Ultimately, magic is really just a fantastical garnish for Doremi’s true substance: its thoughtful, wide-ranging exploration of the trials of youth, and the lessons we must internalize to mature happily and with confidence.

In Hadzuki’s case, that lesson was a familiar one, resonating with past trials like Onpu coming to understand her mother’s trauma, or Aiko accepting her father’s pursuit of new romance. Ojamajo Doremi’s empathy and insight stretches to its adults as well as its leads, emphasizing that we are all fallible works in progress, and in turn encouraging its heroes to walk forward with an understanding that there is no finish line to growing up. We’re all just doing the best we can, and in this production’s hands, the wonder of coming to love ourselves and our fellows feels as magical as any outright fantasy. Let’s see what shenanigans our team gets up to next!

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