Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Uzumaki – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we are at last concluding our journey through Hiroshi Nagahama’s ill-fated adaptation of Junji Ito’s Uzumaki, a project which opened with great promise and then swiftly shifted to embodying the frustrating perils of anime’s new global funding paradigm. We all know the story at this point: after funding a perfectly paranoid first episode carrying on in the style of Nagahama’s brilliant Aku no Hana adaptation, this production’s American overseers apparently got cold feet, forcing the production team to hastily employ whatever limited animation tricks they could manage in order to fill out the ensuing episodes. What began as a labor of love became a testament to capitalism’s incapacity for it, a cold reminder that foreign investment in anime is not the same thing as genuine foreign interest in anime, beyond its thrifty capacity to furnish a streamer’s production slate.

So yeah, that’s all bad news. Nonetheless, it’s still an interesting release in its own right, both as a marvel of collapsing production trickery and a compromised yet still-compelling rendition of Junji Ito’s stories. And since I can’t track down precisely whoever decided Uzumaki was an acceptable casualty of corporate malfeasance, the least I can do is honor the wreckage, and celebrate the embers of Nagahama’s ambitions. Let’s get to it!

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Legendary Creator Yasuhiko Yoshikazu

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out something a little different from our usual fare, as we watch an NHK special program centered on Yasuhiko Yoshikazu, the character designer and animation director for the original Mobile Suit Gundam. As the designer behind the most formative and iconic real robot mecha series, Yoshikazu essentially defined the style of ‘80s scifi anime protagonists, casting an enormous shadow over one of the most prolific and acclaimed eras in anime history. He’d go on to make further contributions to this wild era, creating the scifi manga Arion and Venus Wars, both of which he’d eventually adapt into film. He’d later return to Gundam as well, penning the much-loved Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga, which he would also personally adapt into animation.

Yoshikazu belongs to a prior generation of anime luminaries, back when the medium was almost inextricable from the pro-labor, anti-war sentiments of its young, politically conscious creators. Anime has quite frankly gotten more insular and reactionary in the years since, and Yoshikazu himself has expressed frustration with shifts like Gundam’s turn towards the more fantastical, individualist focus on Newtypes, a clear drift from the solidarity and martial antipathy of its origins. Of course, such a narrative of artistic evolution is far too simplistic to account for the ways anime has shifted over the years, and also paints a picture of Yoshikazu himself that I’m sure this program will complicate. So let’s get to it then, and see what he has to say for himself!

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Ojamajo Doremi Sharp – Episode 17

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d check back in on our ojamajos, and see how Doremi and the gang are handling the trials of raising their witch baby Hana-chan. Having recently learned how to crawl, Hana-chan spent the last episode raising all manner of hell at both the Majo-dou and Doremi’s house, screaming through the night and crawling on ceilings and generally running wild over her beleaguered caretakers.

So yes, a nightmare of an episode for our witches, but definitely a treat for us in the audience. Doremi at its most whimsical is basically prestige comedy, demonstrating ambitious, dynamic storyboarding, marvelously silly expression work, and persistent creativity of storytelling. The show is a master class in limited animation fundamentals, demonstrating that animation economy need not limit your production’s brilliance. I’d be perfectly happy with another silly one, but whether we’re due for farce or heartbreak, I’m sure we’re in good hands!

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The Apothecary Diaries – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out a production that’s earned basically universal acclaim over the past few years, as we explore the first episode of The Apothecary Diaries. Based on a light novel series by Hyūganatsu, the series takes place in an alternate medieval China (apparently specifically based on the Tang dynasty), and centers on a girl named Maomao. After learning the ways of medicine (and poison) from her apothecary father, she is sold as a servant to the emperor’s palace, entering a world of courtly intrigue with only her pharmacological skills to aid her.

That already sounds like a novel, compelling premise, and from what I’ve heard, both the light novels and their adaptation ably realize its potential. Our director and series composer Norihiro Naganuma seems perfectly appropriate for the job, given their hands-on work directing, composing, and even key animating portions of The Ancient Magus Bride. It’s a rare thing to find a director who both composes and animates, and I imagine the production will feel all the more cohesive as a result; meanwhile, character designer/AD Yukiko Nakatani appears to be an old hand at Toei, having handled similar duties for both Precure and One Piece productions. An accomplished team adapting a sharp historical drama? That all sounds great to me, so let’s dive right into The Apothecary Diaries!

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Jujutsu Kaisen S3 – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re trying something a bit unusual, as we drop in right at the beginning of Jujutsu Kaisen’s third season. Though I have actually watched Jujutsu Kaisen’s first two seasons, I haven’t really written about them at length, for a pretty simple reason: I didn’t like them, and it takes a lot to motivate me to write about things I’m not enjoying. Quickly panning a movie for a Week in Review post is one thing; writing a fully negative piece on something someone cared about enough to fund is always a terrible feeling, and something I try to avoid in general these days.

Nonetheless, my patron is well aware I haven’t enjoyed Jujutsu Kaisen so far, so I’m taking a chance on this one. As for my general impression of the show so far, I’ve been quite impressed by some of the animation, but otherwise don’t feel I have anything to grab onto here. The characters feel superficial and grating, the worldbuilding feels ill-considered, the narrative lacks strong trajectory or momentum, and the combat system is essentially Calvinball – an attempt to make a Hunter x Hunter-like system without understanding the checks and balances inherent in such a system, which thus inevitably leads to contests of characters “going bigger” without any rhyme or reason. There is nothing about the source material that grabs me, and even in adaptation, it feels like the show often falls into the glossy, weightless spectacle of something like Demon Slayer. As I said, I’m not a fan, but I will do my best to address season three on its own merits, even if I lack the emotional attachment with which one should really be approaching a third season. Let’s get to it!

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Blue Reflection Ray – Episode 13

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to the tormented drama of Blue Reflection Ray, in the wake of a grand confrontation that seemed to leave everyone worse off than before. Shino’s plans to align the realm of contiguous emotions known as the Common with our own world were ultimately thwarted, but Mio ended up paying the price, once again assuming the burden of suffering such that her loved ones might be spared. Both parties fled the church in disarray, with the fabric of reality rent but not entirely broken.

Fortunately, at least one of our poor reflectors appears to have improved their circumstances. Niina was always the most sympathetic of the red reflectors; having suffered a lifetime of exploitation and rejection, it was completely understandable why she’d cling to Mio for salvation, and agree to whatever scheme Mio’s allies had planned. When it became clear Mio herself was being exploited by Shino, the resulting guilt almost led her to embrace the emotional absolution of her allies – but through Shiori’s vindication of her emotions, she found the strength to take pride in her love, and ended up accompanying the blue reflectors in their retreat. The girl has seriously earned a break, and I’m hoping the cooldown of that confrontation will give her a chance to enjoy the lighter side of adolescence. Regardless, the threat of world convergence continues to hang overhead as we return to Blue Reflection Ray!

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The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out a fresh new production, as we explore the debut of last year’s The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity. Based on a manga by Saka Mikami, the show centers on the romance between a girl from a fancy prep school and a boy from a school for delinquents. So we’ve clearly got some elements of class conflict to complicate our would-be romance, alongside a school rivalry that puts this drama somewhere between West Side Story and Romeo & Juliet.

Not that I’m expecting anything quite so tragic as that; by all accounts this is a charming and gentle narrative, and also a genuine hit for Netflix, where it stayed among the top rankings for a significant portion of the year. That all sounds fine by me; I’m a fan of romances of all stripes, and adaptation director Miyuki Kuroki’s work boarding and key animating for productions as visually impressive as The Idolm@ster and Fate/Grand Order, as well as animation director Kōhei Tokuoka’s prior work as AD on Josee, the Tiger and the Fish, gives me ample reason to assume we’ve got a delicate and character acting-rich drama ahead of us. Let’s meet our lovebirds!

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Trigun Stampede – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to check back in on the evolving drama of Trigun Stampede, after our last episode revealed the tumultuous childhood of Vash and his brother Knives. As ambiguous creations with the form of humans yet the genealogy of power-generating plants, it was the pair’s caretaker Rem who taught Vash the fundamentals of true humanity, and his companions at Home who showed him that life is a continuous cycle, and that hope can spring from even the most barren of soil.

As long-living children of the stars, Vash and Knives are destined to experience many cycles of human existence, with all the good and bad that entails. But it is up to them to decide the meaning of such an existence, whether it leads them to the megalomania of Knives, the despair of Vash’s early years, or the hope he now carries for the next turn of the wheel. Can Vash’s faith in our better nature survive the endless deprivations of No Man’s Land, wherein the fragility of life so often forces us to be our worst possible selves? More so than his physical power, it seems that faith might be his greatest strength – for just as Vash’s surrogate parents taught him to treat others with compassion and dignity, so might his own ethos foster such fragile, precious values in the world at large.

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Shoushimin Series – Episode 8

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to Shoushimin Series at a moment of unexpected crisis, having just learned that Osanai has apparently been abducted for ransom! It’s a development so sudden and dramatic that I’m frankly not entirely sure I believe it, but Osanai does have a habit of getting dangerously ahead of the team when it comes to these investigations, as demonstrated through her reckless actions during the bicycle thief incident. And as that adventure also demonstrated, there are stakes to these investigations beyond boredom or disappointment; our protagonists are idly toying with their town’s various crime rings, heedless of the material consequences.

But can you really blame them? Abduction aside, these last two episodes have served as a warm celebration of Jogoro, Osanai, and even Kengo in their element, flexing their wiles and enjoying each other’s company and eating a whole bunch of good cakes in the bargain. Shoushimin Series’ marvelous character chemistry should come as no surprise to any fan of Hyouka, with each conversation demonstrating layers of affection, one-upmanship, and an underlying testing of comfort levels, as Osanai continues to push their relationship in a more overtly codified, romantic direction. Well, there’s nothing like a dramatic rescue to prove your love, so let’s see where the case takes us today!

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Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 7

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to be returning to a long-dormant adventure, as we continue to navigate the dramatic twists and turns of Thunderbolt Fantasy’s third season. Having dealt with death cults, demon lords, murder princesses, and even a goddamn dragon over the show’s first two seasons, Shang and his allies now stand in dangerous disarray, ill-prepped for the simultaneous machinations of Ming Huang’s divine swarm, Xing Hai and her sister-sword, and whatever the fuck Murder Princess and her new cyborg ally are up to.

Fortunately, we’ve still theoretically got Lin on our side, and boy is he having fun with this one. The Enigmatic Gale is fully in his element at the moment, forging bonds with fresh would-be villains and utterly infuriating Xing Hai in the process. The delicate alliance of convenience between the Divine Swarm’s allies makes it easy for Lin to play characters like the genuinely honor-driven Jun Po and utterly malice-driven Xing Hai against each other; if anything, I assume he’d complain that such foes are too simple, lacking the complexity of motivation necessary for him to really yank the floor out from under them. Nonetheless, he can at least console himself in the knowledge that his vile Nendoroid is pissing off Shang and the others, who have enough trouble as it is without suffering through Lin’s pint-sized provocations. With alliances forging and crumbling by the second, let’s see where today’s adventures take us!

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