Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Scum’s Wish – Episode 12

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we are returning for the last time to the tortured drama of Scum’s Wish, as our gaggle of lovelorn teenagers and their exceedingly dubious authority figures seek love, validation, or whatever else might fill the void inside them. From the initial dynamic of Hana and Mugi using each other’s bodies as surrogates for their true loves, we have spun our poor heroes through every pairing imaginable, with a mutually fulfilling and genuinely healthy relationship seemingly forever out of reach.

Well, until our last episode, at least. Scum’s Wish’s penultimate episode actually went a tremendous distance towards slotting our various leads into healthier perspectives. Having spent most of her life in a destructive spiral of self-loathing, Akane was at last reached by Kanai’s feelings, as he demonstrated that he not only loved all of her, but was moved to that love without the condition of being loved equally in return. And with their bond secured, Mugi was in turn able to move on as well, sharing his first and last date with Akane under the city lights.

So where does that leave our poor Hanabi? Well, the door is now open for a genuine Hana-Mugi relationship, although given their collective baggage, it might be best just to cut their losses and frame college as a romantic do-over. Nonetheless, we’ve got twenty minutes left to fuck everything up, so let’s see where the chips fall as we return to Scum’s Wish!

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CITY The Animation – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today it is altogether too cold for me to be tramping around outside, so we’re instead going to take a vicarious walk around the neighborhood, by enjoying a fresh episode of CITY the Animation. Keiichi Arawi and Kyoto Animation’s latest collaboration has proven an absolute wonder so far, and if anything, it seems like the show’s ambition is only growing with every passing episode.

Last episode’s concluding race served as the show’s most impressive flourish so far, combining copious kinetic animation and skillfully attention-drawing boarding to involve the entire community in Niikura’s quest to retain her dignity. What made that sequence possible was not just the production’s ability to maintain dramatic momentum across half a dozen distinct sub-narratives, but also the underlying fact that the show had set up all those narratives so well, making it easy to spend just a few seconds with any given story and pick up a bonus punchline. The best sitcoms tend to culminate in sequences that weave A, B, and C plots together into something surreal yet dramatically inevitable, and if CITY continues at its current rate, we’re likely due for future climaxes that reach all the way to F, G, and even H plots. I can only be thankful Kyoto Animation is using their terrifying powers for good, as we charge forward towards another day in the city!

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BanG Dream! Ave Mujica – Episode 10

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Hello friends, and welcome the fuck back to Wrong Every Time. Today the curtain rises on another performance by Ave Mujica, the crowd thundering in applause as our girls curse and spit and tear each other’s hair out. Though that brief CRYCHIC reunion seemed like it might stabilize our wayward quintet, the precise opposite has occurred: with the threat of CRYCHIC fueling their anxieties, Uika, Umiri, and Mortis have all rallied to demand a return of the tormented theatrical and (sometimes, if Mortis isn’t just screaming the whole time) musical extravaganza that is Ave Mujica.

The tables have turned dramatically since this group’s first incarnation. Back then, most of its members primarily joined as a favor to Sakiko – Uika was happy to feel needed by her target of obsession, Mutsumi was too desperate to say no, Umiri never says no to a new band, and Nyamu smelled an opportunity to expand her own profile. For Mutsumi, this was a chance to be with her old friend; for the rest, this seemed like a fine opportunity to pursue their otherwise well-tended personal ambitions.

Since then, all three would-be professional musicians have lost basically everything beyond Ave Mujica; Umiri has abandoned all of her superficial band engagements, Nyamu’s career has stalled, and Uika has grown increasingly dependent on Sakiko’s presence. In spite of its melodramatic trappings, there is an authentic pain expressed by Sakiko’s music, a pain that has shifted from an idly appropriated costume to the guiding star of all her bandmates. Can Sakiko save her allies from this nightmare? I couldn’t possibly say, but I’m eager to hear Nyamu’s thoughts on the matter as we return to Ave Mujica!

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Rock is a Lady’s Modesty – Episode 7

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to the storied halls of Oushin Academy, as our fledgling high class ladies continue to “rock out with their cocks out,” as Lilisa so eloquently put it. Having rocked out so successfully they actually conscripted Lilisa’s sister into their conspiracy, they have since learned that their symphonic band mutiny attracted a good deal of additional attention. Now both the accomplished guitarist Shiro and council vice-president Tina want to join their band, forming an unruly quartet where it’s unclear if any of these rock stars actually like each other.

Nonetheless, a collective love of music can be a powerful binding agent. And with such distinct and potentially incompatible personalities vying for power, my main hope is that the friction will force them to reveal more of themselves; both the personal histories that led them to rock music, as well as whatever ambitions they might possess regarding their musical future. So far, rock music has been framed as a form of “rebellion” that is as ethereal and temporally bound as the vision of queer love presented by this story’s Class S influences – a lark that might be tolerated during their questing adolescent school years, but which will surely be “outgrown” by the time they emerge from their chrysalides. Modern versions of these narratives have directly challenged this assumption of eventual passive integration into society’s conservative expectations, and given it’s actually starting from a point of “conservative social norms are bullshit,” I’m eager for this story to also chart a course beyond fully closeted expressions of identity. But for now, let’s see how the first full band meeting goes as we return to Rock is a Lady’s Modesty!

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Yuki Yuna is a Hero: Hero Chapter – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m feeling a strong urge to defy some cruel and distant gods, which can only mean it’s time for Yuki Yuna is a Hero. After this show’s first season built to the chilling revelation that our brave heroes are actually just batteries being sacrificed to facilitate a war between eldritch superbeings, it’s been hard to feel that much enthusiasm for the Divine Tree’s sacred tasks. And as this Hero Chapter has already demonstrated, even their alleged retirement was another illusion, as Togo was nonetheless tasked with single-handedly appeasing the fires of creation, a perpetual witch burned on a perpetual pyre.

Unsurprisingly, Yuna was not going to let her best friend suffer eternally in a pit of celestial agony. Thus the contract was broken, and our team was provided the frail assurance that “Togo was simply too tough to die,” even as the seal of duty migrated from Togo to Yuna herself. What does this mean for our team? Well, I’m frankly excited to not know; after two seasons with a fairly similar structure, we are now charting unknown territory, continuing the battle both for and against the Divine Tree into an era of increasing information parity. Can the empathy Yuna and her companions bring to their duties chart a new path, an escape from either the inhumanity of the Divine Tree or the oblivion lurking beyond the wall? Let’s find out!

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Monogatari Off/Monster Season – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re continuing our journey through Monogatari’s aptly named Monster Season, having just concluded the tale of the Princess Acerola’s transformation into Kiss-shot Acerola-Orion Heart-under-blade. As we discovered, that name is not just an ornate title, but also a statement of intent: from her first moment as a vampire, Kiss-shot pledged to make her violence an act of love and sacrifice, always killing with a kiss so that she might eventually extract her heart from the blade of her inherent nature.

That brief arc demonstrated Nisio Isin at his most fanciful, turning a twisted fairy tale into a reflection on how we sculpt our own identities, externalizing Acerola’s self-hatred and Deathtopia’s self-regard as reflections of their respective curses. Acerola’s journey towards valuing her continued existence mirrored Deathtopia’s path towards valuing the life of another, and with Acerola now having theoretically achieved the bond Deathtopia hoped for, I’m curious to see just what the original vampire makes of Araragi and Shinobu’s whole deal. Let’s return to the season of monsters!

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The Legend of Vox Machina S3 – Episode 12

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be delving back into the adventures of Vox Machina and company, as they work to defeat the evil that they themselves kinda-sorta accidentally unleashed. Isn’t that always the way of it, though? You defeat one evil dragon, think you’ve done something good, and then some entirely other evil dragon decides to fuse itself with the corpse of your quarry, becoming a dread-creature of power beyond imagining. It’s enough to make a hero want to hang up their +2 sword and just take a load off, letting someone else save civilization as we know it for a change.

There’s certainly an inherent tension in the construction of a D&D campaign, a balance necessitated by the party’s simultaneous need for heroic validation and dramatic incentive. How do you as a DM keep going bigger while still validating the party’s prior process, telling them in the same breath “that was some glorious, consequential heroism you just did” and “also, things are now worse than ever before.” At what point do unintended consequences shift from feeling “earned through recklessness” to “inflicted by a hostile narrator,” and how do you manage that balance while both surprising and validating your party’s expectations? These are questions whose answers depend on a million factors, and which must be approached with a distinct tactic for any given player party – and that very variability is what makes DnD so endlessly interesting to me as a storyteller and game designer. No puzzle so compelling as one without a defined solution, so let’s get back to the board as we conclude season three of Vox Machina!

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Dear Brother – Episode 13

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today the bells are calling from the tower of Seiren Academy, where Saint Juste is presumably even now flinging daggers at the wall, lost in a reverie of abandonment and exquisite squalor. Down below, Kaoru-no-Kimi confronts the imperious Miya-sama, their forms concealed beneath the wafting bows of the sacred elm. And all along the windows and walls, voices chatter and eyes lurk, each confrontation a feast for their ravenous peers.

So, you know, classic high school stuff. Yes, we are indeed returning to Dear Brother, and at a moment of uniquely fraught drama no less. Incensed by her heartless treatment of Saint Juste, Kaoru has called Miya-sama out, and revealed at last that Saint Juste is actually Miya-sama’s younger sister. Considering this drama’s consistent focus on lineage and propriety, I imagine that their relationship in some way echoes Nanako’s fractured family life; and given Saint Juste’s current residence inside that alienating apartment, I would assume it’s not just Miya-sama who has abandoned her. Let’s see what fresh revelations await as we return to Dear Brother!

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Episode 16

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today the northern road beckons, as we settle down with our trusted traveling companions for an episode of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. What dangers lie ahead are unknown to us, but that’s really the beauty of long journeys; the ever-shifting scenery reminds us of both the vastness and inconstancy of the world around us, its capacity for transition, transformation, and renewal. And perhaps, by letting the road carry us forward and embracing the surprises it brings, we might hope to be transformed as well.

Our last episode offered some fine opportunities for personal reassessment, as Sein took a rare leadership role within the party, and Stark learned the finer points of courtly etiquette. Stark’s assignment saw him pantomiming the past to protect the future, offering the people a false assurance of their prince’s vitality, and through doing so acquiring a key memory of his own: himself and Fern on the dance floor, turning their torturous practice into a celebration of their bond. We cannot know what treasures might lie in store, and that is precisely why we must be open to experience, with eyes scanning the horizon rather than lodged in a grimoire. You hear that, Frieren? That one was pretty pointed, I’m sure you know I’m talking about you.

Alright, let’s get to the show.

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Shoushimin Series – Episode 7

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I imagine we’ll be embarking on a fresh mystery, as we join Osanai and Jogoro for another installment of the sharp, endearing, and immaculately constructed Shoushimin Series. Though our leads retain their commitment to becoming normal, they continue to prove themselves anything but, with even the simple act of sharing some cakes turning into a tense battle of wills. But hey, how else do you apply your restless intellect to a hot summer day, especially when you’ve got such a willing opponent beside you?

By winnowing this show down to its fundamentals, our last episode reveled in the profound chemistry of its leads, echoing the similarly charming duo adventures of author Honobu Yonezawa’s Hyouka. Of course, that comparison also points to the clear differences within these series – while Oreki and Chitanda find a soothing balance in their differences, Osanai and Jogoro are united by their similarly slanted perspective, their desire to bring order to a disorderly world. In their hands, a cake-centered riff on Rope becomes something like a courtship ritual, their one-upmanship demonstrating both their shared mentality and mutual respect. Shoushimin Series has many strengths, but its most fundamental is the essential truth of great romance from Toradora to Spice and Wolf to Hyouka and beyond: spending time with two well-illustrated characters who genuinely care about each other is a delight, no matter where they go or whatever they do there. Now let’s get to the case!

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