Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 36

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IT’S TIME. After braving the forests of Akala in order to take down the island’s Totem Pokemon, Ash has at last earned the right to challenge Olivia, and compete in her Grand Trial. It’s been a solid twenty-five episodes since Ash last fought in a Grand Trial, and since then he’s gained both Iwanko and Nyabby, along with plenty of fighting experience. Sun and Moon never disappoints when it comes to its action setpieces, and given the clear significance of this Grand Trial, I’m expecting some spectacular feats of animation. 

So far Sun and Moon has rarely focused on the tactical interplay of pokemon battles, which makes sense. This isn’t truly an action cartoon, it’s more of an adventure/slice of life production, and thus the stakes of its conflicts tend to focus more on character emotions and personal resolutions than combat supremacy. Characters generally “win” by growing or learning something new – but last episode, Ash’s Totem battle embraced some genuine tactical interplay, leaving me hopeful that this fight will also supplement its visual flare with some crunchy tactics. Either way we’re in for a visual feast, so let’s not waste any more time, and charge forward to the Grand Trial!

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Jobless Reincarnation – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be checking out… wait, seriously? An isekai? Don’t you folks know how I feel about those? Well, a job’s a job, so I guess today we’re checking out the industry’s latest isekai production: Jobless Reincarnation.

I don’t know anything about Jobless Reincarnation in particular, but I do know that I am flat-out exhausted by the isekai genre, and basically every one of its assumed qualities. There is definitely a strong potential isekai within the template as we know it – a show that genuinely reflects on the alienation of modern society, and interrogates the self-defeating ugliness of using fanatical fandom as an escape from reality. But even the shows that ostensibly do this, like Re:Zero, are still drenched in obnoxious otaku-isms, and simply not written well enough to keep my attention.

Characters in isekai shows speak in fan-aimed cliches, not like human beings, and the worlds they interact with are playpens filled with otaku ephemera, not convincingly realized alternative worlds. They are a warm hug aimed at a very specific set of consumers, which lack either the maturity of perspective or beauty of narrative craft to offer anything to a general audience of art-likers. As someone who has read a lot of actual adult-aimed novels, light novel storytelling is almost never going to impress me; particularly in this field, where novels are frequently written by amateur authors who are taking influence from other amateur authors, and being guided by editors whose notes presumably run the range from “needs more harem archetypes” to “mention her boobs more.” It’s the blind leading the blind while a third guy actively guides them off a cliff, and while the results of this process are understandable, they’re not generally consumable.

So that’s my opinion of isekai anime: a genre with theoretical potential, but no shows I could recommend to art enthusiasts, constructed under economic conditions that may well preclude the creation of any genuinely interesting art. Let’s see what I think of this one!

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Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 35

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! This is my first episodic article written after winter break, so I’m planning on easing back into the rhythm of work with some lighthearted Sun and Moon. When last we left off, Kaki had joined Lana in ascending to a new power level, having rescued his home island’s ceremonial crown, and even scoring himself a powerful Marowak in the bargain. With two of Ash’s companions having essentially conducted their mid-journey evolutions, I’m guessing it’s now time for Mallow or Sophocles to earn a similar boost – or else we could just frolic on Akala for a while, and maybe check out the local beaches. Look, when you format your anime as a perpetual vacation, you end up with a lot of options for showing the audience a good time. Let’s not waste a moment then, and see what awaits us back in Alola!

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Kaguya-sama: Love is War – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. You all ready for some Kaguya-sama? I’m frankly not sure I am; after all, we’re four episodes in at this point, and the most the show’s gotten out of me is a light chuckle. I don’t find its comedy particularly funny, and its characterization hasn’t really moved much beyond the initial dynamic, meaning I can’t coast on my fondness for the leads as people. At the moment, I’m more or less clinging to the visual flair contributed by Shinichi Omata’s direction, as well as the potential for an interrogation of how class affects social dynamics that I damn well know the show almost certainly won’t explore.

I feel like I’ve conveyed all this with as much tact as possible over the past four writeups, but it seems like you folks are still enjoying them, as Kaguya-sama’s funding is as healthy as can be. In light of that, I figure people likely won’t mind if I’m a bit less diplomatic in my appraisal, as presumably you must know “gag comedy with no character or thematic focus” falls deeply outside my general interests. Is there truly something waiting down the road that makes this a “me” show, or are you folks just sending me on a long walk down a short pier? Either way, we’ve got a fresh episode ahead of us, so let’s see if my fortunes can turn!

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Joshiraku – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re going to be sampling another new production, or at least new to me, as we check out the first episode of Joshiraku. Joshiraku has a bit of a reputation for impenetrability, and more specifically difficulty of translation. This makes sense – after all, the show is centered on five would-be rakugo storytellers.

Rakugo is a niche Japanese art form where a single actor sits on stage, and relates a traditional story all by themselves. Though it doesn’t even really show up that much in anime, I ended up learning a great deal about it through the outstanding Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, one of the best shows of the past decade. But without that context, I’d probably be lost from the start here – doubly so because Joshiraku apparently doesn’t even focus on these girls’ ostensible profession, and is instead more concerned with madcap, rapid-fire, reference-heavy comedy.

Premise aside, Joshiraku benefits from the fluffy, expressive character designs of Masayoshi Tanaka, he of Toradora!, Your Name, AnoHana, and much else besides. And most importantly, Joshiraku is written and directed by one of anime’s dream teams: writer Michiko Yokote, and director Tsutomu Mizushima. The two have collaborated on projects ranging from Prison School to Shirobako to Witch Craft Works; to be honest, I think they are the only team in anime I trust with comedy. Knowing this is another of their collaborations gives me a great deal of confidence, so let’s not waste any more time, and check out the first episode of Joshiraku!

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Horimiya – Episode 1

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m planning on breaking the mold a bit, and writing up a show that’s actually airing right now. I know, timely criticism, what a concept. We’ll be diving into the first episode of Horimiya, a show I’ve been anticipating since the summer, for one clear reason: it’s directed by motherfuckin’ Masashi Ishihama.

Ishihama is currently one of anime’s greatest hidden treasures. He’s likely best-known for his phenomenal work directing opening and ending sequences – his sequences have elevated shows ranging from ERASED to Occultic;Nine to Encouragement of Climb. Through all of his work, he demonstrates a singular understanding of color contrast, composition, and visual drama, complete with playful flourishes of typography, dramatic silhouettes, and carefully controlled soft focus. And though he’s rarely spearheaded projects of his own, his incredible From the New World stands as one of the best anime of the last decade, and a genuine credit to the medium at large.

While I’ve got plenty of opinions on Ishihama, all I really know about Horimiya is that it’s a high school romance, and that people I tend to trust say it’s a good one. So I’m going in relatively blind here, ready for whatever twists may come, and eager to see how Ishihama elevates it all. Let’s check out the first episode of Horimiya!

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Wonder Egg Priority – Episode 1

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll once again be embarking on an unusually timely journey, and exploring the first episode of the now-airing Wonder Egg Priority. Not too much was actually known about Wonder Egg Priority prior to its broadcast, given its anime-original nature and unusually limited marketing materials. With no big trailers or source material to go by, it’s mostly just animation enthusiasts who’ve been hyping the show, due to its remarkably talented key staff.

What we know so far is that the character acting will be nuanced and plentiful, and that judging by his 22/7 web shorts, director Shin Wakabayashi is a clear student of the Naoko Yamada school of direction. Wonder Egg Priority has all the right qualifications to be exactly my sort of thing, but with so little information to go on, this premiere could really go just about anywhere. Without further ado, let’s explore the first episode of Wonder Egg Priority!

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Great Pretender – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be exploring the first episode of one of 2020’s most impressive productions, the energetic and visually dazzling Great Pretender. Now, I’ve actually seen the first two arcs of Great Pretender, and have arrived at my own conclusions (a fine-enough heist narrative with outrageously good visual design), so I’ll be bringing a somewhat more informed perspective to this rewatch. But to catch everyone up to speed, what exactly is Great Pretender?

Judging by staff alone, it’d be easy to pin the show as one of 2020’s highlights. The production’s angular, expressive character designs could only come from one artist: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the legendary character designer who handled both Evangelion and FLCL’s character art. Meanwhile, the show’s gorgeous backgrounds, blending realistic line art with simplified, impressionistic color palettes, bear the clear mark of their own creator: Yuusuke Takeda, the art director responsible for The Eccentric Family’s marvelous background aesthetic. Topped off with a director who’s well acquainted with these sorts of narratives, having spearheaded the altogether reasonable 91 Days, and you end up with a production that seems destined for greatness. So how does it all shake out?

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The Girl in Twilight – Episode 8

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. When last we left off The Girl in Twilight, we’d just completed Chloe’s world, and defeated a malicious AI in order to… restore peace to the Amazon delivery peninsula? Frankly, I’m not entirely sure how Asuka and her friends’ actions actually changed the conditions of Chloe’s world, considering their current lifestyle was established long before the introduction of any malevolent Clusters. And when you couple that with Chloe’s arc not really possessing any thematic heft beyond “the power of friendship,” you end up with an arc that was undoubtedly The Girl in Twilight’s weakest yet, with Sexy Yu doing an absurd amount of work to keep things interesting.

Fortunately, with Chloe’s arc concluded, The Girl in Twilight will presumably now be interrogating Asuka’s long-suffering best friend, Yu. While Nana, Mio, and Chloe clearly all value their friendship with Asuka, Yu is clearly her closest confidant, and a reflection on her life will undoubtedly serve as a reflection on her relationship with Asuka, as well. After all, as we learned in Chloe’s world, Sexy Yu actually lost her own Asuka, which presumably had a major effect on her values and self-image. The Girl in Twilight is at its best in two extremes: when it’s digging into the subtle edges of its characterization, and when it’s embracing the absurdity and doppelganger-driven potential of its strange worlds. I’m hoping for both, but would be happy enough with either, as we dive once more into The Girl in Twilight!

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Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episode 15

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A still blue sky is pierced by the roar of helicopters as we enter Evangelion’s fifteenth episode. Evangelion loves contrasting the abrasive intrusion of military hardware and the serene beauty of the natural world – but even as it labors over that contrast, it can’t help but loving the military hardware in its own right. Anno seems a lot like Miyazaki in that way; aware of the ugliness implied by his otaku passions, but unable to deny those passions, with both the love and the critique coming through in his work. Though Anno also extends his interrogations to his basic narrative structures, while Miyazaki has seemingly never lost faith in the purity and power of the classic adventure fable.

But this episode is not about that.

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