Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Brand New Animal – Episode 1

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re embarking on a fresh journey, through one of 2020’s most high-profile releases: Brand New Animal, a Trigger production helmed by the distinguished Yoh Yoshinari, and written by Kazuki Nakashima. Given my experience with both those artists, I’m fully expecting the contrast between them to more or less define my impression of Brand New Animal – an expectation that I must admit has been solidified by having watched the show’s first two episodes.

So the deal is, Yoh Yoshinari is one of anime’s greatest working talents. He contributed beautiful, remarkably weighted animation for Gainax classics like Evangelion, and since following Imaishi to Trigger, he’s directed the charming Little Witch Academia, which grapples with SSSS.Gridman for the position as my favorite Trigger show. The man is a genuine treasure, and regardless of how Brand New Animal shakes out, my love for Yoshinari will hold firm.

Meanwhile, my impression of Kazuki Nakashima is that he basically can’t write at all. He’s gotten by so far by partnering with Hiroyuki Imaishi, whose stories don’t actually benefit from scripts, but his scripts and stories have themselves been uniformly unimpressive – Gurren Lagann had bad writing, Kill la Kill had bad writing, and Promare had bad writing. His stories are defined by simplistic characters, conflicts and worlds with too little grounding to evoke dramatic tension, and perpetual veering towards new conflicts, in order to mask his inability to construct any coherent long-term dramatic structure. I know that’s not exactly a universally agreed opinion, but it’s certainly mine; I have never been impressed by any element of Nakashima’s scripts, and feel you could replace him with a monkey who’s been taught to type “EXPLOSIONS!” without any significant impact on the quality of his work.

So that’s basically where I’m at: Yoshinari’s a genius, Nakashima’s a hack, and I’m warily intrigued to see how those flavors mix. Let’s get to it!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 17

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. We’ve been enjoying an absurd slate of top-tier Precure episodes lately, and today I’m eager to get back to the story. Both the Lulu-Emiru episode and the subsequent Junna-Aki followup stand among the greatest of Hugtto’s accomplishments, featuring remarkably expressive animation, dynamic storyboards, and some of the most endearing, impactful writing of the series so far. The unique back-and-forth of Lulu and Emiru’s unsteady friendship, the vivid cinematography of Junna and Aki’s falling out, the absurd highlights of both episode’s concluding battles; Hugtto’s been an embarrassment of riches lately, and I’m happy to fully understand why my friends love this show so much.

With all that said, my understanding from fans of the show is that things are going to settle back down a bit now, as the production only has so many all-star storyboarders and key animators. Fortunately, even if we’re not in for another aesthetic spectacle on the level of the last two, this episode has something else in its favor: an urgent cascade of narrative continuity. Both Lulu’s cover and true feelings have been exposed, and if Hana and her friends are going to help her, they might have to go on the offensive against Criasu Corp for the very first time. Let’s continue the story of their charming robot friend, as we ramble through one more episode of Hugtto Precure!

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Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 21

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. I hope you’re all keeping it together out there, and taking some time to treat yourself and maintain your mental health during this absurdly taxing time. I know that’s a reminder I have to give myself a lot – that I’m not necessarily feeling bad because of anything I did, and that I should learn to cut myself a bit more slack, because we’re all struggling with a uniquely demanding moment in history. It’s completely natural to feel overwhelmed by everything happening – if you try to bear the weight of all of it, all the time, you’re likely to be crushed.

All of this is to basically say that I could really use some Sun and Moon, as it’s turned into one of my own favorite emotional oases, and I can only hope it’s been similarly helpful to all of you. Not all art needs to challenge or devastate us; in a world filled with hardship, we also desperately need beautiful, charming works that help us get through the day, and remind us of our capacity for kindness and joy. Sun and Moon’s firm friendships and adventurous spirit are a steady comfort for me, and I hope you’re cheered up as well as we explore one more episode!

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Bodacious Space Pirates – Episode 7

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Hello everybody, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be returning to Marika’s journey through the stars, as she continues to adjust to life as the legal captain of the Bentenmaru. Last episode was fully dedicated to speeding us through this transition, and actually accelerated the show’s pacing considerably, relative to its methodical first act. We sped through the legal portion of the procedure, and moved swiftly into her training on board, culminating in her successfully leading her first boarding operation.

That climax, framed more as a theater performance than a heist, left me with a number of questions about the nature of piracy in this universe. Pirates were initially offered Letters of Marque due to being conscripted as mercenaries in a local war; but after all the planets in this sector were swept up into the Galactic Empire, their role seems to have shifted more to something like “preserving local heritage,” taking advantage of the Empire’s decision to respect local rules of governance. In light of that, I’m not really sure who the pirates are working “for” at this point, and their cultural role seems to mostly be a kind of local flavor, a performance you enjoy because you know every single thing on a cruise ship is heavily insured. That’s an interesting role to play, but I’d be the first to admit that my understanding of the overall politics of this situation is still pretty tenuous, and I’m eager to learn more about Marika’s strange world. Without further ado, let’s get right on that, and check out a new episode of Bodacious Space Pirates!

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Dorohedoro – Episode 2

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Hello everyone, and welcome the heck back. Today I’m eager to continue our exploration of Dorohedoro, one of 2020’s most compelling productions, and the adaptation of a manga that’s been beloved for two decades now. Since watching the first episode, I’ve learned that Dorohedoro creator Q Hayashida actually worked as an assistant for Tsutomu Nihei, which makes perfect sense – Nihei’s vast, crumbling cityscapes are the closest manga touchstone I could think of for Hole’s squalid beauty. But rather than use a setting like that to tell a story of alienation and decay, Hayashida instead has chosen to embrace it as a home; both of them clearly have a great love of grand, intricate architecture, but they employ that fascination in entirely different directions.

All that said, I wouldn’t want to give the impression that Dorohedoro is anything but Q Hayashida’s own invention. She started on this series in her early twenties, and worked on it for eighteen years, refining a cast and world that already seem thoughtfully composed and full of ideas. The gorgeous backgrounds, the alluring, messy systems of magic, the charming bond between Caiman and Nikaido – Dorohedoro is offering a diverse buffet of strengths, and I’m eager to see how it fleshes out its unique world. Let’s get to it!

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Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 20

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Hello everybody, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. The summer’s starting to wind down over on my side of the screen, and with the horror show that has been 2020 showing no signs of relenting, I think it’s well past time that we took another Alolan vacation. Sun and Moon’s last episode was actually one of its most technically impressive so far, with Ash’s rematch against Kapu-Kokeko standing as perhaps the most dynamically storyboarded and fluidly animated battle yet. Rather than relying on some of the banked attack animation that Pikachu frequently employs, this fight was all about spacing, speed, and physical contact, lending a tremendous sense of urgency and immediacy to Ash’s toughest fight so far.

Coming out of that battle, I’m expecting this next episode to likely recenter Ash on his Island Pilgrimage quest, springboarding off the renewed focus he exhibited while training. But whether Ash is pursuing fortune and fame or just lounging at the beach, I’m eager to get back Alola, and simply spend more time with this charming cast. Let’s get to it!

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The Big O – Episode 7

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to return to the shadowed streets of Paradigm, and enjoy another finely crafted episode of The Big O. I’ve got a bit of a natural bias against robot shows, or as I’d personally protest, I have no particular bias towards them – the fundamental concept of robots moving or fighting isn’t inherently interesting to me, and thus a lot of scenes in a lot of giant robot shows fall flat, predicated as they are on the inherent grandeur of robots in motion.

Not so for The Big O – when this show wants its robots to feel grand, it is impossible to deny their terrifying, strangely beautiful presence. The Big O’s robots combine the lumbering, not-quite-right scale of kaiju or early super robots with a street-level perspective born of the show’s noir roots, resulting in battles that consistently feel like the end of the world. With last episode’s musical drama having reaffirmed Roger and Dorothy’s relationship, I’m eager to see them continue to unlock Paradigm’s secrets. Let’s get to it!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 16

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to be returning to the always-charming and frequently visually dazzling Hugtto! Precure – in fact, I’m even more excited than usual, given just how good Hugtto’s previous episode was. That episode saw Emiru returning in a blaze of glory, teaming up with Lulu to teach her about music and friendship and stuff. Emiru rocketed to the top of my favorite characters within her very first opponent, and pairing her with the ostensibly emotionless Lulu was an inspired choice, as Lulu was able to learn from Emiru’s passion and sensitivity, while Emiru gained a bit of necessary self-confidence from Lulu’s support.

Along with last episode’s rich character chemistry and consistently excellent humor, it was also one of the show’s most visually impressive episodes so far, with Emiru in particular being brought to life through plentiful character acting and goofy expression work. But most importantly, while I was busy raving about last episode on twitter, I received a number of responses telling me to keep on watching through the next episode, since they’re apparently a matching, equally accomplished set of episodes. The wait from there to the point where I actually had the next episode funded was agony, but it’s over now, and we’re all set to dive back into Precure. Let’s see what the sequel to Emiru & Lulu’s Big Day has in store!

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Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 19

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Right now, I’m still mired in what I believe is known as the dog days of summer, where it’s too hot and humid out to even appreciate the sunshine. Meanwhile, with COVID preventing any sort of group outing that might distract from the heat, my current Survival Strategy is to sit within an air-conditioned room, silently staring at the blistering heat outside. This is not a particularly enthralling summer vacation experience, but fortunately, I know a place where the summer heat is always just right – Alola, a special archipelago that just so happens to also house a diverse menagerie of friendly, collectable creatures.

Last time on Sun and Moon, we joined Mallow in her quest for the perfect Alolan soup, a journey that ultimately resulted in Bounsweet evolving into the powerful high-kicking Tsareena, as well as the acquisition of aforementioned perfect soup. After a fair stretch of episodes that have all been episodic adventures, I’m somewhat expecting us to return to Ash’s island pilgrimage today – but if not, I’m also absolutely down for some kind of wacky one-off again, perhaps involving hot air balloons or an angry Miltank. Whatever’s in store, Sun and Moon is always a good time, so let’s dive right into our next episode!

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Symphogear AXZ – Episode 8

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The ancient rites have been completed and the door to eternity is cracking open, so I hope you folks are ready for another episode of SYYYYMPHOOOOGEAAAAAR! Last episode was mostly just a continuous series of battles from start to finish, but we did end up learning more about the internal dynamics of the Bavarian Illuminati – namely, that everyone except Tiki thinks Adam sucks, and are actually loyal to St. Germain. However, with Prelati potentially having been destroyed outright by the young Symphogears, and Adam now asking St. Germain to sacrifice her one remaining follower, it’s looking like the time for any potential leadership struggle may already be passed.

That’s generally how it goes with Symphogear, though – the enemy team starts with maybe a half dozen or so individual members, and gets whittled down over the second half of the season, leaving us with a climactic confrontation with whoever the biggest bad guy is. Structural forecasts aside, what I’m actually most looking forward to is seeing whatever new power mode Hibiki and her friends synthesize out of the “Fool’s Stone” that they’ve been seeking. Let’s hit the ground running with another episode of SYMPHOGEAR!

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