Category Archives: Episode Writeup

Apocalypse Hotel – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out a fresh spring production that earned a pile of positive buzz, as we explore the first episode of Apocalypse Hotel. The show is an anime-original production (always a good sign) set in a post-apocalyptic world, where humanity has disappeared and only robots tend to our crumbling monuments, including our protagonist and current hotel manager.

It’s really no surprise we’ve been receiving a glut of apocalyptic media lately. Even a cursory glance at global politics will demonstrate that our present world order is in its endgame, and that if humanity survives both this reactionary social moment and our climate crisis, our societies will look significantly different than their current late-capitalist formation. Popular art reflects the psychological consequences of this understanding; some choose exodus from an intolerable reality (isekai), some cling to nostalgia (endless franchises and remakes), and some seek peace with a future that might not include humanity at all, as foretold in apocalyptic travelogues like Girls’ Last Tour and Kemurikusa.

The third of these perspectives seems the most clear-headed to me personally, and I’m thus happy to be embarking on another journey that accepts humanity might not be here much longer. As for our staff, director Kana Shundo appears to be taking a leap from primarily key animation-focused roles, while series composer Shigeru Murakoshi has written extensively for shows ranging from GARO to Zombie Land Saga. The team in general seems well-tuned for a character acting-heavy slice of life/comedy, and the show’s reputation seems to have borne that out. Let’s get to it!

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Yuki Yuna is a Hero (Hero Chapter) – Episode 2

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am frankly hesitant to announce that we are returning to Yuki Yuna is a Hero, as calamitous events surely draw closer to our long-suffering heroines in its ongoing Hero Chapter. You often hear that it’s always darkest before the dawn, but Yuki Yuna would strongly disagree – in fact, I hear it’s been working on developing a new, even darker night it calls “Night 2,” which will be taking the place of the dawn moving forward.

Of course, it’s not like we’re in a great spot to start with. After a mere half-episode of idyllic hero club shenanigans, our girls soon realized that something was terribly wrong, with Yuna and Nogi leading the charge in recalling their missing friend Togo. Having suffered through two sequential processes of fighting for the Divine Tree and watching her friends fall beside her, Togo has now disappeared from their lives altogether, presumably offering herself as a perpetual sacrifice to ensure no one else need suffer.

As ever, the Divine Tree has exploited Togo’s genuine commitment to her community, and frankly unwarranted guilt regarding her actions in the prior cycle, in order to make a feast of her better nature. It is not to gods or kings that we should declare our loyalty; it is to each other, to the people with whom we share our lives, and the community we hope to build together. Let’s get to it!

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Galaxy Express 999 – Episode 12

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am pleased as punch to announce that we’re shipping out aboard the Galaxy Express, joining Tetsuro and Maetel in their continued explorations of the sprawling and mysterious universe. What we may find is anyone’s guess, though we can be assured our investigations will uncover both fanciful scifi invention and sobering moral commentary, reminding us that the cruelty of society and tragedy of human ambition are constants wherever the tracks may take us.

Our last episode directly challenged Tetsuro’s pursuit of a metallic body, as he encountered creatures living formless lives with no stable bodies of their own. Their yearning for Tetsuro’s stability recalled to mind Shadow’s desperate coveting of her own abandoned form, raising a question of whether a new body can truly make us happy, or if we are simply doomed to feel forever insufficient with the form we are granted. And even if we do treasure our bodies, we must contend with the reality that nothing organic lasts – or refuse to, as the suicidal lovers of the episode’s end chose. Is it better to accept mortality or flaunt it through proud self-destruction – these and other classic children’s cartoon questions as we return to Galaxy Express 999!

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Kiss x Sis OVA – Episode 3

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It’s 2017, and America is ruled by a mad king. I sit staring at my monitor, questioning what possible sequence of life choices has led to me reviewing Kiss x Sis.

It’s 2023, and the world is a plague-ridden wasteland. I sit staring at my monitor, questioning what possible sequence of life choices has led to me reviewing Kiss x Sis.

It’s 2025, and we voted for the mad king again. Science is illegal and America is a failed state. Fuck it, we ball.

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Rock is a Lady’s Modesty – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d take a stroll past Shoushin Academy, and check in on Lilisa’s continuing struggle between high-class propriety and raucous sincerity. Having endeavored for a full month to embody all the values demanded by both her academy generally and mother specifically, she has found herself no closer to genuinely, internally embracing those values. She has not learned to love Big Brother; it all still feels like bullshit to her, and that frustration has built until it demanded release, which she has found in the infuriating form of Otoha Kurogane.

Otoha appears to have no difficulty navigating this philosophical dichotomy, freely admitting to Lilisa that rock music is something entirely for her, a private fascination she can “lose herself in” before returning to the expectations of Shoushin. But is it truly possible for rock’s message of liberation to thrive in these narrow cages, or is she merely hoping to embrace rock’s indulgence while denying its ethos? Is the fire that rages in Lilisa’s soul nothing more than a costume Otoha can assume or discard at will? Let’s find out!

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The Fire Hunter – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to the melancholy journey of Touko and her charge Kanata, as the pair navigate the hostile, decaying world of The Fire Hunter. Having been assigned the treacherous task of returning a dead fire hunter’s dog to the capital, Touko hitched a ride aboard one of the mighty forest-traversing trains that connect humanity’s remote villages. Unfortunately, her selfless spirit again compelled her to leave the train in pursuit of the runaway bride Kaho, and her failure to heed the train’s rules has meant she will soon be dropped off, forced to brave the forest and its demons all on her own.

That’s perfectly fine by me; every moment spent exploring this world offers tiny treasures, from the ambiguous, evocative details of humanity’s downfall, to the humble human stories Rieko Hinata so skillfully weaves into its margins. Hinata writes with the confidence and precision of a master, and the show’s character designs and background art are doing a marvelous job of bringing her melancholy world to life. It’s already apparent that this production is having to stretch to make animated ends meet, but I’ll always prefer an ambitious failure over a mundane success, and The Fire Hunter is nothing if not ambitious. Let’s return to the journey!

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BanG Dream! Ave Mujica – Episode 6

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I announce with great trepidation that we are returning to BanG Dream! Ave Mujica, as our various forlorn mujicians all wallow in their own forms of mental illness. Well, except for Nyamu, she’s thriving, but you know there’s no keeping a good Nyamu down. And of course, Umiri spent the last episode studiously avoiding giving a shit about anything beyond her twenty-nine remaining bands. But the rest of our girls? Hoo boy.

Having attempted through Ave Mujica to foment a rebellion against a life of dependency and self-hatred, Sakiko has retreated in shame, returning to her grandfather’s home and accepting that she may well always hate herself. She is surrounded by reminders of the mother she lost and father who abandoned her, seeing herself as little different from her treasured porcelain doll. Having abandoned Uika and broken Mutsumi, she now accepts what she sees as her destined punishment, a life of staring through the glass at the vitality embodied by those who are truly free.

Uika is a false smile stretched thin over a shuddering doll, still obsessed with Sakiko, and increasingly incapable of maintaining her professional affectation. And Mutsumi has left the building, having retreated so far inside herself that even Mortis seems worried about her, begging her other self to please come home. With our heroines in such dire straits, it now apparently falls to the MyGO girls to rescue them, as the Anon/Tomori combo interrogates Sakiko and friggin’ Soyo of all people reaches out to Mutsumi. Will this collaboration make Ave Mujica better, or only make MyGO worse? I’m terrified to find out, but here we go!

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Dear Brother – Episode 11

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today it is time once again to iron our uniforms and dry our tears, as we return to Seiren Academy for a fresh episode of Dear Brother. In the wake of Shinobu’s harrowing birthday party, our last episode saw the poor girl embarking on some kind of friendship hunger strike, hoping to regain Nanako’s affection or literally die trying. But after a stern lecture from Kaoru regarding the value of her health, as well as a visit from Nanako to her hospital bedside, it seems like Shinobu may well be at peace for the first time in her melodramatic existence.

This is certainly great news for Nanako, who has worries enough without a self-destructive stalker haunting her steps. Instead, we now have the girl who once memorably called Nanako’s bully a “child of a rat-dog” back on her side, ready to escalate basically any confrontation into a manic spectacle. Dear Brother strikes at real anxieties regarding adolescence and our roles in society, but it does so with a melodramatic flare that can always benefit from Shinobu’s exceedingly bad ideas, and perpetual willingness to embody the “my friend got mad at me, so now I am going to starve” intensity of teen emotions. Thank you Ikeda, thank you Dezaki, and thank you readers for joining me on this delightfully histrionic adventure. Let’s get to it!

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Shoushimin Series – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d check back in on the heroes of Shoushimin Series, though I’m sure they themselves would shirk at such an appellation. Claiming a mutual dedication to the pursuit of normalcy, Osanai and Jogoro are determined to not make any waves, with Jogoro asserting that even his acquaintanceship with Kengo is merely an affirmation of their arcane value system. But normal people do not prize normalcy; in their very preoccupation with assuming this camouflage, our leads reveal themselves as distinctive, self-denying oddities.

Our last episode revealed just how much of a mask Jogoro has seemingly adopted, as Kengo grilled him on his transformation from an inquisitive, conceited know-it-all to a self-effacing cipher. Jogoro claims there was no impetus behind this transformation beyond the natural softening of age, and yet fragments of his old self are perpetually leaking through, so much so that even Osanai has preemptively forgiven him for “returning to how you were when I first met you.” So we are left once again with Kengo’s unanswered question, as to what Jogoro is attempting to achieve through seeking “normalcy,” or rather what he is trying to avoid by denying his talents. For Oreki, the fear of embracing his talent stemmed from a fundamental lack of self-worth, as acknowledging them carried an implicit responsibility to make use of them – a fear he would ultimately overcome through his desire to be a partner worthy of standing at Chitanda’s side. Here, Osanai is performing the opposite role, validating Jogoro’s refusal to embrace his full self. But what is it that makes Jogoro so afraid of his own talent, and why is Osanai so attached to this project as well? The mysteries keep stacking as we return to Shoushimin Series!

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Blue Reflection Ray – Episode 10

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we stand on the precipice of apocalypse as we return to Blue Reflection Ray, in the wake of Momo’s revelatory confrontation with her former partner Mio. There’s apparently a good reason why Momo’s memories of their partnership are unclear: she actually died in the wake of their final defeat, alongside everyone else in this world. But the universe has provided our reflectors another chance to make good, and this time, Mio is determined to achieve victory no matter the cost.

This explanation does a fine job of explaining Mio’s actions so far, as sacrifices made and bridges burned in order to save those she loves, even if they themselves cannot understand her actions. It also offers more context regarding this whole reflector paradigm, which is apparently an instrument of a higher organization that has somehow spun off its tracks, leaving both blue and red reflectors with no certain purpose. That in turn furthers Blue Reflection Ray’s thematic conflict, challenging Momo’s assertion that the only antidote to trauma is drawing it into the light. As Mio said, that might work perfectly fine for someone as strong as Momo or Miyako, but what about Niina, or Kana? Without a support structure and strong sense of self, simply facing your trauma isn’t likely to resolve it; as such, it is likely that both red and blue reflectors have their place, each a necessary aid in the protection and liberation of those imprisoned by their darkest feelings. Let’s see if these girls can find some common ground as we return to Blue Reflection Ray!

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