Hello everyone, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. You all ready for some Sun and Moon? It’s been a few weeks on my end since I last indulged in a pokemon episode, and life’s troubles have been dutifully piling up on my back in the meantime, so I think it’s past time I let down my burden, and just let Sun and Moon be good for a while. The show’s last episode was a delightful tribute to Speed Racer, and also a celebration of the humble Charjabug, as Sophocles received his requisite level-up episode to match Lana, Kaki, and Mallow’s recent adventures. Given how these cycles go there’s a fair chance we’ve got a Lillie episode approaching, but Sun and Moon is full of surprises, and they’re pretty much all pleasant ones. Let’s not waste another moment then, and dive right back into Sun and Moon!
86 – Episode 1
Hello everyone, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll once again be watching an actual ongoing show, as my generous supporters (that’s you guys!) are keen on facilitating some more timely criticism. This time we’ll be checking out 86, a show that I’ve heard has some pretty solid production chops, but whose light novel origins stopped my interest cold. I’ll admit it, I’ve basically called a personal moratorium on watching light novel adaptations; I generally find their writing sophomoric and frustrating, and since I no longer have to watch every premiere or review seasonal anime, I no longer have to deliberately watch things that I know will frustrate me. That said, the volume of praise this adaptation has been receiving did pique my interest, so it feels worth checking in on how exemplary this production is; I have my own media preferences, but am always open to being wrong about something (I mean, it’s in the site title). Let’s see what everyone’s been talking about, and stroll through the first episode of 86!
Spring 2021 – Week 7 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. We have got a lot to get through today, and a bunch of it is actually anime-related this time! I finally checked out the Given movie, filled in one of the great remaining gaps in my Gainax knowledge, and even watched Netflix’s Death Note movie – along with which, of course, there was plenty of the usual horror and One Piece. Our One Piece momentum has slowed down just a tad, but we were still able to bound through the Sabaody Archipelago, while leaving more room to return to my crawl through cinema history. We’ve got a lot to break down and I assume you’re supposed to be working or studying right now, so let’s get right to the Week in Review!
Big Windup! – Episode 2
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! Today I’m eager to get back to a property that’s lain dormant for far too long, the intriguing baseball drama Big Windup! Though my initial excitement for this property was centered on Tsutomu Mizushima’s presence as the director, Big Windup!’s first episode proved the core material being adapted is already brimming with punchy, narrative-friendly ideas. Rather than focusing on a team of idealists all trying to Do Their Best, Big Windup! has so far been driven by the whims of Abe, a psychological mastermind determined to manipulate his team into greatness. Abe’s perspective offers a unique tactical twist on the sports drama standard, and the show’s already promising some intriguing tension between his and captain Momoe’s perspectives. Beyond that, it’s too early to tell where this series may lead, so let’s get right to business then. Onward to Big Windup!
Dorohedoro – Episode 11
Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Are you ready to storm En’s goddamn mansion!? After a season’s worth of Caiman and Nikaido hunting Risu, while En and his enforcers hunted them, Nikaido has at last been captured, and even forced to sign a partnership contract with En. It’s hard to imagine we’ll be veering back into baseball episodes and zombie festivals anytime soon; Nikaido’s capture has made for a major paradigm shift, and until this situation is resolved, all eyes are on En’s compound.
It’s hard for me to imagine how Dorohedoro might return back to its “neutral state” after this arc, but this show has demonstrated an unusual capacity to normalize seemingly impossible narrative shifts. I thought Caiman having his head chopped off would probably shift things up; his head had regrown by the next morning. I thought going into the world of the sorcerers might finally push Caiman and Nikaido’s journey forward; that ended in failure and a hard reset, too. This situation is certainly different, in that we’re now resolving one of the conflicts that has driven Dorohedoro from its beginning, but I could easily believe that after all of this, both En and Caiman’s associates end up happily sharing a meal together. Of course, that would resolve one of the major sources of tension that’s been driving Dorohedoro from the start, so the question then becomes – what replaces that conflict?
To answer that, I think we need to know why En has been so desperate to get his hands on time magic. That’s the puzzle piece I’m hoping for from this episode, but Dorohedoro clearly delights in subverting expectations, so I’m happy to play it by ear. Let’s uncover some new secrets in the world of Dorohedoro!
ODDTAXI – Episode 1
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out another currently airing show, as I’ve been hearing all manner of wild things about Odd Taxi. Sources have reported that Odd Taxi’s dialogue and structure put it squarely in “how the hell was this ever greenlit” territory, and I’m always down for an anime that’s artistically ambitious and relentlessly unmarketable. Even the show’s staff is profoundly strange: Odd Taxi’s director Baku Kinoshita has no other anime credits, yet has handled every single storyboard for the show so far, along with its character designs. My only expectations so far are “refreshingly human conversations between genuinely adult characters,” so with that frustratingly rare treasure in mind, let’s dive right into the show. What’s your deal, Odd Taxi?
Spring 2021 – Week 6 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. I ran through a diverse grab bag of films this week, including a few recent features, an old horror classic, and some genuine bullshit. I generally prefer silence when I’m not actively watching something, but one of my housemates is most relaxed when there’s some sort of background noise in the environment, so we tend to compromise with films that categorically could not command our attention: The Meg, G.I. Joe, etcetera. Along with that, I’ve also been surging ahead through One Piece, and have now blown entirely past Thriller Bark. It was a productive week and I’ve got plenty to talk about, so let’s get right to it and dive into the Week in Review!
Why It Works: How Usopp the Liar Became a True Hero in One Piece
You all knew this One Piece rampage would inspire some articles eventually, right? Well, here’s the opening salvo, as we explore the journey of my current favorite One Piece character. Usopp’s journey was fascinating to me for several reasons, but the article’s right there, so you might as well click through. I really enjoyed writing this one!
How Usopp the Liar Became a True Hero in One Piece
Horimiya – Episode 3
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d like to dig back into Horimiya, which has so far proven to be a compelling but lopsided production, with some clear strengths and weaknesses. On the positive side, the show’s character writing has proven quite good so far, with its main cast offering nuanced, multifaceted personalities that incorporate not just goals and attitudes, but also a variety of personal quirks, interests, and anxieties. Combined with the show’s refreshingly grounded dialogue and general avoidance of melodrama, the overall package feels remarkably true to life, an earnest and unpretentious exploration of adolescent feelings.
On the negative side, the adaptation so far has felt awkwardly disjointed, with clear break points delineating each episode’s mini-conflicts, rather than any sense of congruity or ongoing, escalating drama. Because of this, it’s hard to really sink into the fiction of their daily life; it frequently feels like they’re performing a set of skits, rather than simply living through day-to-day interactions. Additionally, while Masashi Ishihama is doing a fine enough job directing, it’s becoming clear that Horimiya will offer far fewer opportunities for his expressive compositional flourishes than something like From the New World. Ishihama might simply be better suited to works he can storyboard from the ground up, rather than adapting manga panels; either way, this adaptation’s conservative approach is limiting it in a few ways, so I’m hoping the staff embrace a little more flexibility going forward. With all that in mind, let’s poke through the third episode of Horimiya!
The Girl in Twilight – Episode 10
Well team, I don’t think we’re doing so great. The group’s journey to Seriousuka’s home dimension played out in the worst possible way; not only did they fail to prevent the King of Twilight’s attack, but it was actually Yu herself who let their enemy in, leading to the wholesale destruction of Seriousuka’s sanctuary. Now Asuka and her friends have to carry the weight of failing an entire dimension on their backs, have lost their most competent ally, and are still no closer to preventing the corruption of the multiverse. I have a feeling the time for dress-up tea shop digressions is entirely behind us.
Things may be going terribly for our heroines, but in narrative terms, all these disasters sound like great news to me. So far, Asuka has spent this entire series running from responsibility. Her personal character journey of taking adulthood seriously has been mirrored by the larger scifi narrative, as each of her friends in turn come to some key realization about their goals and identity. In the face of all this growth, Asuka has steadfastly held on to her childlike identity – but now that this girl who was like a sister to her has suffered because of her team, can she really continue to take things so lightly? You know I like putting characters through the crucible, so I’m ready for an identity crisis of some kind as we storm towards the finale. Let’s get to it!