ODDTAXI – Episode 5

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Well Odokawa, what will you do now? In spite of the man’s apparent desire to lead a quiet life, trouble just keeps managing to find him. This latest catastrophe isn’t even his fault, really; after all, could any of us be blamed for wanting to escape the grey doldrums of their daily life, and spend some time with a friend like Shirakawa? But purposefully or not, Odokawa has now attracted the undying hatred of Tanaka, a man who, having failed to acquire his dodo jpeg, truly has nothing to lose.

ODDTAXI’s last episode was a tapestry of alienation, a character study as pointed and convincing as anything in the medium. In a show that’s already captured the loneliness of modern society from a half-dozen angles, Tanaka’s story felt like a journey to the heart of darkness, the dislocation of a story like Taxi Driver transposed to the predatory mechanics of mobile games. Tanaka’s antisocial tendencies, addictive personality, and inferiority complex all latched onto Zooden with glee, dragging an already-unhappy man to the point where his self-worth lived and died alongside a digital dodo. When you’re as emotionally distanced from the world as Tanaka, simply becoming an instrument with purpose can seem like salvation – and with his dodo gone, the blue flame has awoken in Tanaka, telling him his purpose is Odokawa’s destruction. Let’s see how all these lonely souls survive another gripping episode of ODDTAXI!

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The Girl in Twilight – Episode 11

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We’re truly in it now, folks. After already having consumed Seriousuka’s home dimension, the Emissary of Twilight has journeyed on to Asuka’s own world, and revealed itself to be a third Asuka altogether. Except this Asuka is tiny, so I guess that makes it Chibi Asuka? Smolsuka? I like Smolsuka, I’m going with that.

Anyway, as my cavalier attitude might indicate, I’m not terribly worried about how this whole King of Twilight conflict plays out. The show itself has rarely hung much dramatic weight on its scifi trappings; instead, we get goofy stuff like Cowboy World, playful venues for our heroines to go on adventures. The solidity of the fantastical trappings has been consistently loose because the show’s dramatic bedrock lies elsewhere: in the utterly convincing friendships between Asuka and her friends, and in its consistent reflections on what it means to assume a mature identity. One by one, Asuka’s friends have had their preconceptions about their identities challenged, and emerged stronger for it – but for Asuka, embracing a new self feels like a betrayal of her lost brother. At this point, I’m holding out for Yu still somehow reaching her – but either way, I’m eager to see how her journey ends. Let’s get to it!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 24

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At last, our mysterious villain has shown his face. With the ultimately sympathetic Popple having been defeated and rehabilitated, Criasu Corp has extended its claws further than ever, introducing both Doctor Trauma and its actual president, George Criasu. As expected, the mystery man who’d always been accompanied by such evocative visual fanfare was George himself, a man determined to halt unhappiness and injustice by locking the world in a perpetual stasis. Fortunately, just as our nefarious foe unveiled his plan, Hana unlocked her own potential: the ability to end stasis, and drive the world into forward motion through the same cheerful, unerring support she’s always offered.

Hugtto as a whole is a story about the natural insecurities of growing older, deciding who you want to be as an adult, and taking steps to achieve that dream. This process is difficult and frightening, and there are times when all of us doubt our path or potential, falling into static cycles rather than progressing forward. In the face of this universal experience, Hana stands as the ultimate champion of forward progress, someone principally defined by her ability to encourage others and push them onward. With Hugtto’s narrative and thematic cores now fully aligned, I’m looking forward to seeing Hana embrace this power, while hopefully teaching her friends to offer the encouragement that she cannot offer herself. Can Hana truly accept that she is just as valuable and strong as all the friends she cheers for? Let’s find out!

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Summer 2021 – Week 2 in Review

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. I’m proud to report that I was fully back on board the classics train this week, as I powered through three essential films that were all high on my to-watch list. One Piece still dominates a fair portion of the household’s viewing hours, but I’ve been making a point of setting some evenings aside, and should hopefully be back on a more reliable film schedule going forward. As for One Piece itself, we’re currently near the end of Whole Cake Island, meaning I will soon be watching One Piece’s incomplete, ongoing current arc.

That fact seems absurd to me. Just one year ago, One Piece was an implacable monument, a challenge I might get around to once I’d retired or something. I’d never have dreamed the show would evolve into something as gripping and dramatically complex as Hunter x Hunter – but here I am, emphatically wrong, happily equipped with the knowledge that there are two outstanding shonens in the world, and one of them is a legit fantasy epic. Anyway, let’s get to the movies!

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Wonder Egg Priority – Episode 9

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At last, the curtain has been pulled back, and the man behind it is a face we’ve seen before. Wonder Egg Priority has finally put its fantasy chips on the table, drawing a direct connection between Neiru’s Plati research and the wonder egg system itself. Acca and Ura-Acca have been revealed as the manipulators they always seemed to be, tormentors dangling salvation in front of these girls in order to either claim their power, or simply gather more research. Parallel worlds not only exist, but can be accessed through dreams – and by harnessing the powers of these dreams, Plati seems intent on mastering reality itself.

But all of that is ultimately secondary to what last episode was actually about. Confronted with the imminent death of her sister, Neiru turned to her friends for help, and at last shared the difficult personal circumstances that have made her who she is. Though she framed Kotobuki’s death in clinical terms, their last meeting proved just how much Neiru cared about her friend, and how difficult it was for her to let go. And as always, Ai was there to support her, sharing the guilt of freeing Kotobuki from her imprisonment, and reaffirming her kindness and emotional strength. Though Ai still grapples with self-hatred and a general feeling of disconnection with the world, her acts of kindness towards Neiru, Rika, and Momoe demonstrate a profound empathy and strength of character.

Of course, this is not your usual magical girl world. This is our world, where virtues like empathy are frequently reframed as weakness, and girls are abused and commodified by a nepotistic structure that assumes male superiority. It’s no surprise that Ai thinks she has no value; society has told her, and all of her friends, that the things which make them great have no purpose in this world. The only virtue they’re asked to perform is submission – but with Rika and Momoe having overheard the scheming of their enemies, I’m thinking the time for politely completing egg trials has passed. Can these four girls band together and fight for their right to happiness? I’m really hoping so; I’m not sure my heart could take it otherwise.

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Adachi and Shimamura – Episode 7

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Oh my god Adachi, what the hell are you doing. After a full episode of working herself up to asking Shimamura on a date, and another episode of screaming internally all through that date, she ultimately capped off Christmas by declaring her intent to become Shimamura’s… best friend. The girl is a mess, but Shimamura isn’t exactly helping. She can clearly recognize Adachi’s much stronger feelings, and isn’t really sure what to do about them. Paralyzed by indecision about her future course, she sees reciprocating Adachi’s feelings as a step too far – and if she acknowledges them without reciprocating them, their current relationship would collapse. The two are currently progressing by telling each other lies that they both know are lies, and if that’s not the proper foundation for a lasting relationship, I don’t know what it is.

However this mess plays out, I’m sure it’ll be as entertaining and thoughtfully observed as the road so far. Let’s dive back into the mess of emotions that is Adachi and Shimamura!

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ODDTAXI – Episode 4

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The rain hasn’t stopped for hours. When I first woke up, the sky seemed clear enough; but of course, I slept through my first alarm, and thus slept through my chance to start the day with some kind of head-clearing walk or jog. That failure heralded a cascade of other minor tragedies, as long-term wellbeing projects were once more shelved for the day, with the hope of “I’ll get to that tomorrow” tempered by the reality of all the tomorrows where I failed to get to them. For now, for today, let’s just focus on the job, and the maintenance required just to keep the lights on.

Welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be returning to ODDTAXI, a show which has so far captured the mundane adult experience with more acuity than virtually any anime I’ve seen. Its characters slump with the fatigue of professional fatalism and personal isolation; bereft of purpose or community, they cling to the hollow affirmation of social media, or simply accept that life will always be like this. These bedraggled misfits are my people – I also feel most alone when scrolling through tweets, yet can’t help crave that dwindling dopamine rush of online validation. It’s not the internet’s fault that we are all fundamentally alone; it has merely underlined the issue, and offered the opportunity to reinvent ourselves as brands rather than individuals. In a world as segmented and dehumanizing as this, perhaps that’s the best we can hope for.

Well, I hope Odokawa makes it out okay. Let’s return to ODDTAXI.

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Summer 2021 – Week 1 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. According to the anime season-based schedule that I’m still pointlessly employing, this is technically the first week of the summer, which greeted us with a scorching heat wave followed by an inexplicable cold front. This was also the week that saw me getting sick as a dog for the first time since quarantine began, and thus unable to power through quite as many films as I’d have liked. I still ended up with a pretty diverse selection of features though, from films to live-action series to the inexorable procession of One Piece. I hope you’re all enjoying these meteorological harbingers of doom as best as you can, and if not, perhaps my rambling can at least distract you for a moment or two. Let’s storm on through another Week in Review!

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Big Windup! – Episode 4

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Hello all, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am beyond eager to return to Big Windup!, as we’ve finally arrived at our team’s first actual game. After three episodes of Abe and Mihashi struggling to connect, witnessing Mihashi’s treatment by his former teammates finally gave Abe the context he needed – he now understands where Mihashi is coming from, and what’s more, he actively sympathizes. Abe doesn’t just want to manipulate his pitcher, he wants his pitcher to succeed, and I’m guessing that means we’re going to see some real cunning from our scheming catcher. The show’s premiere offered a brief taste of how Abe can use his opponents’ psychology against them, and since then, each episode has only reaffirmed Big Windup!’s insightful approach to its characterization and drama. With Mihashi’s old teammates arrayed against them, I’m looking forward to a thrilling fusion of sports tactics and psychological drama. Let’s get to it!

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86 – Episode 2

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Hello all, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be returning to the spring production 86, a war drama about a world where the citizens of the eighty-five known districts are supported by the suffering of the eighty-six, an underclass that they don’t even really see as humans. So far, my feelings on the production are somewhat mixed. The direction is generally excellent, and seems far more ambitious in terms of its visual storytelling than most productions; unfortunately, the writing so far has been pretty simplistic, with both the worldbuilding and the individual line-to-line dialogue lacking in much nuance or voice.

The show’s vision of prejudice feels too abstracted into fantasy to really bite as human drama; but there’s obviously plenty of time to get to know these characters as people, such that their conditions might cut with the sharp edge of emotional investment. The finale of the first episode was able to evoke a sense of personal tragedy with a remarkable economy of scene-setting, so I’m hoping things continue to improve throughout the second episode. Let’s get to it!

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