Chihayafuru S3 – Episode 5

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Hello all, and welcome back to Chihayafuru’s pre-Masters tournament! We return in the midst of the top eight, to a field that serves as the ultimate validation of Harada’s teaching style. While this tournament opened with all of the karuta societies’ various leaders bragging about their students, at this point, Harada has emerged as the clear victor. All four quarterfinal matches feature a member of his Shiranami Society, and even Harada himself is still in the running. After years of serving as Chihaya and Taichi’s most reliable ally and confidante, it’s wonderful to see his dedication to karuta and his students pay off in such stunning fashion.

This is no time to sit and celebrate, though! All four of Shiranami’s contenders are facing down tough opponents here, as Taichi squares off against long-time rival and admitted sadist Sudo, while Chihaya battles the actual former queen for a spot in the semis. Here in the third season, Chihaya’s ultimate dream no longer feels all that far away; Haruka might be rusty, but she’s still one of the best karuta players in the world. In a tournament that could very well serve as the ascension of a new karuta generation, Chihaya, Taichi, and Arata are all battling for themselves, for their friends, and for the dreams that have carried them this far. Let’s get to it!

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Fall 2019 – Week 6 in Review

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Pack it on in folks, it’s time for the Week in Review! We’ve somehow arrived at the season’s halfway point, and though this year’s increasingly rapid succession of days is a source of constant terror for me, it’s also a source of NEW CARTOONS! Today I’ve got plenty of new episodes to talk about, having finally caught up on Vinland Saga, and I’m eager to share all my hip-fired opinions with you fine people. From My Hero Academia at last starting its engine to Stars Align demonstrating some remarkable sports drama finess, we’ve got plenty to discuss regarding this week’s episodes. Let’s get to work!

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Scorching Ping Pong Girls – Episode 12

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Well folks, the moment has finally come. We have arrived at a simultaneously joyous and somber day, as we treat ourselves to the very last episode of Scorching Ping Pong Girls. This thrilling tale of table tennis triumph has been a highlight of the year for me, with the show regularly embodying the core appeals of both slice of life and sports drama. Scorching Ping Pong Girls seems to simply understand fun, and has worked hard every episode to instill its characters and competitions with passionate energy, arcs worth investing in, and clear, tactically coherent stakes. Additionally, its art design embraces the principles of animation-friendly design, with its iconic contrasts of colors, shapes, and visual motifs making for a dynamic and often stunning visual experience. Scorching Ping Pong Girls is the kind of show I’d never tire of; like Chihayafuru, Girls und Panzer, and a select few others, it is a perfect page-turner, a show you could watch from front to back without even noticing the time pass.

And now, sadly, that journey is coming to an end. As this is an incomplete adaptation of an ongoing manga, I’m not really expecting much closure from this episode, but that’s fine with me – I’m just happy to enjoy one more episode of this endlessly entertaining show. For the very last time, let’s check in with Scorching Ping Pong Girls!

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Chihayafuru S3 – Episode 4

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Alright folks, let’s settle in for one more episode of Chihayafuru! When last we left off, Chihayafuru and Taichi had each fought their way through the preliminary rounds of the pre-Masters qualifier tournament, securing two spots in the quarterfinals. For each of them, their route to this moment has involved stepping up their pro karuta game in major, demonstrable ways. On Chihaya’s side, her time spent focusing on her left arm, and increasing awareness of her own tactical choices, has led to her mastering a style somewhat near to Shinobu’s “silent karuta.” In contrast with her dramatic swings early in the series, she’s now embracing precision to use only just as much force is necessary. As a result, she was able to overcome last year’s Master challenger, who was admittedly out of practice, but still far from a pushover of an opponent.

On Taichi’s side, his often painful self-awareness seems to actually be reaping some positive dividends, as he now seems far better able to acknowledge his unproductive mental cycles, and attempt to rise above them. Of course, telling yourself not to be anxious isn’t necessarily a sure-fire way to end your own anxiety; fortunately, Taichi is also benefiting from the emotional support of his many trainers and teammates. As a result, Taichi has bolted to the top eight of his first-ever Class A tournament, a ridiculous feat that only underlines how long he’s actually belonged at this tier. And with Arata, Harada, and various other heavyweights in the mix, I’m sure we’ve got a pile of thrilling matches ahead of us. Let’s get back to Chihayafuru!

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Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 2

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m thrilled to be continuing one of my most recent Current Projects, as we explore the second episode of Pokemon Sun and Moon. Sun and Moon’s first episode was an end-to-end buffet of charming, flavorful character animation, from the remarkable expressiveness of Ash and his friends, to the unique and energetic movements of the colorful creatures around them. Setting aside the appeal of Pokemon specifically, that episode felt like a celebration of animation as a tool for humor, worldbuilding, and warmth, imbuing the episode with an expressiveness and fluidity that effortlessly brought Alola to life.

Of course, show premieres tend to be more fluidly animated in general, both because productions naturally want to create a strong first impression, and also because first episodes enjoy the healthiest production buffer, and most time to get difficult cuts completed. I doubt that second issue will be as relevant for a show with as rigid and long-running a schedule as Pokemon, but I’m still not expecting a feast to match the first; fortunately, it just so happens that Sun and Moon’s overt narrative offers plentiful hooks as well, from the long-term excitement of challenging each island’s master, to the day-to-day fun of hanging out with one of the franchise’s most endearing casts. Whatever the future holds, I’m happy to get back to Sun and Moon!

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Fall 2019 – Week 5 in Review

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Hey folks, and welcome back to the Week in Review! I’m unfortunately still behind on Vinland Saga, but I think I have a pretty good reason for it this time: I’ve spent the last four days feeling sick as a dog, coughing all through the night, and trying to make up on lost sleep all through the day. I’m feeling somewhat better now, but I’m also behind on basically all of my projects, so Vinland Saga will have to wait until next week.

Fortunately, this week’s other new episodes still gave me plenty to discuss! Legend of the Galactic Heroes is such a rich and politically acute production that each episode prompts a short essay’s worth of reflections, and Stars Align continues to stake a claim as one of the year’s very best dramas. Let’s break down all (er, most) of the latest anime highlights in one more Week in Review!

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Simoun – Episode 20

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It is with great expectations and more than a little fear that we return for the twentieth episode of Simoun. On the one hand, this show is brilliant. It started off by introducing an imposingly broad main cast, but has successfully humanized every single member of Chor Tempest, and built them into something very much like a family. At the same time, the show has consistently emphasized how all of Chor Tempest’s feelings are reflective of far larger conflicts within their society, with various characters’ loyalty to or emotional reliance on their patriotism, religious faith, or whatever else that moves them directly feeding back into their personal conflicts.

Simoun is one of those stories that demonstrates how thematically driven fiction can engage with complex, universally relevant subjects in a way that a direct essay or argument never could. By framing its thoughts on war, duty, and religion in the context of characters we’ve come to know so well, it demonstrates the true human complexity of these situations, and the paralyzing reality of discovering your country or faith was only a walled garden, and not the world itself.

On the other hand, Simoun has been really friggin’ mean! A few episodes ago we lost Limone and Dominura, who probably both fell within my top five characters in the show. Just last episode, we lost Mamiina, who was easily my favorite remaining character in the show. At the rate we’re hemorrhaging favorites, I expect the show’s final episode to focus on a heated argument between Bridge Adviser C and Overwhelmed Soldier E, with every actual named character having heroically sacrificed themselves. I’m impressed and annoyed at the same time, but either way, it’s time to move. Let’s see what tragedies await in Simoun’s latest episode!

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Chihayafuru S3 – Episode 3

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Alright everyone, we’ve not a moment to waste here. Chihayafuru’s third season has begun, and within two brief episodes, we’ve already found ourselves in the midst of one more tournament arc. While Chihayafuru is very comfortable executing on training arcs, episodic vignettes, and sequences focused on propelling its central relationships, it is undoubtedly most comfortable, and most entertaining, in the midst of its regular tournament arcs.

And why not? When it comes to stories based around one-on-one competitions like karuta, and particularly ensemble productions like this, the tournament arc is the most natural venue for compressing all of a narrative’s strengths into a concise dramatic structure, complete with naturally rising tension and a continuous feed of fresh antagonists. No need to find some contrived excuse for gathering and battling all your prior enemies: they’re there for the tournament, and that’s explanation enough. The trajectory of your protagonist can be balanced by the journeys of their friends, while the natural winnowing of a tournament’s progression means that as the active battles get more intense, the in-show audience is filled with beloved characters to cheer them on. As Nishida just demonstrated, even one-on-one tournaments don’t have to feel isolating: our heroes are fighting together, and given how well this show has built up all their relationships, I can truly believe in their camaraderie and mutual trust. Let’s dive back into Chihayafuru’s pre-Masters tournament!

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Princess Tutu – Episode 26

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As Gold Crown Town falls under the shadow of the Raven, and Rue is drawn back into her father’s malevolent clutches, I still can’t help but feeling total elation at how far our heroes have come, and how fully they have surpassed their roles in Drosselmeyer’s story. Rue has broken free of the raven’s influence, and declared a love for Mytho so sincere that it broke him free of his own shackles, and reversed his transformation into the Raven’s puppet. Fakir has accepted his role as storyteller rather than knight, and guided his friends towards an ending he hopes might save them all. Mytho has rejected the narrative of falling in love with Princess Tutu, and instead pledged himself to Rue at any cost. And Ahiru has accepted she might never be with the prince, but can feel only the slightest tinge of regret at that; after all, her feelings of distant adulation for Mytho were only ever the pangs of adolescent infatuation, combined with her own desire to express herself so freely and beautifully.

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Fall 2019 – Week 4 in Review

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Japanese broadcast scheduling issues have left us with an unusually “fun-sized” Week in Review this week, which is a term candy manufacturers use to market their smallest portions of candy, since “this candy has less candy than the other candies” is apparently a bad marketing pitch. All this is to say that only Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Stars Align actually aired this week, so that’s what we’ll be talking about! Fortunately, Legend of the Galactic Heroes and Stars Align are both incredibly good shows – Stars Align has not once let up on either its fluidity of animation or acuity of adolescent perspective, while Legend of the Galactic Heroes only becomes more gripping as it moves into the genuine meat of its drama. Let’s break down these two excellent franchises’ latest attractions in this fun-sized Week in Review!

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