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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Summer 2020 – Week 10 in Review

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Pack it on in folks, it’s time for the Week in Review. This week I barreled through a pretty strange selection of feature films; the closest thing to an acknowledged classic was Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, but aside from that, I was essentially guided by the whims of my streaming services’ recent additions. The Almighty Algorithm actually did a pretty reasonable job this time, though I had to toss in a recent horror pick of my own, because what week is complete without introducing a new monster into your nightmares? I think that about covers the shape of the week, so without further ado, let’s break down some new movies!

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Why It Works: Animating the Impossible, the Breathtaking Works of Kou Yoshinari

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This week, I actually took my Why It Works inspiration from an airing show, though not one I’m actually watching. It turns out Kou Yoshinari showed up to flex his incomparable animation talents on Sword Art Online, which seemed like a fine opportunity to celebrate just how impressive Yoshinari’s skills truly are. The man makes animation that no other person could create, and exemplifies the simultaneously individualist yet collaborative anime ethos, where any one artist can leave an unmistakable mark on a production. Let’s get to it!

Animating the Impossible: The Breathtaking Works of Kou Yoshinari

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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Summer 2020 – Week 9 in Review

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week marked the end of an era I commenced several months ago, when I first told my housemate “hey, you should finish Adventure Time so we can check out Steven Universe.” Having at last arrived at the end of Steven Universe Future, I can happily affirm that Steven sits comfortably alongside Avatar: The Last Airbender at the absolute peak of non-Japanese animation. Along with Steven, I also caught on anime’s own current thematic juggernaut Deca-Dence, and even snuck in a viewing of Bill and Ted’s first adventure. Let’s break ’em all down in the Week in Review!

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Fall 2020 Season Preview

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Yes, yes, I know, it’s absurd. It feels like the summer season just began, and now we’re already looking towards the fall? Well, in spite of 2020 largely feeling like a torturous repetition of the One Eternal Day, the calendar has indeed been moving forward, and we now find ourselves with only three weeks until fall premieres descend. Whether we are ready or not, a new season is coming – so all we can really do is assess the far horizon, and gird our defenses for the storm to come.

As usual, my selections here won’t cover every single show in the new season – you can find a resource like that at anichart, along with straightforward summaries of everything that’s coming. Instead, I’ll be focusing just on the shows I think have genuine potential, and explaining precisely what about their staff or source material or whatnot got my attention. Without further ado, let’s explore some upcoming cartoons!

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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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