Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and I am eager to get outside for a jog, yet nonetheless will heroically soldier on through this Week in Review. It’s actually been quite a productive week over here, as the return of my party’s rogue (well, first rogue – we’re a rogue-heavy bunch) from vacation instigated a rapid series of DnD sessions. Our party fought honey-cultivating bears, were harassed by a small nation of devils, and ultimately clashed with a leviathan made entirely of repeating, segmented hands, leaving them trapped in a temple at the ocean’s floor. I’ll probably let them out sometime in the next week, but until that report lands, let’s check in on the wild world of cinema. It’s time for the Week in Review!
Hugtto! Precure – Episode 49
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today is a bittersweet moment indeed, as we at last reach the conclusion of the emphatically charming Hugtto! Pretty Cure. After having brought so much joy to both her familiar town and us in the audience, Hana and her friends will be charging towards the camera and greeting us for the very last time, before racing off towards their shining futures. Popple, Dr. Traum, Hugman, and all the rest – it feels like we’ve come to know this community intimately, which only makes it that much harder to say goodbye.
Of course, to lament the necessity of moving forward would be to disregard all the lessons Hugtto has worked to instill in both its characters and its viewers. The future need not be a source of fear or anxiety; it is forever an opportunity, an open canvas, a chance for transformation and renewal. Just as Saaya and Homare grappled with their shifting ambitions, just as Popple and Gelos picked themselves up and charted a new path forward, so must we bid farewell to this persistent source of comfort and cheer, this show that has been a companion to me for years now. Hugtto was wonderful, but its spirit assures me that there are still many wonders ahead. Now let’s finish strong!
Yuki Yuna is a Hero (Washio Sumi Chapter) – Episode 6
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I announce with great trepidation that we are returning to Yuki Yuna is a Hero, and concluding Togo’s ill-fortuned first tour as a defender of the divine tree. In the early episodes, I occasionally felt eager for the other shoe to drop, to at least save us from the anxiety of watching these girls come to care for each other, knowing the cruel fate awaiting them. Now I know I was too naive; this production’s mastery of torment is simply too well-honed, its hooks barbed with a heart-rending acuity of convincing, incidental characterization. I was able to genuinely believe in the bond between these three, and that has made the fallout all the harder.
Now, with Gin having nobly sacrificed herself to an ignoble cause, our two remaining heroes stand awakened but depleted. Even if they were to challenge the authority of the divine tree, what would be left for them? They exist wholly within its sphere of influence, and to falter now would be to betray the faith Gin fought and died for – not as a sacrifice to the divine tree, but as a proud defender of her friends and family, who would give everything without question that the people she loves might carry on. We cannot always choose our cause, but that is not to say we can’t choose our conviction; for Togo and Nogi, the fight continues for Gin’s sake, and for all the dreams they once shared.
Mezzo Forte – Episode 2
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re swerving into the second half of Yasuomi Umetsu’s Mezzo Forte, a stylish slice of exuberant sex and violence from one of anime’s premiere grindhouse titans. The first episode of this OVA featured dynamic action scenes aplenty, from a negotiation prematurely ended by an exploding sex robot to an eight-lane gunfight at a local bowling alley. Along the way, our so-called heroes kidnapped corrupt baseball team owner Momikichi Momoi, only to discover they’d somehow killed him along the way.
I imagine that won’t sit well with Momokichi’s psychotic daughter Momomi, meaning we’re likely in for a Terminator-style manhunt, as Mikura and her companions evade Momomi’s clutches while attempting to divine the connection between them. Regardless, I’m expecting a fresh slate of inventive, smartly constructed, and beautifully executed action setpieces, sequences demonstrating an understanding of cinematic action language that goes far beyond “fluid motion and fight choreography.” Great action scenes tell a story, using their environmental variables to create successions of challenges for their stars to overcome, and perhaps even expressing a sort of visual communication through the divergent styles and approaches of their contenders. Let’s see what madness awaits as Mezzo Forte rides towards its cacophonous conclusion!
Spring 2025 – Week 4 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This was a productive week in One Piece writing, as I finally broke down the main thematic concerns of Fishman Island over on Crunchyroll. I’ve frankly wanted to write that piece ever since I first watched the series, so I was happy to use the recent Fishman Island “update” as an excuse for it, even if I’d caution against actually using that update to replace the original series. I frankly agree the arc could use some tightening, but they just cut too close to the bone here – the central flashback sequence desperately needs time to breath, and this version resultantly loses the impact of Koala’s presence. Nonetheless, it’s exciting to be back in Egghead as the anime jumps back into gear, and as usual, my weekly anime viewings were complimented by a fun scattering of films. Let’s break ‘em down!
Galaxy Express 999 – Episode 9
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am thrilled to announce we’re returning to the ever-enchanting Galaxy Express 999, joining Tetsuro and Maetel on their ambiguous journey towards the outer reaches of the galaxy. Having become trapped in the “graveyard at the bottom of gravity” by the ambiguous Ryuz, Tetsuro was invited to join her on her lonely planet, and learned her tale of being briefly coveted and then swiftly discarded for her unchanging metal body. Trapped with only her regrets, she pleaded with Tetsuro to join her, and even offered him the mechanical body he covets – but Tetsuro declined, saying his future was still wide open, that he had much left to do in his own time, and that he would not accept a mechanical body at the cost of his own freedom.
Of course, as we’ve seen time and again, the freedom from mortality offered by a metal body heralds its own form of isolation. Those whose mortal bodies have been discarded seem equally trapped, frozen in a single moment, unable to change physically or emotionally. Metal bodies seem little more than tombstones in this world, markers signifying a vital human life that once was, but no longer. And what is freedom without the power and agency to truly change your destiny, anyway? Tetsuro travels the galaxy on a borrowed ticket, but is constantly reminded of those who lack such financial freedom, who scrape and bargain for a glimpse of the self-determination he so carelessly enjoys. The galaxy is full of dazzling wonders, but their forms cast heavy shadows, revealing a Kaiba-like vision of technological development where the injustices of society have been written directly onto our skin. Does Tetsuro understand the weight of his task, and when the time comes, will he truly be able to choose between Maetel and freedom?
Let us return to the stars.
Yaiba: Samurai Legend – Episode 1
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! Today we’re embarking on a new adventure, as we explore the first episode of the currently ongoing Yaiba: Samurai Legend. This production is actually based on a shonen manga that ran from the late ‘80s to early ‘90s, written and illustrated by Gosho Aoyama, better-known for his later series Case Closed. Yaiba actually received an adaptation back around its initial conclusion, but as with their upcoming One Piece, Wit Studio have taken the chance to update a shonen classic for a modern audience.
Granted, I don’t expect Yaiba to feel too updated. From everything I’ve heard about this production, it sounds like director Takahiro Hasui and his team have successfully fused old and new, synthesizing a winningly retro combination that will hopefully offer the same textured aesthetic appeal as Wit’s recent Ranking of Kings. A callback to Dragon Ball-era shonen rambling and Kanada-style posing by the creator of Case Closed and director of Mob Psycho 100’s third season? Yeah, that all sounds delicious to me. Let’s get to it!
Spirit of Wonder: Miss China’s Ring
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re going to be examining another OVA from the format’s late ‘80s-early ‘90s heyday, as we check out Spirit of Wonder: Miss China’s Ring. This OVA was adapted from the overall Spirit of Wonder manga series written and illustrated by Kenji Tsuruta, who channeled his love of fantastical storytellers like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells into a series of steampunk-adjacent vignettes, with each chapter centering on a new character and a new marvelous invention.
Combining the playful storytelling of the great nineteenth century fantasists with the generous animation of the OVA era sounds like a great time to me, and Spirit of Wonder’s key staff also seem promising. The key director/animation director team of Mitsuru Hongo and Yoshiaki Yanagida would actually go on to reprise this partnership as the director/AD of the recent Ascendance of a Bookworm, while Hongo’s significant work on the Shin-chan franchise makes me suspect he’s a director with a clear eye for how boarding and character animation can play off and elevate each other. Meanwhile, fellow art director Ogura Hiramasa will likely be managing the background art, as his own credits as art director include such standouts as Royal Space Force and Patlabor the Movie. And with reliable hand Michuru Shimada (Little Witch Academia, Before Green Gables, Galaxy Express 999) handling the screenplay, I imagine Tsuruta’s tale will be adapted with absolute confidence. Let’s see what this spirit of wonder is all about!
Spring 2025 – Week 3 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Here in the middle of April it appears that spring has finally sprung, as we are at last receiving survivable external temperatures consistently enough for me to start running again. I know an exercise regime of “running intermittently through the spring and summer, then hibernating through the winter” is more suitable for a bear or squirrel than a human being, but my willpower sadly is what it is, and if going outside makes me regret the vast, frigid distances between our planet and the sun, I am not likely to don my jogging shorts. Anyway, today looks basically perfect, so let’s not waste any more time vamping out an introduction, and dive straight into this week in features!
Angel Cop – Episode 1
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re exploring another seedy artifact of anime’s indulgent OVA era, as we check out the first episode of Angel Cop. This six-episode series falls neatly in the popular bubble-era genre of cyber crime dramas, whose entrants range in tone from the lighthearted Bubblegum Crisis or Dominion Tank Police to more grim affairs like Wicked City or Cyber City Oedo, all offering some mixture of investigative theater, explosive action, and salacious interludes.
Angel Cop hasn’t exactly maintained a high profile over the years, but its principle creators have me extremely curious. The series is directed by Ichiro Itano, a legend of mecha animation history whose contributions to Space Runaway Ideon and Macross included the “Itano Circus” missile barrage, and who has otherwise acted as both director (his Megazone 23 segment is brutal) and mentor to a wide array of successors. He is here joined by writer Sho Aikawa, whose contributions to the original Fullmetal Alchemist and stewardship of the phenomenal, underappreciated Concrete Revolutio set him as one of the few anime writers I have absolute faith in. I’m quite interested to see how Aikawa’s restless political insight intersects with both the narrative tropes and cultural concerns of bubble-era action, so let’s not waste any more time rambling. Onward to Angel Cop!