Dear Brother – Episode 11

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today it is time once again to iron our uniforms and dry our tears, as we return to Seiren Academy for a fresh episode of Dear Brother. In the wake of Shinobu’s harrowing birthday party, our last episode saw the poor girl embarking on some kind of friendship hunger strike, hoping to regain Nanako’s affection or literally die trying. But after a stern lecture from Kaoru regarding the value of her health, as well as a visit from Nanako to her hospital bedside, it seems like Shinobu may well be at peace for the first time in her melodramatic existence.

This is certainly great news for Nanako, who has worries enough without a self-destructive stalker haunting her steps. Instead, we now have the girl who once memorably called Nanako’s bully a “child of a rat-dog” back on her side, ready to escalate basically any confrontation into a manic spectacle. Dear Brother strikes at real anxieties regarding adolescence and our roles in society, but it does so with a melodramatic flare that can always benefit from Shinobu’s exceedingly bad ideas, and perpetual willingness to embody the “my friend got mad at me, so now I am going to starve” intensity of teen emotions. Thank you Ikeda, thank you Dezaki, and thank you readers for joining me on this delightfully histrionic adventure. Let’s get to it!

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Shoushimin Series – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d check back in on the heroes of Shoushimin Series, though I’m sure they themselves would shirk at such an appellation. Claiming a mutual dedication to the pursuit of normalcy, Osanai and Jogoro are determined to not make any waves, with Jogoro asserting that even his acquaintanceship with Kengo is merely an affirmation of their arcane value system. But normal people do not prize normalcy; in their very preoccupation with assuming this camouflage, our leads reveal themselves as distinctive, self-denying oddities.

Our last episode revealed just how much of a mask Jogoro has seemingly adopted, as Kengo grilled him on his transformation from an inquisitive, conceited know-it-all to a self-effacing cipher. Jogoro claims there was no impetus behind this transformation beyond the natural softening of age, and yet fragments of his old self are perpetually leaking through, so much so that even Osanai has preemptively forgiven him for “returning to how you were when I first met you.” So we are left once again with Kengo’s unanswered question, as to what Jogoro is attempting to achieve through seeking “normalcy,” or rather what he is trying to avoid by denying his talents. For Oreki, the fear of embracing his talent stemmed from a fundamental lack of self-worth, as acknowledging them carried an implicit responsibility to make use of them – a fear he would ultimately overcome through his desire to be a partner worthy of standing at Chitanda’s side. Here, Osanai is performing the opposite role, validating Jogoro’s refusal to embrace his full self. But what is it that makes Jogoro so afraid of his own talent, and why is Osanai so attached to this project as well? The mysteries keep stacking as we return to Shoushimin Series!

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Summer 2025 – Week 5 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. With my housemate still away visiting family, I have continued to make rigorous use of my screen monopoly, munching through a bunch of Slayers and whatever horror films I know would normally get vetoed. That generally means “films about dolls or spiders,” and thus this week has seen me mowing down the greater Child’s Play franchise, munching through as many of its far-flung features as possible. The franchise has undergone a couple of major transformations over the years, but has actually maintained its core team and general quality through all of it, making it perhaps the most consistent of all the major slashers. Let’s break it down!

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Blue Reflection Ray – Episode 10

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we stand on the precipice of apocalypse as we return to Blue Reflection Ray, in the wake of Momo’s revelatory confrontation with her former partner Mio. There’s apparently a good reason why Momo’s memories of their partnership are unclear: she actually died in the wake of their final defeat, alongside everyone else in this world. But the universe has provided our reflectors another chance to make good, and this time, Mio is determined to achieve victory no matter the cost.

This explanation does a fine job of explaining Mio’s actions so far, as sacrifices made and bridges burned in order to save those she loves, even if they themselves cannot understand her actions. It also offers more context regarding this whole reflector paradigm, which is apparently an instrument of a higher organization that has somehow spun off its tracks, leaving both blue and red reflectors with no certain purpose. That in turn furthers Blue Reflection Ray’s thematic conflict, challenging Momo’s assertion that the only antidote to trauma is drawing it into the light. As Mio said, that might work perfectly fine for someone as strong as Momo or Miyako, but what about Niina, or Kana? Without a support structure and strong sense of self, simply facing your trauma isn’t likely to resolve it; as such, it is likely that both red and blue reflectors have their place, each a necessary aid in the protection and liberation of those imprisoned by their darkest feelings. Let’s see if these girls can find some common ground as we return to Blue Reflection Ray!

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Episode 12

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today the snow is falling beyond my window, marking our passage into the lean days of winter, when the gray clouds and frost without only makes us tuck all the more closely within, variably ensconced in our blankets and families and firelights. In this way does one year pass gently into the next, ushering us forward in stillness, reminding us that, for good or ill, time’s passage is unabating. Bundling inside cannot protect us against the procession of age; but take heart, for each winter presages light over the hills, and a dawning spring.

That’s more or less how I’m feeling as we return to Frieren, which has similarly just endured a long winter hibernation. The party’s impromptu cohabitation with Kraft demonstrated the show at its best, exploring through montage and attentiveness to incidental moments the crafting of unexpected personal bonds, how even allegedly idle time spent waiting for the weather to change can still shape our identities. The transformative power of such time spent was neatly contrasted against Kraft’s personal faith, his desire to have someone acknowledge the worth of these days, just as he has come to acknowledge the days of shorter-lived companions. But spring and partings are both inevitable, and our party now sets forth with renewed vigor, journeying ever onward into the wild north. Let’s depart!

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The Legend of Vox Machina S3 – Episode 8

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to get back to the island of Glintshore, as our friends in Vox Machina have found themselves in a serious pickle. Having tracked the nefarious inventor Anna Ripley back to her remote factory, the team were divided through carelessness, with Vex’s uncertainty regarding her relationship with Percy ultimately snowballing into him suffering a seemingly fatal injury.

As grim as the situation looks, I can’t imagine our boy is actually going to die. Character death in DnD is an extraordinarily harsh cost, forcing a player to give up all the investment they’ve placed in that character both emotionally and mechanically, and asking them to start over fresh in a way that somehow integrates with the other characters’ ongoing narratives. Maintaining the threat of death in any given encounter is “realistic,” but realism and narrative drama rarely get along – if the protagonist of a novel you’re reading got unceremoniously killed by falling rocks, you’d be rightfully upset at the lack of payoff for your investment in their journey.

There is an argument to be made that random, unlikely deaths can add a certain spice to your tabletop narrative; I can see that point, but I frankly couldn’t imagine valuing such unpredictability over a certain coherency of drama. And DnD itself seems to acknowledge this issue on the far end, by providing a variety of magical methods for overcoming character death, to the point where it can actually become difficult to ensure even NPCs remain dead and buried. Thus the on-book answer is “death is common but merely inconvenient,” whereas I much prefer “death is rare but permanent.” It’s a point of contention as unresolvable as the vast array of passions players can bring to the table, answerable only to a group that has collectively affirmed they’d like to play a roguelike, or a court intrigue simulator, or simply ride a rollercoaster and slay a dragon at the end. All of these tensions are what make DnD so mercurial and fascinating, so let’s go ahead and find out how our heroes deal with this latest catastrophe!

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Summer 2025 – Week 4 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week I have finally finished up Death Stranding 2, after spending far too many of my precious, fleeting hours trudging through snow and putting materials in boxes and receiving different materials to put in different boxes. I jest, but to be honest Kojima has got this gameplay loop down at this point, and has successfully merged Death Stranding’s mechanical fundamentals with a functional, Metal Gear-reminiscent combat system. The game is nowhere near as finicky or austere as its predecessor, which frankly left me with mixed feelings – Death Stranding 2 is a much more consistently dopamine-depositing game than its predecessor, but far less of an emotionally challenging, potentially transformative art experience. And considering the gaming industry is full of column A and sorely lacking in column B, it feels a little sad that one of our few reliable auteurs “just” made a solid videogame.

Anyway, I still quite enjoyed it, and will undoubtedly be returning to the roads of Australia for one of my final segments of these games: enjoying the fruits of my infrastructure work, riding the highways that now extend all the way across the continent. In the meantime, let’s break down the week in films!

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CITY The Animation – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to announce we are starting on a new yet likely nostalgic journey, as we explore the first episode of the ongoing CITY The Animation. Based on a manga by Nichijou scribe Keiichi Arawi, CITY is also being adapted by the singular team at Kyoto Animation, with Taichi Ishidate serving as director. In predictably KyoAni fashion, Ishidate has spent his entire career at the studio, serving as a key animator since all the way back in their Inuyasha outsourcing days, and more recently directing such lush spectacles as Beyond the Boundary and Violet Evergarden.

Nichijou is probably the best anime comedy that exists, and Kyoto Animation is possibly the greatest animation studio of all time, so my expectations are pretty high for this followup. And so far, I’ve seen no reason to temper those expectations – the previews have all been delightful, embodying that same mixture of warmth and surrealism that made Nichijou so special, and the art design looks incredibly appealing. Nichijou adapted Arawi’s style to something closer to KyoAni’s house aesthetic, but CITY appears to be embracing the comic book stylings of its source material, presenting a world of warm pastels, chunky lines, and flat yet strangely voluminous scenery. It has been far too long since I watched Kyoto Animation flex their powers (alright, it’s actually only been like four months since my last Euphonium binge), so let’s not waste another moment. Onward to CITY!

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The Summer Hikaru Died – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re embarking on a brand new adventure, as we explore the first episode of an ongoing production, The Summer Hikaru Died. Based on a manga by the whimsically aliased Mokumokuren, the story is apparently centered on two close friends, one of whom goes out into the woods alone and returns as a different creature entirely. It’s a classic horror template that I’m quite fond of, one that plays into both our often self-deluding maintenance of social propriety, as well the fundamental folk-horror allure of spirits within the wilderness, beings so wild that even to witness them might prompt terrible transformation.

Wendigos, werewolves, vampires, and vourdalaks all play in this conceptual space, which here seems combined with another favorite topic of mine: the steadily depopulating Japanese countryside, a persistent topic of animated drama which has furnished the narrative of productions like Rainbow Fireflies, Sakura Quest, and even Dagashi Kashi. So yeah, as a rabid fan of folk/cosmic horror and a sucker for melancholy pastoral dramas, I imagine there’ll be plenty for me to dig into here. Let’s get to it!

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Yuki Yuna is a Hero (Hero Chapter) – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re embarking on another long walk off a short pier, as we commence the third season of Yuki Yuna is a Hero, the aptly named “Hero Chapter.” Once again, a squadron of compassionate, idealistic young girls will be thrown into relentless battle, fighting and dying so that a dispassionate divine entity can continue its war against the forces of entropy. There is no victory in this battle; the only certainty is a continuous escalation of conflict, to the point where our heroes will eventually sacrifice themselves willingly to give humanity one more day, one more hour of peace under the boughs of the Divine Tree.

Yeah, it’s a pretty brutal franchise on the whole, made all the more so because it’s so effective at illustrating the poignant bonds between its leads, and how their civic-minded decency could do so much within their own communities, if they weren’t being consigned to such an arbitrary, anonymous fate. Though it could easily come off as exploitative, its genuine celebration of all that is good about its protagonists makes it feel far more angry, angry that they are forced to live in such a world, that just like in our own, the light of human kindness can be so grossly exploited by social convention, patriotism, and religion. Battered and beaten as we are, we still work to make the load lighter for each other, still practice charity in the face of oblivion. Let’s return to the fight!

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