Yuki Yuna is a Hero – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today it seems like we’re past due for a check-in on Yuki Yuna and her brave companions in the Hero Club, as they continue to fend off all who would do harm to the Divine Tree. In spite of lacking any high-tension battle scenes, Yuki Yuna’s last episode was undoubtedly my favorite so far, as its exploration of Fu and Itsuki’s unequal yet cherished bond felt thoughtful and convincingly true-to-life, grounding the generalities of the show’s genre structure in the specificities of one family’s circumstances. Believing in the distinct humanity of a show’s characters is what elevates sterile narrative beats into emotionally resonant drama, and episode four did a fine job of convincingly articulating that humanity.

Getting all this personal context was well appreciated, but judging by episode four’s dramatic stinger, the time for singing lessons and cat-ferrying assignments is now behind us. As expected, the death of the sisters’ parents was revealed to be linked to the vertexes, meaning Fu has ultimately dragged her classmates into a mission of personal revenge. Between that, her existing issues with leadership, and the ominous flipping of Itsuki’s death card, I expect some troubled times ahead for our young heroes. Let’s get to it!

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BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into the drama of BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!, after an episode that saw Anon doing her best to resolve the roiling emotions and profound regrets left in CRYCHIC’s chaotic wake. It appears Soyo was indeed correct to choose Anon as her instrument of conciliation; after hearing the whole story from Tomori, Anon was swift to plant Tomori, Taki, and Soyo down in a café together, and demand these woebegotten teenagers Talk This Shit Out.

The resulting conversation was refreshing in its specificity of perspective and authenticity of character voice, but that’s frankly what I’ve come to expect from MyGO. This production’s script is one of the best I’ve seen in years, capturing the nuances of character voice and the inherent friction of motives and personalities in conflict with a grace that puts it in the upper echelon of high school dramas. Coupled with storyboarding and character acting dedicated to conveying the finer unspoken fault lines within these relationships, the overall effect is utterly gripping; with characters this fully realized, it’s fun just watching them bounce off each other. Let’s see how new guitarist Raana secures her place in the band with a fresh episode of MyGO!

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Fall 2023 – Week 5 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. I’ve currently got an army of fire ants performing parade drills across my skull, as the approach of apartment move-in day has my nerves powerfully jangling. Nonetheless, I’m also thrilled by the prospect of once again having some room to myself, and know well that in a few days, all of this chaotic commotion will hopefully be behind us. I’m still not sure how my scrawny-ass arms are going to carry furniture into the new place, but that’s a problem for tomorrow – in the meantime, my film and general media consumption has continued on schedule, with this week’s selections including our regular horror features, a recent fandom phenomenon, and as much Witch from Mercury as I can manage. Let’s see how our newest offerings fared in the Week in Review!

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Toradora! – Episode 11

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There are few scholastic touchstones more beloved by anime than the vaunted high school cultural festival. And it’s not hard to understand why; such festivals provide a natural disruption of their attendees’ standard, frequently unconsidered school activities, offering events that both force collaboration between unlikely student alliances and also challenge characters to move outside their comfort zone, prompting reflection on how they’ve changed over the preceding year. 

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Sherlock Hound – Episode 6

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am utterly thrilled to be returning to Sherlock Hound, that shimmering jewel of ‘80s anime elevated by a rogue’s gallery of all-time artists and animators, including both Hayao Miyazaki and many of his eventual Ghibli compatriots. The show has so far provided a buffet of riches on both the aesthetic and narrative front, marrying playful animation and sumptuous background art to capers that jump-start Arthur Conan Doyle’s original material with a healthy dash of Lupinism, alongside an abiding love for convoluted mechanical contraptions. The adventures of Sherlock, Watson, and the perpetually amused Mrs. Hudson have been a delight so far, while simultaneously filling out one of the key gaps in my post-Toei, pre-Ghibli education on the scions of animation. Let’s see what madness this marvelous production team cook up next!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 39

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today an overbearing cloud bank promises an altogether gloomy afternoon, so I’ve decided to rally against the weather with a sunny episode of Hugtto! Precure. Our last episode offered a generous buffet of Halloween-centric designs and festivities, while once again offering a humanizing splash of frustration and regret to the show’s former villains. While Hugtto’s young leads are largely preoccupied with the intimidating open canvas of their encroaching adult lives, its older villains serve as an encouraging reminder that even adulthood is a process rife with mistakes and reinvention, and that nothing about our future is ever truly set in stone.

Whether in context of the Precure’s villains or their parents and community guardians, I remain greatly appreciative of Hugtto’s acknowledgment of the conflicts and anxieties that carry on into our adult lives. The show celebrates finding a place you belong without framing dreams as destiny, a balancing act that encourages exploration and self-discovery rather than anxiety over your “one true path.” Let’s see where their passions take our heroes next as we return to Hugtto!

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Fall 2023 – Week 4 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to report that we finally locked down a new apartment, after far too many weeks of searching and touring and failing to pull anything together. The place won’t be available until the first, and I’ve got plenty of move-in tasks still ahead, but it nonetheless feels amazing to once again have a room of my own awaiting me. I am a furtive and solitary creature, and though I enjoy sharing a common space with friends, I also need a cozy den to which I can retreat, particularly during these key months of hibernation. It’s a profound relief to know I’ll soon have a slice of personal space again, and in the meantime, I’ve been continuing to both munch through films and catch up on the year’s outstanding anime releases. Let’s break down some fresh stories in the Week in Review!

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Planetes and the Night Sky

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Throughout the course of Planetes, Hachimaki and his companions have pursued a variety of paths to find meaning and purpose in the face of oblivion. The simultaneous grandeur and mundanity of their labor has framed this task in sharper terms than for most; collecting garbage while spotlit against the infinite nothingness of space, it becomes hard to forget your own ultimate irrelevance. You are a speck in a universe that cares nothing for you, that cannot even recognize your presence within its all-enveloping emptiness. Against this backdrop of existential insignificance, they pick up trash and put it somewhere else, certain only that their labors will never end so long as human ambition endures. They are as ants scurrying between the footsteps of gods, but unlike ants, they are burdened with the capacity to desire meaning, purpose, and love.

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The Legend of Vox Machina S2 – Episode 11

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m thrilled to be diving back into the adventures of Vox Machina, who most recently joined Grog in clobbering the shit out of the Storm Herd, and bisecting his Vestige-clad mountain of an uncle in the process. The battle against Kevdak saw our heroes united for the first time in half a season, flexing their powers as Grog resolved both his lingering backstory and emotional journey. It was a fine demonstration of how DnD’s narrative and mechanical elements can be harnessed to work in service of the players’ character arcs – of course, such a collaboration requires a player who’s interested in portraying a character arc, which brings us to the current conundrum of our irreverent Scanlan.

Scanlan has time and again been offered a call to grow into a greater sense of responsibility as a character, and has time and again resisted the offer to be anything more than an irreverent prankster. That’s a fine approach to DnD in a campaign where the players are intended to be static reactors to external conflict, but Vox Machina’s campaign is clearly designed around the player avatars overcoming their fatal flaws, be they Percy’s obsession with revenge, Grog’s heedless pursuit of strength, or Vex’s lingering regrets regarding her father. While most of the players have taken to this process with enthusiasm, Scanlan has time and again turned away from the brightly lit signs stating “character growth this way,” prompting the eventual introduction of Kaylie as a daughter-shaped representation of the consequences of his actions.

Meanwhile, I’m happy to report that my own campaign is again chugging along, with my Cloud-based player having recently triumphed in the final battle against their Sephiroth-esque nemesis. Though my initial thinking ran along lines like “how can I integrate my players’ desires into the narrative I have planned,” the course of our campaign has revealed a pretty obvious truth: player desires will always inform the most passionate and effective collaboration, so they should be built as centrally into the campaign’s structure as possible. With our next session coming this very afternoon, my mind is abuzz with further plans for paying off my players’ desires, but this intro has already run too long as it is. For now, let’s dive back into the journeys of Vox Machina!

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Spy x Family – Episode 24

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d say we’re about due to check back in on the Forger family, after a two episode arc that saw Loid and Frost competing in the most high-stakes and dangerous of semi-professional tennis tournaments. Their participation in the Campbellian offered an opportunity for both Wit and Cloverworks’ animators to really flex their muscles, while also reveling in the sincere spy drama trickery Tatsuya Endo clearly loves.

Of course, focusing so completely on a “Spy” escapade has left this production’s “x Family” element by the wayside, so I’m looking forward to a return to our heroes’ fraught domestic life. I am happy to admit I’m an easy mark when it comes to found family drama, and the gradual transformation of each of our leads as they come to trust and rely on each other never fails to warm my heart. Loid has come to care for and even take pride in his daughter’s accomplishments, Yor is gaining greater confidence in her worthiness as a partner and mother, and Anya is beginning to believe that her parents really are her stalwart protectors, spy mission or not. It’s always a pleasure seeing lonely people find their missing pieces in each other, and Spy x Family’s eminently likable crew are seeming more unified and whole by the episode. Let’s get to it!

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