Bocchi the Rock! – Episode 6

Hey folks, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to the continuing trials of our long-suffering Bocchi, who has found herself in yet another moment of crisis. After the brief elation of learning their band was good enough to perform at Starry, Bocchi was hit with a terrifying new trial: selling five tickets of her own to promote the concert. With some quick mental math proving she indeed lacked the requisite family members to keep this in-house, Bocchi is now faced with the terrifying prospect of talking to someone she hasn’t talked to before, and convincing them that Kessoku Band is worth their time.

It’s a big step up from the rigidly structured interactions of working the Starry concession stand, and will likely demand Bocchi act like she actually believes in her music around strangers. That’ll certainly require some strained performance, but to be honest, that’s a lot of what personal growth in terms of social development actually is. We fake confidence until we realize we’re not faking it anymore, flinging ourselves out into the world one wild, uncertain leap at a time. Bocchi’s already grown enough to feel comfortable around her bandmates, and with that bulwark beneath her, I’m eager to see her vault new seemingly impossible hurdles. Let’s sell some tickets, Bocchi!

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Big Windup! – Episode 9

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be returning to Big Windup!, for the most simple and pure reason of all: I really, really want to know what happens next. With Mihashi’s initial insecurities about joining a new team at least mitigated, if not resolved, Big Windup! has swiveled its focus outwards, introducing close to half a dozen new rivals, and floating the upcoming summer tournament as the crucible that will bind them together. It was certainly compelling watching Abe navigate the potholes of Mihashi’s battered psyche, but now that they’re a genuine battery, I’m eager to see our team face off against all manner of nefarious foes.

Of course, it’s clearly not going to be quite that simple. Mihashi is still largely commanded by his insecurities, and with last episode having introduced Abe’s previous star pitcher, I’m guessing our anxious ace will need some consoling. At the same time, this new arrival offers an opportunity to dip into Abe’s own history, and perhaps reveal why he’s gained such a distrustful disposition. Either way, I’m sure Big Windup!’s delightful mix of psychology and tactics will carry us through the drama to come. Let’s get to it!

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Dear Brother – Episode 5

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am feverishly impatient to get back to Dear Brother, and continue Nanako’s descent into the vicious rivalries and cunning subterfuge of Seiran Academy. After spending the first several episodes being tormented by the dreadful Misaki, it was actually Shinobu who struck the deepest blow against our beleaguered heroine. Playing up Tomoko’s preexisting anxieties about Nanako’s new status, Shinobu managed to forge a rift between Nanako and her one true friend, leaving the Sorority’s newest member adrift in a sea of adolescent animosity.

All this has made for delightfully melodramatic entertainment, particularly when you couple in Osamu Dezaki’s energetic direction. His use of heavy shadows and silhouettes, clever partitioning of the screen, gracefully audience-guiding boards, and postcard memory punchlines collectively provide Nanako’s story the theatrical framing it deserves, making Seiran feel as grand and imposing for us as it must surely feel for Nanako. Add in incidental delights like Shinobu calling people “potato heads” and “daughter of a rat dog” at every turn, and you end up with a show that demands tears, rage, and laughter in equal measure, all of which I’m happy to provide. Let’s get to it!

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Spring 2023 – Week 6 in Review

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. We’re halfway through the spring season at this point, which means most new shows have lost their opening act glamor, and I can start figuring out what’s actually worth following this season. I’ll obviously be catching up on The Witch From Mercury at some point, but as for new arrivals, it seems like Tengoku Daimakyou is the one worth checking out? I’m also still committed to getting my house into Birdie Wing, which I think our recent return to Hot Shots Golf will help facilitate. And shit, there’s also Vinland Saga! Alright, this idle reflection has swiftly unearthed more responsibilities than I expected, so I’ll probably be chipping away at some new shows this weekend. But in the meantime, let’s burn down a fresh collection of films in the Week in Review!

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Witch Hat Atelier: Magic and Its Misuses

The first volume of Witch Hat Atelier was absolutely delightful for all sorts of reasons, ranging from its charming heroine Coco to the ornate illustrations that bring her world to life, imbuing every page and panel with a vitality born of soft line and incidental detail. But what most impressed me about this manga, so much that I in fact centered my first reflection on it, was Atelier’s insistence on treating magic as a practical, practice-oriented craft, rather than some fantastical power that some gain naturally and others could never possess.

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Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 2

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to jump back into Thunderbolt Fantasy, and see how our heroes are faring against the combined forces of the demon realm and the Order of the Divine Swarm! Gosh, even just describing the literal events of a given episode feels like hyperbole, but that’s simply how it goes with Thunderbolt. It is an exercise in cinematic maximalism, and all the greater for it.

Of course, the show wouldn’t be nearly so satisfying if all those lofty titles and action theatrics weren’t grounded in strong character dynamics and driving themes. Fortunately, Thunderbolt is also Urobuchi’s warmest, most character-rich show, offering both delightful curmudgeons like Shang and a revolving cast of endearingly terrible villains. Among these, the incorrigible Xing Hai is one of my favorites, and her newly developed Void Junction seems like it’ll prompt all manner of problems for our beleaguered heroes. Let’s see how Shang and the gang escape yet another gruesome fate, as we rally the troops for a fresh episode of Thunderbolt Fantasy!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 36

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to be returning to Hugtto! Precure, after an episode that embodied many of the show’s finest qualities, and certainly had me sniffling as well. Aya’s anxieties regarding her mother’s new baby were relatable and poignantly illustrated, with Hana’s words of advice reflected Hugtto’s general, laudable willingness to acknowledge the fallibility of its adult characters. Hugtto often expresses its thematic focus on hope for the future through the promise of change and excitement of finding your profession, but equally important are moments like this, where young audiences can be assured that even adults suffer from worries and anxieties, and that people of any age are capable of turning over a new leaf.

Having just survived such a tearjerker of an episode, I’m expecting we’re in for some lighter fare this time, but in truth I’m ready for anything. Hugtto has proven itself full of surprises and unexpected treasures, so let’s dispense with the preamble, and see what adventure our crew is getting up to next.

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Spring 2023 – Week 5 in Review

Hello folks, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am in an exceedingly good mood, as not only will I be hosting a session of Dungeons & Dragons later, but this particular session will open with the doling out of treasures and reputation boosts the party has earned for their recent adventures. You know those chapters of One Piece where Big News Morgans reports on how awesome the Straw Hats have been lately? Yeah, I love that shit, so I’ve cribbed it wholesale for my party’s quest to form an alliance across the various countries of my campaign setting. One of the great pleasures of DnD is seeing how your choices create a lattice of secondary consequences spiraling out around you, and I’m eager to dazzle my party with a full report on what they’ve accomplished. But don’t worry, my manic production of DnD materials has done little to interfere with our movie screenings, with this week’s viewings offering both classics and creepers of varying caliber. Let’s run down the Week in Review!

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Chainsaw Man – Volume Two

The second volume of Chainsaw Man is a good deal like the first: irreverent, incendiary, and too preoccupied with the base necessity of things like food and shelter to concern itself with high-minded heroism. As Denji and Power are drawn further into the machinations of the Public Safety Bureau, they remain emphatically indifferent to its goals, finding more motivation in the prospect of boobs or gum than the pursuit of justice or civil order. And how can you blame them? What has justice or civil order ever done for them, either when they were wild and desperate on the streets, or now as imprisoned agents of the state? If Denji and Power come across like beasts, it is only them reacting to a world that’s already assigned them that designation, a world that wouldn’t accept them even if they played by its stultifying, hypocritical rules.

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Star Driver – Episode 18

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to storm back into Star Driver, which most recently commenced its third act with the introduction of Ko and Madoka, alongside a power grab by Head that has left him as the undisputed leader of the Kiraboshi council. Between Head’s clear hostility and the growing misgivings of Kiraboshi leaders like Kanako and Benio, I’m guessing the time for plotting in dimly lit council chambers is coming to a close, as we lead into Star Driver’s tumultuous finale.

Where is all this chaotic striving headed, you ask? Well, while I’m not sure the precise narrative destination of Kiraboshi’s variable machinations, it’s easy enough to see how things are culminating in a thematic sense. Just like he did with Revolutionary Girl Utena, Enokido has constructed a cage of adolescence overseen by adults who wish to harness the power of youth, wherein the barriers of propriety and insecurity form invisible but nonetheless implacable bars.

Sex is at the center of this universe, yet it is framed as unreachable, the uncertainty of our protagonists recast as the lock and key to oblivion in the form of the shrine maiden system. The yonic gate of Wako’s shrine, the phallic weapon that is the King’s Pillar – all roads lead towards consummation, and yet the act itself is framed as the end of the world, thereby echoing in worldbuilding the war between natural instincts and conservative social mores the whole cast is struggling with. To overcome this system, Takuto will undoubtedly have to reach out his hand as Utena once did, and forge a bond that denies and shatters the staid ethics of Southern Cross Isle. Let’s get to it!

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