Call of the Night – Episode 6

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Hello folks, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d check in on the nocturnal escapades of Kou and Nazuna, wherein Kou has just been presented with his most intimidating challenge yet: give a massage to fatigued office worker Kiyosumi Shirakawa, as Nazuna is feeling lazy and just wants to play videogames.

It’s a predictably low-stakes challenge for this charming production, which has so far offered a pretty even mix of romantic comedy shenanigans and more general reflections on modern ennui. Though Nazuna claims to be an avatar of the night’s allure, as we’ve already seen, the night is actually pretty boring when you don’t have someone to share it with. Kou, Nazuna, and Akira are all most fundamentally seeking a sense of purpose and community in a world that’s less validating and more atomized by the day. It is as of yet unclear whether playing Street Fighter at 3AM is the solution to our crisis of modern alienation, but goddamnit, these kids are gonna try. Let’s get to it!

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Spy x Family – Episode 33

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to Spy x Family, wherein it seems we’re galloping towards the conclusion of its cruise liner arc. While Anya provides cover and Loid works on his Normal Man impression, Yor has been fending off a procession of devious assassins, each more cunning and lethal than the last. At the same time, her growing bond with her targets has led her to question the meaning of these missions, and whether she still needs this Thorn Princess persona at all.

Granted, I don’t expect her to actually abandon her duties as a result of these questions. Spy x Family’s conceit relies on a delicate balance of comically contradictory circumstances that doesn’t really allow for that much personal reinvention (even the very title is a riff on “spy vs spy”), at least until Tatsuya Endo decides to aim for the endgame. At the same time, its best personal drama tends to involve chafing at the edges of this paradigm – Loid favoring Anya over the “greater good” of his professional duties, Anya risking exposure by flagrantly using her powers, and now Yor questioning whether she has outgrown her Thorn Princess role, as she has found in the Forgers the stable family life she once saw her secret identity as protecting. Regardless of her conclusion, Yor challenging her own unconsidered beliefs has made her feel significantly more substantive as a character, and I’m eager to see how this story ends. Let’s get to it!

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Summer 2024 – Week 10 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. With my housemate back from vacation, my progress through Sailor Moon’s final season has slowed precipitously, but I am determined to complete the journey! And though I miss Chibi Usa, if that’s the bargain that must be made to ditch Pegasus, I will make it gladly. Meanwhile, my house’s reassembly has facilitated a return to Strahd for our DnD group, wherein I continue to be deeply unimpressed with Chris Perkins’ approach to character design. Practically everyone I’ve come across in on-book DnD feels no more substantive than that guy in an RPG who says “there are many dangers in the forest” and exactly nothing else – even Strahd himself, who is allegedly the centerpiece of this campaign, is a tedious and superficial villain. Still, we are determined to conquer this foul land, and I’ll be sure to keep up my reports on our efforts to do so. In the meantime, let’s break down some films!

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Toradora! – Episode 12

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To truly open up to another is a pursuit fraught with danger. To reveal both our passions and our vulnerabilities invites misunderstanding, our rough edges frequently pinching and bruising as they align in ill concert with the sharp extremities of another. As Schopenhauer described and Evangelion agreed, for those not naturally inclined to absolute sincerity, intimacy is a hedgehog’s dilemma, a process by which we hurt each other precisely because we wish to grow closer. And after a season’s worth of managing that process with whatever grace they could muster, Ryuji and Taiga have at last been torn apart by the very closeness of their feelings, and their desperation to understand each other.

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Yuki Yuna is a Hero – Episode 12

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re rejoining the battlefield alongside Yuki Yuna and her companions, as our heroes fight for the last fragment of reality in a hostile, voracious world. The revelation that our heroes were sacrificing themselves as nourishment for the Divine Tree proved only the first of this story’s terrible secrets; now, they have learned that their island stands alone, the last remaining holdout of a battle between hungry gods. It is a sobering and satisfyingly Lovecraftian twist on convention; our heroes are no more than the barest eddies swirling around the movements of god-titans, sacrificing themselves only so that future innocents might live to take their place.

Having been twice over manipulated and abused by this system, and now having drawn her precious friend Yuna into the conflict as well, it is little surprise that Togo is ready to watch the world burn. If their only choices are to be sacrificed piece by piece or reject this bargain altogether, better that this paradigm be destroyed wholesale, and that a new world might be born. Togo’s loyalty to family and country made her the perfect target for the Divine Tree, but she is as fearsome in rebellion as she is in complicity, and now the walls are beginning to fall. What hope remains is aspirational, perhaps even foolish – that the collective loyalty and love of the Hero Club might conquer all the forces of heaven, a hope for which Karin gladly sacrificed her senses. And now we come to a familiar standoff, with the scenery of apocalypse furnishing that most fundamental of questions: can love truly save us?

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Skip and Loafer – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today the rain is casting a dreary scene outside my window, and giving me a craving for something upbeat and energetic to brighten my day. As such, we obviously have no choice but to return to Skip and Loafer, and check in on the continuing adventures of Mitsumi and her companions. Mitsumi’s earnest cheer is so contagious it actually extends beyond her own friends; it’s hard to watch this show and not feel warmed by her endearing presence.

Granted, we’re currently mired in some uniquely thorny territory as far as Skip and Loafer is concerned. The introduction of Ririka has brought Shima’s unhappy history to the forefront, as he is condemned anew for derailing her route to stardom. It’s easy enough to see why this experience would prompt Shima to withdraw from both celebrity life and earnest, vulnerable engagement with the world, but in truth, my own immediate response to Ririka’s “you think it’s okay now that four years have passed” was an unconditional “yes, absolutely.” Ririka is holding an unreasonable grudge against a boy who no longer exists, and I can only hope Mitsumi is able to help Shima forgive himself. Let’s get to it!

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Summer 2024 – Week 9 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This week I’ve been continuing my brave journey through Sailor Moon, completing Sailor Moon S and trekking perhaps two-thirds of the way through SuperS. It hasn’t always been easy; the episodic pleasures of hanging out with the girls remain a delight, but the overarching narrative has shifted from “tedious” to “actively aggravating,” with SuperS for some reason introducing a horse that Chibi Usa is in love with. The further I get into this series, the more an idea of a “manga-faithful remake” like Crystal seems utterly absurd to me; though Takeuchi built a fine initial template, basically all of her narrative ideas are a net negative, with the entirety of the show’s strength coming down to its adapted brilliance. I’m hoping the show’s final season has a better conceit than this goddamn horse, but in the meantime, we’ve got some films to get through. Let’s get to it!

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d check back in Frieren and Fern’s rambling journey, as they pay back the debts of the past and chart out an unknown future. A lifetime is a very long thing for an elf, but with Fern at her side, Frieren is being forced to embrace at least a touch of urgency. Is life best appreciated as a long arc towards an uncertain destination, or as a series of individual challenges and experiences? Frieren’s perspective invites us to consider both, with a melancholy assurance that no matter your perspective, precious things will inevitably slip through your fingers.

Our last episode explored the vagaries of time’s passage from a new angle, emphasizing how the grand lifespans of fantastical beings can make them ill-equipped to counter the curiosity and industry of mankind. Time moves slower when it is in abundance, as the young blithely accept and the old are unfortunate to know well. An ageless being might see its power as similarly ageless, but the returning Qual found himself outgunned by progress, his once-singular powers now incorporated into the bedrock of magical inquiry. You could take that as a lesson in clinging to past glories, an assurance that seemingly insurmountable hurdles often just require dedicated consideration, or a rueful acknowledgment that mankind will always find a way to build a better gun – regardless, it serves as a fine extrapolation of Frieren’s fundamental questions. With an open road before them, let’s see what new questions await the mage and her apprentice!

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Scum’s Wish – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d check back in on the bedraggled stars of Scum’s Wish, who are presumably hard at work doing the most mutually destructive things they can do to each other. Though to be fair, they were actually on the right track going into our last episode, with both Mugi and Hana having resolved to announce their crushes and thereby move past them. Unfortunately, Akane would never turn down such a ripe opportunity for chaos, and thus answered Mugi’s confession by manipulating him into sleeping with her.

That’s all of a course with Scum’s Wish’s usual style, wherein youthful dreams are left to rot into festering obsessions, and every day stacks fresh sorrows upon the old. In the context of Mugi and Hana’s somber perspectives, I actually quite enjoy Akane’s proud “I am going to cause problems on purpose” attitude, a callousness and whimsical cruelty that positions her in a long and illustrious line of bodice-ripping baddies. Akane is a Dear Brother character in a world with no melodrama antibodies, offering a perpetual promise that things could always be worse. Let’s see how her latest crimes play out as we return to Scum’s Wish!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 44

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Hello folks, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to the drama of Hugtto! Precure, after an episode that was largely preoccupied with Homare resolving her crush on a shape-shifting, time-traveling hamster. That’s just sometimes how it’s gonna be in the land of Precure, and to be perfectly honest, it actually made for a surprisingly poignant adventure. Rodent-related specifics aside, Homare’s feelings offered an endearing portrayal of how even unrequited love can be emotionally enriching, and her journey towards that realization was adorned with all sorts of lovely visual compositions.

With Henri and Homare’s skating performances now behind us, the slate is once again clear as we march towards Hugtto’s endgame. Is it time for George’s plan to be unveiled, or can we still sneak in some seasonal shenanigans with Hana and the gang? I’m sure whatever we’ve got coming will be delightful in its own way, so let’s dispense with the preamble here, and dive into the continuing adventures of our hug-happy heroes!

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