Buckle up everyone, we have got a pile of properties to get through and not much time to do it. This was a productive week in film-watching for me, though my selections were admittedly a little scattershot, and perhaps more beholden to the Netflix algorithm than usual. We also continued to barge through She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, taking down seasons two and three, and polishing off the rest of One Piece while we were at it. Yes yes, end of an era and all that, but I’m trying not to feel too broken up about it – after all, post-Oden Wano is still a damn good weekly anime, leaving me something to look forward to on the weekends. That aside, we’ve got a pile of films to sort through, so let’s not waste any more time, and dive into the Week in Review!
Spirit Circle: A Comfortable Boredom
“It’s hard for me to hate you,” Touko admits in Spirit Circle’s fifth volume. This isn’t a happy revelation. It’s spoken with bitterness, more of an accusation than an apology. And it’s easy to see why: hating Fuuta makes everything easier for Touko.
With Fuuta serving as the target of her rage, all of the injustices that have befallen Touko make a certain kind of sense. In our chaotic and frequently tragic world, it can be comforting to believe all of your problems are a result of some specific antagonist, some malevolent force that is specifically denying you the happiness you deserve. The idea of getting revenge for a grudge inherently implies some faith or hope in the order of things. When you were wronged, that was a deviation from how things are “supposed” to go, and you must “set things right” by punishing the person who caused this deviation. We cling to villains because the truth is much scarier – that life is simply chaotic without purpose, and bad things often happen to good people.
ODDTAXI – Episode 8
Tensions are rising across ODDTAXI as the Halloween celebrations continue. Out in the streets, Taichi is racing through the crowd with his prize: fresh footage of Dobu up to his usual tricks. Of course, this very act of violence was predicated by Taichi’s own witch hunt, when he blamed Dobu for a shooting he had no involvement in. But to the internet, invented and authentic monsters are equally worthy of condemnation – and if social media’s ire clings to you long enough, you’re sure to create your own crucifixion-worthy rap sheet.
Of all possible holidays, Halloween has to be the perfect choice for ODDTAXI. In many ways, the holiday echoes the form and appeal of online engagement. We all go out into a fabricated, liminal space between our mundane real-world expectations, a world born of our collective desires. In this place, we wear the masks of strangers, using anonymity to protect ourselves from shame or consequences as we embrace strange new selves. And yet, even as our costumes protect us, we seek out intimacy, community, and joy – all the hallmarks of earnest connection, somehow more reachable behind a stranger’s face.
In this place we can dance and run wild, uninhibited and free, at least until the morning comes. We can bellow out our fears in a full voice, or lay claim to desires we could never speak aloud, held safe from consequence by our garish disguises. We can even claim community through these vestments, dressing in the trappings of our gods and idols, and thereby signaling our unity of passion and purpose. Halloween provides an evening of inauthentic presentation and authentic passion, a dreamscape where your fantasies can be realized – so long as you do not lose yourself entirely, and remember to awaken in your own skin.
ODDTAXI is a show for those who regret that waking, as well as those who only see tragedy in our vigorously mediated connections. In the face of a world that demands perpetual performance, it lingers on the moments between viral posts, and the quiet desperation of seeking intimacy through platforms designed for commerce and competition. The intoxication of Halloween revelry is a heady but fleeting high, and for ODDTAXI’s heroes, this night promises more terror than release. With the festivities already in full swing, let’s return to the streets.
Anne of Green Gables – Episode 1
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I feel privileged to begin a journey through Anne of Green Gables, one of the shimmering jewels of the World Masterpiece Theater program. The World Masterpiece Theater program ran for decades, typically selecting acclaimed works of global literature, and animating them with an eye for authenticity and general appeal. The program is frankly one of the greatest achievements of anime as an art form, and tragically has no successor in the modern era – these days, adapted animation of global literature tends to focus on characters like Batman or Darth Vader, rather than children’s literary classics.
Of course, rich and poignant source material still requires delicate execution; fortunately, in its peak years, the World Masterpiece Theater program was spearheaded by the future scions of Studio Ghibli. Anne of Green Gables was directed by Isao Takahata, who comfortably stands as my favorite Ghibli director, and also one of my favorite directors period. Through films like Only Yesterday, Grave of the Fireflies, and Pom Poko, Takahata captures both the quiet beauty of natural life, as well as the unmitigated harshness of life’s cruelty and disappointment.
I imagine his instincts will be a natural fit for a pastoral drama like Anne, and he’s accompanied by his closest and best collaborators. Hayao Miyazaki serves as Anne’s setting and layout manager, while Yoshifumi Kondo is serving as character designer and animation director. Miyazaki requires no introduction, while Kondo stands alongside Satoshi Kon as one of our most tragically short-lived masters – the director of Whisper of the Heart, he was intended to be Takahata and Miyazaki’s successor at Ghibli.
Anne’s staff ranks are undoubtedly suffused with more luminaries from across anime history, but I’m eager to get to the show. The Ghibli-led Masterpiece Theater era represents one of the clear high points in anime history, an intermingling of literary substance and animation talent that has rarely been matched since. I’ve been holding off on this anime treasure trove for too long, and am thrilled to have so much Takahata work before me. Let’s get to it!
Summer 2021 – Week 9 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the site! How are all your weeks going? I’ve personally been working harder than ever, and actually feeling pretty good about it. By pushing most of my weekly busywork tasks from the weekend to the week proper, I’ve reassigned my weekends to more long-form projects, and thus have been making great strides in articles on Spirit Circle and Toradora. I’m looking forward to releasing those, but in the meantime, we munched through some interesting feature films, as well as an excellent recent cartoon. Let’s check ‘em out!
Big Windup! – Episode 6
Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. You all ready for some baseball? When last we left off, Mihashi and his new teammates had at last pulled ahead of his former team, securing two runs while Mihashi maintained his clean shutout. Mihashi’s actual skill level was always clear to opposing pitcher Kanou, and with his teammates refusing to see it, Kanou’s nerve was badly shaken. In fact, he almost got in a fight with his catcher Hatake, before their reliable ace and apparent mediator Oda cleared everyone’s heads.
Things have been going smoothly so far, but that’s largely been a result of the Mihoshi team not taking this match seriously. With Kanou now having made clear just how much this match means to him, his teammates have rallied to his side, and Mihashi will now be facing a far more motivated opposing lineup. Even Momoe recognized the fraught nature of this moment, urging Abe to protect his pitcher the best he can. Mihashi is currently like a bright-eyed baby bird on the verge of leaving the nest, and it’s up to Abe to keep him from being… perforated with emotional buckshot? I dunno, that metaphor kinda got away from me. Regardless, we’re at a critical moment, and I’m eager to see these teams face off at full strength. Let’s get to the field!
Bodacious Space Pirates – Episode 14
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today, if weather permits, I was thinking about taking a brief space flight, and perhaps checking in on the crew of the Bentenmaru.
Last episode saw Marika solidifying her alliance with the Serenity royal family, by which I mean she invited the princesses to her house for dinner. Marika possesses a unique combination of amiability and confidence that makes it easy for her to disarm basically anyone, turning political negotiations and pirate standoffs alike into conversations between friends. She is a master of drawing others into her pace, and as the leader of a crew of rowdy rapscallions, that skill is likely even more important than her general competency and intelligence.
Of course, Marika is at her best when she has a Spock to balance her inherent Kirk-ness – thus I’m hoping this episode will see the return of Chiaki, and more delightful bickering between our main pair. But whatever the future holds, I’m sure we’re in for a pleasant time as we return to Bodacious Space Pirates!
Adachi and Shimamura – Episode 9
It’s just one thing after another with these two, isn’t it? It seemed like we were making some genuine progress through their Christmas date, but then Adachi pulled her usual disappearing act, resurfacing just in time to get anxious all over again about Valentine’s Day. Then, when it seemed the two of them were actually inching towards some sort of mutual understanding, Shimamura’s original Adachi-like lamprey appears, eager to rekindle a personal relationship with her. Considering Adachi’s profound insecurities regarding her importance to Shimamura, I imagine we’re in for a real charnel house of a Valentine’s Day celebration.
That said, our leads have made some key, undeniable steps forward in terms of their psychological conflicts. Both of them have admitted that the other’s presence has “returned some color” to their world, a clear enough metaphor for rising above the muffling haze of depression. Additionally, they’re each starting to recognize the differences in how they perceive each other; Adachi understands that Shimamura doesn’t reciprocate her overwhelming passion, while Shimamura is doing her best to respect Adachi’s intense feelings. They’re close enough now that the idea of genuinely honest conversation is no longer a distant dream – so of course, here comes Tarumi to throw a wrench in the works. Let’s wince our way through the fallout for another episode of Adachi and Shimamura!
Summer 2021 – Week 8 in Review
Jeez, the anime seasonal schedule is all kinds of messed up, huh? According to broadcast schedules, late August is somehow just two-thirds of the way through the summer season. Well, I can’t exactly complain, and it’s frankly my own fault for not transitioning to a more appropriate title system over a year ago. I dunno, the 13-week divisions just seem like a convenient partitioning device; and at this point, it’d probably be more confusing to change the system, anyway.
That aside, you folks probably aren’t here to read me muse about the outdated framing of these vaguely defined articles. You’re here for some friggin’ reviews, and I’m here to provide, with an odd selection of features ranging from giant ants to journeys beyond the stars. There’s an insurmountably vast number of great films out there, and I’m delighted to share and reflect on just a few more of them. Let’s get to work!
Oregairu S3 – Episode 5
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be returning to Oregairu, where we most recently witnessed Yui once again martyring herself for the sake of her friends. Though she’s been attempting to pursue a relationship with Hachiman since the very beginning of the series, she also feels that Yukino actually needs Hachiman, and thus steps aside with a smile the moment her happiness inconveniences their relationship.
Yui’s actions aren’t really unexpected. She’s been sacrificing her happiness for her friends’ sake all series long, and one of Oregairu’s fundamental lessons is that personal growth doesn’t progress in a straight or orderly direction. Sometimes we take strange detours on the road to adulthood, and frequently we’ll find ourselves backsliding into habits we’d hoped to escape from. Hachiman himself has experienced this process a few times, but at least with Hachiman, there is generally the intent to improve. In contrast, it seems like Yui has fundamentally accepted that her needs will always come second to those she cares about, and has no plans to impose her desires on anyone. It’s a very Yui decision, but not a healthy one; kindness is a virtue, but everyone has the right to seek happiness, and Yui’s friends would ultimately want her to be happy as well.
Meanwhile, Yukino is busy locking horns with her mother, in what appears to be a proxy battle representing her overall quest for autonomy. I’m not sure how Hachiman plans to address this situation, but I’m content to watch the sparks fly as these battleships collide. Let’s return to the emotional battlefield of Oregairu!