The Big O – Episode 15

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to be returning to The Big O, in the wake of a season premiere that was more boldly surreal than anything the show’s first season threw at us. With the revelation of his origins having shaken his faith in his own identity, Roger Smith walked the streets of a city that was alien to him, and saw his own life story refracted through theater and fiction. After a season of repeatedly dipping its toe in the water, The Big O at last took a plunge into the waters of existentialism.

The Big O has dabbled in surrealism and art-horror before. After all, these genres make for comfortable bedfellows with Big O’s central noir and giant robot influences. Noir has a tendency to embrace ambiguity of all kinds – moral ambiguity, of course, but also a more existential sort of uncertainty, a sense that this world is more vast and inexplicable than our capacity to contain it. Noir heroes know they cannot tame this world – they struggle against it, but the genre’s best moments are often acts of surrender, the “forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown” or “stuff that dreams are made of” moments. In these moments, the distance between noir and conventional crime dramas becomes clear – crime dramas are a fantasy of order and control, whereas noir understands this world is too strange and terrible to ever be pinned down.

Unsurprisingly, this sense of existential unease fuses naturally with The Big O’s psychological inquiry, presenting a world where the boundaries between reality and fantasy, or mystery and horror, are frequently blurred. Whether investigating his client’s requests or his own past, Roger is beginning to discover secrets that are perhaps better left undisturbed. The question is shifting from “can Roger discover the secret of Paradigm” to “should Roger discover the secret of Paradigm, and will his own sense of self survive the process?”

Let’s find out.

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The Woman Called Fujiko Mine – Episode 8

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Good day everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to be returning to The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, as Sayo Yamamoto and Mari Okada continue to tease unexpected and fascinating results out of their twist on the Lupin formula. Last episode saw Fujiko deftly navigate a clear analogue for the Cuban Missile Crisis, spending a little quality time with “Fiadel Kastro” before Goemon cut some missiles in half. In spite of the episode’s loaded political context, Fujiko’s emphatically apolitical perspective actually resulted in a relatively lighthearted episode, more of a vacation than a revolution.

Fujiko’s disinterest in any larger political or moral framework for her actions is one of the most interesting, revealing aspects of her character. As a thief who loves her work, she obviously has no compunction to act in ways that echo larger moral principles. But beyond that, she seems to have embraced a kind of amorality that serves as an essential defense in a hostile world. Fujiko doesn’t have the luxury of principle – the world has been against her from the start, and thus anything she wants, she has been forced to claim by whatever means are available.

Rather than seeking solidarity with fellow victims and pushing back against this unfair world, Fujiko is content to manipulate the rules as she understands them, using intractable, demeaning cultural assumptions like “feminine innocence and fragility” to mislead her opponents. It’s a savvy response to a situation that is entirely outside her control, the natural deduction of someone who knows she can only depend on herself. Fujiko didn’t choose this world, but she’s happy to exploit it, and I’m eager to see where her adventures lead her next.

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Summer 2021 – Week 7 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! I’ve got a couple choice film cuts for you all today, as we explored an old American classic, and a more recent anime one. I’d been meaning to get to Tekkonkinkreet forever, and while I loved the film, I’m a little annoyed that watching it has only left me with even more homework, as now I must read everything Taiyo Matsumoto has ever written. Additionally, we’ve hit the second act break in Wano, which I’ve decided is a fine opportunity to take stock of the journey so far. And before you even ask, no I have not yet seen the final Evangelion movie, but I will as soon as possible! Believe me, you folks will be the first to know, so long as I see it on a Tuesday night and don’t talk to anyone else before my Wednesday post goes up. In the meantime, let’s break down some films!

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Oregairu S3 – Episode 4

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today, we are at long last returning to Oregairu, where things are currently going so well that it’s making me nervous. Normally, watching Oregairu is a sensation not unlike being tortured on a medieval rack, where each new episode’s awkwardness and drama stretches your limbs just a few centimeters past their breaking point. But recently, pretty much all of our principal characters have been getting along, and supporting each other with their various endeavors. What does this mean? 

It’s pretty simple, actually: these kids are finally growing up. Yukino is learning to set aside her brittle pride, Hachiman is becoming more comfortable admitting he cares, and Iroha is earnestly committing herself to the projects she’s passionate about. The crew have grown so much that they might not even need Yui to act as a social moderator anymore – a fact that Yui herself is keenly aware of. With the end of high school approaching, the artificial closeness of the Volunteer Service Club will soon end as well – and at that point, our stars will have to decide what they truly mean to each other. Let’s return to the rich drama of Oregairu!

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Symphogear XV – Episode 4

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At last, our grand mastermind has been revealed! After several seasons of blustering for a return to Imperial Japan and being a general dick to all of his relatives, Fudou Kazanari has revealed himself to be an even more heinous figure than anticipated, and an outright traitor to the Symphocause. This time, victory for our heroes might demand outright rebellion against the Japanese government, as warmongers at home and abroad squabble over the fruits of alchemical research, and the terrible relics left by those who came before.

In structural terms, this reveal aligns the whole Symphogear organization on a dramatic axis the franchise has been favoring from the start: the perpetual conflict between duty and desire, as your orders contradict your human emotions. Most of Hibiki’s allies joined her after discarding the shackles of duty, and even many of her enemies have walked that same path, regardless of whether they joined the team or evaporated in a cloud of narrative-simplifying mist. Now it looks like the Symphogear team as a whole will have to shed the patriarchal bonds of its Japanese stewardship, in order to… join the larger, chosen family of our global alliances? Yeah, I’m pretty sure that metaphor works. Anyway, we’ve got punches to get to, so let’s not waste any more time poking at Symphogear’s thematic architecture. LET’S GET TO THE BATTLES!

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The Girl in Twilight – Episode 12

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Heads up fuckers, Asuka and Yu are in love and there’s nothing you can do about it. Last episode’s conclusion was all I could have hoped for and more, as Yu and Asuka’s emotional journeys reached their destined ends, and the show reaffirmed their relationship in the best way possible.

First off, the explanation for both Asuka and Yu’s current emotional stasis turned out to be a graceful reflection of this story’s inspiring incident. Kyo’s disappearance had shaken both of them to the core, driving a rift between them that no amount of time could really repair. For Asuka, choosing a future beyond her home would feel like a betrayal of her brother, and so she refused to think about the future. For Yu, her frustration at being unable to reach her friend would eventually build into an emotional wall, where she’s willing to joke and hang out with Asuka, but unable to truly speak her mind. With a little help from her less-inhibited self, Yu was at last able to break through that wall, and admit she loved Asuka – and with Yu’s love supporting her, Asuka was then able to love herself, and forgive herself for losing Kyo.

It was a perfectly crafted culmination of both their arcs, and a testament to The Girl in Twilight’s consistently elegant narrative structure. But as structurally sound as it was, that sequence wouldn’t have landed without Twilight’s equally compelling character work, or its charming, convincingly naturalistic dialogue. Asuka and Yu have sounded like an old married couple all season long, constantly bickering, but always acting with a clear understanding and respect for the feelings of the other. It’s easy enough now to see them as romantically coded – I simply didn’t expect The Girl in Twilight to break that barrier, and make their relationship explicit. Well, it’s explicit now, and I couldn’t be happier for these two idiots. Let’s defeat the King of Twilight with the power of love, heroes!

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Summer 2021 – Week 6 in Review

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Hello folks, and what the heck is up. Personally, I’ve been feeling pretty good about my progress getting back into regular jogging – there were a disappointingly sedentary couple of years there, but I’ve recently been sticking to three runs a week, and feeling both physically and emotionally better for it. Anyway, we’ve got an excellent set of films to run through today, ranging from a David Lynch classic to some actual goddamn anime. Meanwhile, I’ve still been plugging away at One Piece, and recently wrote up a Whole Cake-centric exploration of family. I’m frankly not emotionally prepared for One Piece to exit my life, and you’ll be getting an article soon about how that feels as well, but for now I’m enjoying Wano with all the passion I can possibly muster. In the meantime, let’s peruse some fine film selections, as we sort through another Week in Review!

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ODDTAXI – Episode 7

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A storm is brewing in ODDTAXI, one whose clouds loom over every soul we’ve met so far. As episodes have stacked up, odd points of connection have emerged all across the cast, from Atsuya and Nikaido’s relationship to Yamamoto’s murky ties to Dobu’s employers. In a show that’s so thematically preoccupied with the alienation of the modern world, it feels like a kind of cruel irony that its cast are so oddly connected – not in such a way that they might comfort each other, but more in the way dominoes are linked yet separate, bonded only by their mutually assured destruction. A tragedy anywhere in our cast would send ripples through the entire ensemble; and with the danger ratcheted up to its current fever pitch, such a tragedy is beginning to feel inevitable.

Such a sense of unease is common in the noir traditions ODDTAXI draws upon. Rather than hoping for genuine salvation, noir heroes seek only to avoid the flood, and perhaps save an innocent or two along the way. Traditionally, the darkness of these stories was fomented in the ravages of post-war trauma; for ODDTAXI, the stratified, performative nature of social media and modern capitalism provide more than enough horror, allowing characters like Tanaka to drown in the dissatisfaction of modern living. In a world like this, clinging to the connections you can truly count is likely the best we can hope for – and with Odokawa demanding that Dobu let Shirakawa go, it seems like this show’s most precious bond might still be intact. I’m holding on hope for ODDTAXI’s painfully human lost souls, as we enter the second half of this magnificent production.

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Space Battleship Yamato 2199 – Episode 7

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The Yamato is free! After unraveling Shultz’s nefarious schemes, our intrepid crew launched a counterattack on the Gamalian base, saving not just their own ship, but the innocent citizens of earth as well. At last, no more bombs will fall from our celestial neighbors. Mankind has struck a crucial blow against our oppressors, and now our great hope has broken free of the solar system, its crew buoyed up by our collective dreams. Godspeed, Yamato – where you go, so go the aspirations of all humanity.

Gosh, Yamato is almost as fun to describe as it is to watch. Whether it’s the show’s bombastic style, imaginative narrative, or crisp execution, there’s plenty to enjoy about Yamato 2199, and I’m eager to see how the story develops now that we’re out in the far reaches of space. Let’s return to the bridge for another episode of Space Battleship Yamato 2199!

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86 – Episode 3

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Hello all, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to last season’s 86, which had a bit of a rocky start script-wise, but then proceeded to impress me with an all-around excellent second episode. I’m still not sold on the larger strokes of this show’s worldbuilding, but it’s more than made up for that with the character moments so far, which have convincingly illustrated the human bonds between the 86, as well as Lena’s distinct perspective. 

Lena is absurdly naïve about the nature of her own country, and basically everyone around her knows it. But at the same time, her optimism, good intentions, and high competency as an operator still seem destined to win over Undertaker’s crew, even if they know too much to echo her feelings. My biggest concern now is what will happen when Lena’s optimism slams into the brick wall of her government’s perspective. The 86 have been intentionally dehumanized in order to provide a steady source of disposable soldiers – by walking around saying shit like “we all look up at the same stars,” Lena is deliberately undercutting her country’s propaganda efforts. In 1984, the response to such a threat to the class system was “reprogram the irritant” – I doubt 86 is going that route, but it also seems hard to believe they’ll just let her do what she wants. Whether her reckoning comes through learning the truth about her nation or being outright sanctioned by it, I’m eager to see where her story goes. Let’s get to it!

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