Buckle up folks, we’ve got a pile of films to get through and not much time to do it! The house was pretty darn productive this week, with our viewings ranging from mid-century horror to modern family films, along with a delightful garnish of One Piece. We are at this point in full savoring mode for Wano, consuming only an episode or two at a time, and making the most of what we have left. After all, when each sequence of episodes offers a few highlights like this, it feels like it’d be disrespectful to rush through. In the meantime, we’ve actually been turning back to catch up on all the filler episodes we initially skipped past, and enjoying the low-stakes nostalgia of conflicts like “Sanji’s gotta win a cooking contest!” It’s been a cheery week on the whole, and I’m eager to share my findings with you all, so let’s get started on the Week in Review!
Big Windup! – Episode 5
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. You folks ready for some baseball? The match between Mihashi and his previous team, Mihoshi (yes, it’s a little confusing), is finally heating up, as Mihoshi’s players begin to realize this isn’t the pitcher they’re used to. With Abe’s tactical and psychological support, Mihashi is striking out batter after batter, and gaining the confidence in his play that he’d been denied for years. With every ball Mihashi throws, he is developing into the weapon his team needs, a pitcher who could truly carry them to glory.
Unfortunately for our heroes, they’ve so far been benefitting from the fact that their opponents aren’t trying very hard. Most of Mihoshi’s players don’t take Mihashi seriously, and those who weren’t around for the middle school drama have even less incentive to care about this practice game. So it went for ace hitter Oda – but with pitcher Kanou having now begged him to actually commit, and the rest of the team presumably realizing they’re in actual trouble, I’m guessing Mihoshi’s engines will now be kicking into gear. Can our heroes take down Mihoshi’s best, and help their pitcher gain the confidence to succeed? I don’t know why you’re asking me, let’s just watch the damn episode!
Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 45
Hello everyone, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. I’ll be perfectly frank: I am tired right now, and in need of something comforting to get me back in positive spirits. Last week I came down with some awful illness that had me basically horizontal for three days straight, followed by another day or two of begrudging, sniffly recovery. After a year of careful quarantine best practices, it felt like the world cursed me with a plague the moment I dared to step into sunlight. And of course, it’s not like my responsibilities took a time-out to let me get back in gear; thus most of that recovery time was also spent writing articles, and making up for the time I decadently afforded myself for being too sick to move. Today is the first day I’ve felt more-or-less healthy in a week, and in the spirit of maintaining that health, I’m treating myself (and you all, hopefully???) to an episode of Sun and Moon.
When we last left off, Sun and Moon appeared to have finally commenced its actual plot. Starcloud, Lusamine, and Alola’s legendary pokemon were key to the Sun and Moon game’s narrative from the start, but given we’ve spent forty glorious episodes just faffing about, I was beginning to wonder if Sun and Moon would even have a plot, at least beyond the island pilgrimage. I frankly wouldn’t have minded that, but I’m also happy to see Lusamine pop in to fawn over her daughter in the most embarrassing way possible, and also see our heroes trade blows with some genuinely threatening opponents. Sun and Moon’s ultra beasts represent Pokemon at its wildest and weirdest, so I’m guessing the next few episodes have some dramatic turns in store for us. Let’s get to it!
ODDTAXI – Episode 6
Oh ODDTAXI, what a tangled web you weave. The lives of its disparate characters are now twisting together in all manner of subtle ways, even as their everyday experience promises nothing but isolation and disappointment. The eraser that Tanaka once coveted now rests in the hands of Odokawa, a gift from the mysterious Shirakawa. The dash cam footage of Yamamoto’s charge is now equally desired by Dobu, and may well solve the riddle of the mob daughter’s disappearance. And Mitsuya’s phone is presumably still lodged in Odokawa’s backseat, a glimmering key that may unlock the secrets of Yamamoto’s organization.
As a slow-burning mystery narrative, ODDTAXI is an airtight creation, using its focus on offhand conversations to gracefully seed all of its narrative turns. Clues pop up incidentally over the course of thoughtful, naturalistic dialogue, setting wheels in motions without ever drawing attention to themselves. The show is fascinating as a narrative puzzle box, yet all the more impressive for the fact that it isn’t even driven by that narrative.
Instead, the show burns most brightly during its rambling dialogues, full of character-rich personal details and poignant reflections on modern living. I could watch ODDTAXI’s cast grumble about their day for hours – with dialogue this insightful and authentic, it feels like a privilege to watch such vibrant, resonant characters in action. Good characters feel like people you could know – great characters remind you that we are all ultimately unknowable, recognizable sure, but capable of actions that feel simultaneously surprising and true to our nature. ODDTAXI is managing to soar on a narrative, character, and thematic level without shortchanging any of them, and I’m thrilled to see where it takes us next. Let’s get on board!
Summer 2021 – Week 4 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the site. With summer in full swing, I actually took a trip with my family from Monday through, uh, literally today, so you’ll have to excuse me if today’s post is on the lighter side. Fortunately, I still did manage to cram in some essential film viewings, including one of the most acclaimed horror movies still on my list. I’m frankly not sure how many other acclaimed horror movies I’ve got left, at least without dipping deeply into franchise sequels. I’m thinking I’ve got a big Italian wave coming – Argento has dazzled me basically every time, so it’s past time I moved beyond him in my gallio research, and munched through the films of Lucio Fulci and so on. As for One Piece, I’m trying to actually savor Wano, rather than gorge myself on it until there’s no Wano left, so it’ll be a little time yet until I have further thoughts there. But for now, let’s burn through some film reviews!
Adachi and Shimamura – Episode 8
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to that utterly hopeless couple Adachi and Shimamura, as the two do their best to navigate the perils of Valentine’s Day. Adachi raised the specter of Valentine’s Day through what has become her signature romantic gesture: asking Shimamura to hang out on what she frames as an arbitrary day, and then reacting with shock when she learns this day is apparently Christmas or something. Her gambit is obvious, adorable, and kinda sad all at once, but at this point she’s two for two on tricking Shimamura into dates, so something must be working.
As for Shimamura, it seems like she may have reached a genuine turning point in her emotional struggles. Shimamura has spent most of this series in a depressive haze, seeing no color or joy in the world around her, and mostly just going through the motions of high school life. With nothing to inspire her passion or drive her forward, she felt detached from the world around her, and too distant to reciprocate Adachi’s feelings. Now, having long grappled with the fear of Adachi disrupting her sense of self, she is beginning to see the world in color once more. Adachi has begun the work of restoring her passion, and I’m eager to see if this date will represent another step forward. Let’s get to it!
Bodacious Space Pirates – Episode 13
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we are presented with a vast and glittering starscape, offering a call to adventure as insistent as anything in fiction. There is no trepidation now, no fear of the unknown; Marika has won the support of her crew, and now has an improbable fairy tale of an adventure under her belt. Instead, this is the calm, comforting peace of the professional lull, as the Bentenmaru and her crew prepare for the storms to come.
With the Golden Ghost Ship arc now completed, I’m guessing we’ll be returning to Sea of the Morningstar, and reuniting with both Chiaki and the yacht club. The last set of episodes have served as a fine introduction to the Bentenmaru’s crew, and now that we’ve got a feel for these characters in their natural habitat, I’m eager to see them try and negotiate with Marika’s high school friends. Marika’s greatest talent might be her ability to naturally integrate into any community, and actually make the people around her feel more comfortable for her presence – but that gift certainly won’t extend to characters like Coorie or Schnitzer, so I’m expecting some charming awkwardness ahead. Either way, the slate is empty and the skies are clear as we return to Bodacious Space Pirates. Let’s see what the heavens hold!
The Big O – Episode 14
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to The Big O, where we last left Roger staring out at an approaching wave of Megadeus. After a full season of slowly chipping away at the vast mysteries of Paradigm, The Big O’s first season ended in a flurry of ambiguous revelations, and ultimately offered far more questions than answers.
And for two years, that was it. With the producers discouraged by poor viewership numbers, The Big O’s original 26-episode run was cut in half, leaving only this open question of a finale. It was only two years later, buoyed by additional funding from Cartoon Network, that The Big O would finally reach its conclusion. Based on the show credits, it appears that The Big O’s second half might be shifting in an even more cerebral, ambiguous direction over its second half – after all, Chiaki Konaka wrote every script for the second half, rather than splitting duties with a variety of other writers. Fortunately, the show’s surfeit of excellent directors remains, with this first episode featuring Ikuro Sato, a Sunrise/BONES mainstay who also directed The Big O’s first season premiere. I don’t know what to expect and I couldn’t be happier for it, so let’s not waste any more time, and dive into The Big O’s second half!
Summer 2021 – Week 3 in Review
How the hell do these articles keep getting so long. The movie reviews were supposed to be quick reads, just a paragraph or so! I’m pretty sure they started as blurbs, but like all of my projects, I eventually start writing until there are no more words to write, and doubling my workload for no particularly good reason.
Well, I’ve got a meaty one for you all this week, full of diverse movie reviews, as well as the requisite dash of One Piece. Having spent most of the year so far powering through dozens of episodes a week, it’s a little unnerving to consider that I’m less than a hundred episodes from the finish line. Fortunately, Wano is such a visual upgrade for the series that I really can’t watch at the pace I used to, and am now forced to actually appreciate each episode with my full, undivided attention. “One Piece has gotten too beautiful to speed-watch” is a pretty nice problem to have, so I’ve few complaints as we enter the show’s current arc. In the meantime, let’s burn down some fresh films!
ODDTAXI – Episode 5
Well Odokawa, what will you do now? In spite of the man’s apparent desire to lead a quiet life, trouble just keeps managing to find him. This latest catastrophe isn’t even his fault, really; after all, could any of us be blamed for wanting to escape the grey doldrums of their daily life, and spend some time with a friend like Shirakawa? But purposefully or not, Odokawa has now attracted the undying hatred of Tanaka, a man who, having failed to acquire his dodo jpeg, truly has nothing to lose.
ODDTAXI’s last episode was a tapestry of alienation, a character study as pointed and convincing as anything in the medium. In a show that’s already captured the loneliness of modern society from a half-dozen angles, Tanaka’s story felt like a journey to the heart of darkness, the dislocation of a story like Taxi Driver transposed to the predatory mechanics of mobile games. Tanaka’s antisocial tendencies, addictive personality, and inferiority complex all latched onto Zooden with glee, dragging an already-unhappy man to the point where his self-worth lived and died alongside a digital dodo. When you’re as emotionally distanced from the world as Tanaka, simply becoming an instrument with purpose can seem like salvation – and with his dodo gone, the blue flame has awoken in Tanaka, telling him his purpose is Odokawa’s destruction. Let’s see how all these lonely souls survive another gripping episode of ODDTAXI!