Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. The winter anime season is in full swing at this point, and surprisingly enough, I’m actually watching some currently airing anime. Laid-Back Camp is as charming as ever, and Horimiya is readily demonstrating Masashi Ishihama’s talents – but ultimately, Wonder Egg Priority is in a league of its own. The show’s first episode was so gracefully composed, creative, and beautiful that it essentially demanded my attention, evoking those same “shut up and sit down, you’re watching a masterpiece” shivers I got from the premieres of Madoka, or The Eccentric Family, or Flip Flappers. I’ve got a notes article out on that episode already, and am hoping to continue writing on it through the season – but in the meantime, yes, I did indeed also watch a bunch of random movies this week. Without further ado, let’s break ‘em all down in the Week in Review!
Joshiraku – Episode 1
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re going to be sampling another new production, or at least new to me, as we check out the first episode of Joshiraku. Joshiraku has a bit of a reputation for impenetrability, and more specifically difficulty of translation. This makes sense – after all, the show is centered on five would-be rakugo storytellers.
Rakugo is a niche Japanese art form where a single actor sits on stage, and relates a traditional story all by themselves. Though it doesn’t even really show up that much in anime, I ended up learning a great deal about it through the outstanding Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, one of the best shows of the past decade. But without that context, I’d probably be lost from the start here – doubly so because Joshiraku apparently doesn’t even focus on these girls’ ostensible profession, and is instead more concerned with madcap, rapid-fire, reference-heavy comedy.
Premise aside, Joshiraku benefits from the fluffy, expressive character designs of Masayoshi Tanaka, he of Toradora!, Your Name, AnoHana, and much else besides. And most importantly, Joshiraku is written and directed by one of anime’s dream teams: writer Michiko Yokote, and director Tsutomu Mizushima. The two have collaborated on projects ranging from Prison School to Shirobako to Witch Craft Works; to be honest, I think they are the only team in anime I trust with comedy. Knowing this is another of their collaborations gives me a great deal of confidence, so let’s not waste any more time, and check out the first episode of Joshiraku!
Horimiya – Episode 1
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m planning on breaking the mold a bit, and writing up a show that’s actually airing right now. I know, timely criticism, what a concept. We’ll be diving into the first episode of Horimiya, a show I’ve been anticipating since the summer, for one clear reason: it’s directed by motherfuckin’ Masashi Ishihama.
Ishihama is currently one of anime’s greatest hidden treasures. He’s likely best-known for his phenomenal work directing opening and ending sequences – his sequences have elevated shows ranging from ERASED to Occultic;Nine to Encouragement of Climb. Through all of his work, he demonstrates a singular understanding of color contrast, composition, and visual drama, complete with playful flourishes of typography, dramatic silhouettes, and carefully controlled soft focus. And though he’s rarely spearheaded projects of his own, his incredible From the New World stands as one of the best anime of the last decade, and a genuine credit to the medium at large.
While I’ve got plenty of opinions on Ishihama, all I really know about Horimiya is that it’s a high school romance, and that people I tend to trust say it’s a good one. So I’m going in relatively blind here, ready for whatever twists may come, and eager to see how Ishihama elevates it all. Let’s check out the first episode of Horimiya!
Wonder Egg Priority – Episode 1
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll once again be embarking on an unusually timely journey, and exploring the first episode of the now-airing Wonder Egg Priority. Not too much was actually known about Wonder Egg Priority prior to its broadcast, given its anime-original nature and unusually limited marketing materials. With no big trailers or source material to go by, it’s mostly just animation enthusiasts who’ve been hyping the show, due to its remarkably talented key staff.
What we know so far is that the character acting will be nuanced and plentiful, and that judging by his 22/7 web shorts, director Shin Wakabayashi is a clear student of the Naoko Yamada school of direction. Wonder Egg Priority has all the right qualifications to be exactly my sort of thing, but with so little information to go on, this premiere could really go just about anywhere. Without further ado, let’s explore the first episode of Wonder Egg Priority!
Winter 2021 – Week 2 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to the Week in Review. It was a strange and bountiful week in films for my house, as we ran through ‘70s and ‘80s classics, modern thrillers, and also a pile of mostly mediocre children’s films. I’ve been getting back into Monster Hunter World lately, and my housemate generally enjoys keeping some sort of show on in the background, so the number of films I half-watched over my shoulder are frankly too numerous to break down. Fortunately, if any movie was good enough to demand attention, I’d generally shift my focus in its direction – so without further ado, let’s run down every film this week more interesting than hitting monsters with a giant hammer!
Great Pretender – Episode 1
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be exploring the first episode of one of 2020’s most impressive productions, the energetic and visually dazzling Great Pretender. Now, I’ve actually seen the first two arcs of Great Pretender, and have arrived at my own conclusions (a fine-enough heist narrative with outrageously good visual design), so I’ll be bringing a somewhat more informed perspective to this rewatch. But to catch everyone up to speed, what exactly is Great Pretender?
Judging by staff alone, it’d be easy to pin the show as one of 2020’s highlights. The production’s angular, expressive character designs could only come from one artist: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the legendary character designer who handled both Evangelion and FLCL’s character art. Meanwhile, the show’s gorgeous backgrounds, blending realistic line art with simplified, impressionistic color palettes, bear the clear mark of their own creator: Yuusuke Takeda, the art director responsible for The Eccentric Family’s marvelous background aesthetic. Topped off with a director who’s well acquainted with these sorts of narratives, having spearheaded the altogether reasonable 91 Days, and you end up with a production that seems destined for greatness. So how does it all shake out?
The Girl in Twilight – Episode 8
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. When last we left off The Girl in Twilight, we’d just completed Chloe’s world, and defeated a malicious AI in order to… restore peace to the Amazon delivery peninsula? Frankly, I’m not entirely sure how Asuka and her friends’ actions actually changed the conditions of Chloe’s world, considering their current lifestyle was established long before the introduction of any malevolent Clusters. And when you couple that with Chloe’s arc not really possessing any thematic heft beyond “the power of friendship,” you end up with an arc that was undoubtedly The Girl in Twilight’s weakest yet, with Sexy Yu doing an absurd amount of work to keep things interesting.
Fortunately, with Chloe’s arc concluded, The Girl in Twilight will presumably now be interrogating Asuka’s long-suffering best friend, Yu. While Nana, Mio, and Chloe clearly all value their friendship with Asuka, Yu is clearly her closest confidant, and a reflection on her life will undoubtedly serve as a reflection on her relationship with Asuka, as well. After all, as we learned in Chloe’s world, Sexy Yu actually lost her own Asuka, which presumably had a major effect on her values and self-image. The Girl in Twilight is at its best in two extremes: when it’s digging into the subtle edges of its characterization, and when it’s embracing the absurdity and doppelganger-driven potential of its strange worlds. I’m hoping for both, but would be happy enough with either, as we dive once more into The Girl in Twilight!
Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episode 15
A still blue sky is pierced by the roar of helicopters as we enter Evangelion’s fifteenth episode. Evangelion loves contrasting the abrasive intrusion of military hardware and the serene beauty of the natural world – but even as it labors over that contrast, it can’t help but loving the military hardware in its own right. Anno seems a lot like Miyazaki in that way; aware of the ugliness implied by his otaku passions, but unable to deny those passions, with both the love and the critique coming through in his work. Though Anno also extends his interrogations to his basic narrative structures, while Miyazaki has seemingly never lost faith in the purity and power of the classic adventure fable.
But this episode is not about that.
Winter 2021 – Week 1 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome to 2021! Last year was an abject horror show, but things are already somewhat looking up in my country, and presumably the world doesn’t have a second plague in store for us. On a more personal note, I had already written this entire goddamn Week in Review post, but then wordpress decided “save draft” is more of a suggestion than a demand, so I’m banging most of it out again. I hope the first week of your new year is going a little more smoothly than mind, but if not, hopefully my rambling reviews can offer some relief. Let’s dive into 2021’s first Week in Review!
Dorohedoro – Episode 6
They’re currently still counting the votes that may herald the end of democracy in my country altogether, so you might say I’m feeling a little tension at the moment. In light of this, I’m going to do what I usually do at times like these: turn to one of my favorite ongoing projects, and bury myself in some productive work for a little while. Today that means Dorohedoro, where Nikaido is currently facing off against Noi in the guts of En’s estate.
Considering its bountiful worldbuilding flourishes and incidental genre digressions, you’d think Dorohedoro would be the kind of story to take its time with its central narrative, and simply luxuriate in its environment while dropping occasional hints about Caiman’s quest. Instead, in just five episodes, we’ve already discovered the identity of the man in Caiman’s throat, tracked down his gang, and twice faced off with En’s loyal enforcers. Dorohedoro is progressing with the pacing of a series that has nothing to lose, seemingly determined to resolve its initial conflict before it even finishes its first season.
This could either mean that we’ve yet to discover the actual magnitude of Caiman’s quest, or that his quest is merely a prelude to Dorohedoro’s true narrative, the story that’s kept it chugging along for two decades now. Given Hayashida’s confident writing so far, I’m not feeling apprehensive about that reveal – I’m simply excited to learn the truth, and discover precisely what kind of epic we’re dealing with here. Without further ado, let’s inch closer to that truth, and enjoy a fresh episode of Dorohedoro!