Brand New Animal – Episode 2

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be continuing our exploration of Studio Trigger’s latest production, the characteristically high energy Brand New Animal. BNA’s first episode had some clear strengths and weaknesses, and they broke down largely how you’d expect, given the staff involved. Hiroyuki Imaishi himself offered a dynamic storyboard, full of the angular, energetic compositions he’s known for, and elevated by Trigger’s remarkable collection of in-studio animators. It’s still a joy just to see this post-Gainax crew bring characters to life; their sense of cartoonish energy is second to none, and felt like the strongest part of that premiere.

On the negative side, this show is still being written by Kazuki Nakashima, meaning the plot felt simplistic and predictable wherever it didn’t feel disjointed or incoherent. Nakashima has handled series composition on nearly every Imaishi production, and his writing has disappointed me on all of them. He has no understanding of character writing beyond hot-blooded energy and basic tropes, he has only the barest understanding of narrative structure or momentum, and he never gives an indication that he’s thought deeply about anything, or grappled with the idea of thematic intent on a level beyond “wouldn’t it be cool if this happens.”

Nakashima has made it this long because he generally writes shows whose narrative is “what if the protagonist punched everyone,” so pairing him with a production that’s clearly attempting to discuss societal prejudice seems like an incredibly dicey proposition. But we’ll see how it plays out, as we explore another episode of Brand New Animal!

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Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 32

Folks, we’ve no time to lose. Olivia’s first day as the team’s interim teacher has begun, and it’d be terrible form to show up late for our very first class. Having finally arrived at Akala island, I’m eager to see Sun and Moon explore this fresh new environment, and possibly even move our crew forward on their island pilgrimage.

If this were a pokemon game, I’d say we’re somewhere between the second and third cities at the moment, perhaps right around where your starter evolves into its second form, and your team begins to resemble a cultivated roster, rather than whatever birds and rats you found in your backyard. Ash’s team is certainly getting there, and I expect Olivia’s training to accelerate that – but then again, I’d be just as happy simply to ramble around this new island, and see what its beaches and towns are like. It’s hard to go wrong in Sun and Moon, so let’s see where our journey takes us this time!

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Symphogear AXZ – Episode 12

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. You all ready for some goddamn Symphogear? When last we left off, Hibiki had just consumed all of the energy Adam and Tiki were using to essentially summon a god, which has apparently harmonized somehow with her Gungnir’s god-defeating energy, and now left her inside some kind of massive supernatural chrysalis.

That all sounds pretty bad, but really, that’s about par for the course for Hibiki – she was having her hand bitten off and going berserk around this time season one, and watching the fabric of reality itself get torn asunder in season three. As in those seasons, I’m presuming that Hibiki’s unwilling crystallization means it’s about time for her friends to step in, and either rescue her from her prison, or fight Nega-Hibiki and return her to her former self. Either way, I’m sure that plenty of songs, fists, and passionate speeches await us, as we surge towards the climax of Symphogear AXZ!

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Fall 2020 – Week 10 in Review

Hello everybody, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. My heart was stolen by a videogame again this week, so expect plenty of rambling about Slay the Spire at the end of this piece. But in the meantime, I also snuck in a couple more films, along with polishing off Katsuhiro Otomo’s phenomenal Memories collection. I’ve got harsh words for Hitchcock and effusive praise for killer robots, so hopefully the temperature of my takes can mitigate the relative lightness of this week’s schedule. Let’s get to it! Engine, go! It’s time for the Week in Review!

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Why It Works: Here’s Why You Should Be Excited for Josee, the Tiger and the Fish!

Welp, the title kinda covers it, right? BONES’ upcoming film Josee looks phenomenal in basically every regard, so it was a no-brainer to write a rundown of its many production assets, and hopefully get a few more people excited about this delicate-looking romance. We’ve actually got a bunch of interesting film projects coming, but Josee is high among them, and I’m eager to see it for myself. Here’s the piece!

Here’s Why You Should Be Excited for Josee, the Tiger and the Fish!

Hugtto! Precure – Episode 18

Hello all, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. It has been far too long since we checked in on the stars of Hugtto! Precure, so today we’re addressing that oversight directly, and diving back into the world of Hana and her very patient friends. We arrive on the heels of an absurd run of episodes, with two of the series’ greatest animation spectacles leading directly into Lulu’s long-awaited break from Criasu Corp. In our last episode, Lulu’s story came full circle, as she once again confronted Hana in a maelstrom of flowers, and ultimately came to embrace the joy and the pain of a human heart.

All that’s well and good, but personally, I’m mostly just waiting for Lulu’s reunion with my own favorite Precure, the anxious rock star Emiru. Last episode left her stranded mid-step, as she raced to save her friend in need, so I’m hoping this episode will open with them bonking heads pretty much immediately. But however the story winds, I’m sure we’ll have an excellent time with Huggto. Let’s get to it!

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Bodacious Space Pirates – Episode 9

Folks, I’m thinking it’s about time for more Bodacious Space Pirates. We last left off the series on the cliffhangeriest of cliffhangers, as Marika found herself on the brink of confrontation with a seemingly hostile force. Though the point of this mission was ostensibly to gain more information on the ghost ship from Gruier’s associates, their initial assumption was that this meant they’d be meeting some kind of reconnaissance ship, with no real possibility of open conflict. Instead, Marika’s now facing down five Serenity combat vessels, one of them already having taken serious damage, prompting the very real possibility of Marika causing an interstellar political incident.

Of course, Marika’s already proven herself a capable mediator, and more practically speaking, we’re only eight episodes into a two-cour production. I can’t imagine Marika getting blown into space dust quite so soon into the show, but I’m eager to see how she avoids that possibility, so let’s dive on into another installment of Bodacious Space Pirates!

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Dorohedoro – Episode 5

Hello everyone, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to be returning to Dorohedoro, a show which has swiftly established itself as one of 2020’s very best productions. Heck, Dorohedoro would still be a top show even in a year less beset by plague and isekai; from its charming cast and confident worldbuilding to its absolutely gorgeous background design, the show is an embarrassment of riches, with only the unfortunate weak point of its CG character designs holding it down. But it’s a credit to this story’s appeal that even though its actual fight scenes are pretty lousy, it’s still keeping me gripped with its narrative turns.

Dorohedoro is a fusion of many things, but one of my favorite of its combinations is how it transposes old school magical ritual to a gritty urban setting. Magic isn’t a clean or obvious process here; it’s personal and unmanageable and terribly messy, in the way you’d see in an old-school fairy tale (or more recently, something like The Ancient Magus Bride). Dorohedoro has taken that old-school woods magic and recast it as both the symptom and cause of urban decay, the dark energy that runs through the drainage lines beneath Hole’s concrete jungle. It’s a fascinating mix, like a witchier variation on cyberpunk, and I’m eager to see what else Q Hayashida can do with it. Without further rambling, let’s get to Dorohedoro!

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Fall 2020 – Week 9 in Review

Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. I’m terrified to report that the Week in Review has grown into a wild and furious beast, and at this time I fear it’s too powerful to be contained. I mentioned last week how I’d watched too many dang movies, thus forcing me to shuffle some of my writeups over to this week – well, as it turned out, I kept watching movies this week, and now the situation’s even more out of control. I can’t just keep foisting extra reviews onto the next week’s article ad infinitum, so I’m declaring that the buck stops here, and I just keep writing until I’ve powered my way through every outstanding film. You with me? Let’s do this. It’s time for the Week in Review!

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Winter 2021 Season Preview

Hello all, and oh my god, I can barely believe it. I nearly choked up just writing “Winter 2021” for this article title, as I was faced with the enormity of realizing 2020 might one day be over. It’s not even that far off, now! After a year that has simultaneously felt momentary and endless (as Isaac Brock says, “the years go fast but the days go so slow”), it’s at last time to look forward to next year. And though 2021 isn’t exactly promising a reprieve in terms of our global pandemic or political disenfranchisement, it is offering a bunch of cartoons to at least distract us from the end of the world.

Per usual, I won’t be breaking all of the season’s coming attractions here – you can check out a full list over at anichart, along with synopses and trailers and whatnot. Instead, I’ll just be covering the shows that actually grabbed my attention, be it via a strong staff list, impressive trailer, or noteworthy source material. I think that about covers the preamble, so let’s get into it, and see what’s in store in the winter season!

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