ODDTAXI – Episode 12

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Right from her early childhood, Rui knew she was born to be a star. Even her first teachers marked her as someone overflowing with ambition, and since then, her unerring pursuit of excellence has led her to the lead position in an idol group. Working hard every day, she has brought her group to the brink of their formal debut, while also saving just enough time to maintain a relationship on the side. In both her personal and professional life, Rui has grabbed the horns of the modern era, and triumphed over the turbulence of the social media age.

So why isn’t she happy?

Well, there is the slight matter of her helping to cover up her costar’s murder. But as Rui herself admitted, she herself was ready to murder in that moment, after learning that her coveted lead position was being handed to another. In spite of her lifetime of effort, there was ultimately someone better than her, just as there always will be. And to someone like Rui, who defines herself by her unparalleled excellence, playing second string to another might as well be a death sentence.

To those who don’t wish to compete in a zero-sum game of personal commercialization, social media is an inauthentic nightmare, a game show where you are directed by cattle prods to smile at the camera. You cannot promise as much as it demands; to master it is to embrace the dreams of Icarus, only to tumble like Kakihana and Taichi. But even to those who love competition, and see it as the natural state of being, the modern world’s continuous demand for insincerity and excellence is a source of perpetual erosion, grinding down your energy day after day. Rui is now fighting to defend a position she’s not even sure she wants, having been condemned for the very measures she took to be publicly adored.

But even if the internet cannot make us happy, there’s always the chance it can make us rich. So trend the hopes of ODDTAXI’s remaining contenders, as the day of reckoning continues to unfold. Let’s get right back to the action, as we explore the penultimate episode of ODDTAXI!

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Fall 2021 – Week 13 in Review

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Apparently we’ve reached the end of another year, though with all the fires of 2020 still raging, it certainly doesn’t feel like that much time has passed. Biden has settled into the bemused indifference of most modern democrats, COVID is still running wild, and the environment is in chaos; so far, so normal for our apocalyptic era. With the external world maintaining its all-seasons horror show, I’ve mostly been marking my time in art consumed, which frankly isn’t all that different from my usual behavior.

To be honest, the biggest difference is this project right here. With a clear incentive to actually jot down my thoughts on everything I’m watching, I’m engaging in more active thinking about the connections between all these films, and broadening my appreciation of cinema at record pace. Transitioning these articles to my weekly film adventures has been a great boon for both my artistic education and mental health, so I’m thankful to you all for bearing with me as I sail through the history of cinematic storytelling. Let’s break down one more week in film!

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The Big O – Episode 17

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be journeying back to Paradigm, as Roger continues to uncover the secrets of his amnesiac city. That process has actually been going quite smoothly lately; this season has already offered new context for the histories of Roger and Dorothy, and the last episode even saw Roger trading barbs with Rosewater directly. Explaining that his plans are predicated on the “memories of the future” extracted from his stolen data disc, Rosewater seemed almost eager to reveal his grand designs. As we move further into what was always intended as Big O’s second half, it seems the series is gearing up for both a physical and metaphorical paradigm shift.

I apologize for that awful play on words, but seriously, Paradigm’s name is feeling more appropriate all the time. The city of Paradigm is not a stable reality – it is one way of seeing reality, a specific set of assumptions underpinning an artificially conjured present. Paradigm is a state of mind, a world that could only be created through cultural manipulation on a mass scale: the great wave of amnesia. Now, Rosewater holds the blueprints of a new Paradigm, and intends to use that knowledge to remake the city in his image. Whether he succeeds or fails, the dream that is Paradigm is sure to dissipate in the harsh morning light. Let’s get to it!

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Fall 2021 – Week 12 in Review

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I have some lamentable news: every single film I watched this week was great. No grand failures, no experimental misfires, not even any random nonsense my housemates dredged from the depths of Netflix. Every single movie was great, and that means I actually have to provide meaningful commentary for all of them, rather than tossing them aside with a terse summary and a jab at the director’s mother. On the other hand, I suppose this is actually good news for all of you, as you get to enjoy my cinematic ramblings for that much longer. So let’s get to it, ya animals, as we run down a worryingly distinguished Week in Review!

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Ranking of Kings – Episode 1

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be embarking on a journey through a show that’s pretty much unanimously considered one of 2021’s best productions, Ranking of Kings. Having already screened the first episode back around its debut, I can affirm that Ranking of Kings is indeed The Good Shit, but let’s start off with a brief breakdown of the production situation inspiring its excellence.

Wit Studio roared onto the anime scene ten years ago, branching off from Production I.G., and swiftly gaining acclaim for their adaptation of Attack on Titan. Their productions in the years since have included such highlights as After the Rain and Vinland Saga, with the first of those properties highlighting the unique “makeup team” the studio developed during Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, and the second illustrating their tendency to bite off more than they can chew in terms of production scheduling. Though their attachment to the Titan franchise has afforded them a perhaps over-inflated reputation among general anime fans, the studio has built an undeniably impressive catalog over a short time, bringing a unique style of painterly artistry to projects ranging from Rolling Girls to Vivy.

For Ranking of Kings, the studio has assembled a top shelf team worthy of a prestige production, and appear to be consciously aiming to create a property that will fortify their artistic credentials. Art director Yuuji Kaneko has previously served as art director on projects ranging from Madoka Magica to Little Witch Academia to Patema Inverted, while the production’s roster of key animators includes many of the greatest working artists in the business. The economic conditions of anime production rarely allow for projects that strive purely to be great works of art, so I’m eager to see Wit’s artists apply their talents to something with such grand and admirable ambitions. Let’s get to it!

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Anne of Green Gables – Episode 4

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You can do it, Anne! It only took one wagon ride to convince Matthew you belonged in the family, and Marilla may well be a tougher nut to crack, but you’ve had a whole extra day to win her over. For as much as Marilla has protested over Anne’s precocious and talkative nature, it’s been easy to see her initial distrust fade into something at least a dash more warm and accommodating. And with Anne having promised to make the most of this final ride, I imagine she’ll be returning to the star-struck wonder of her first journey, with a sprinkling of melancholy to tug at Marilla’s heart. Marilla’s certainly a tough customer, but it’s hard to imagine any fundamentally decent person won’t be won over by Anne eventually.

I’m quite looking forward to seeing Anne triumph today, even though it’s also been fun to witness her larger-than-life despair. Whether in happiness or sorrow, Anne is determined to live with the intensity of her storybook heroes, with Takahata’s production providing a suitably gorgeous backdrop for her adventures. It’s been a privilege to watch and write about this profoundly generous production, and I hope you’re half as excited as I am as we return to the hills of Green Gables!

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The Demon Girl Next Door – Episode 3

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am eager to dive back into The Demon Girl Next Door, whose first two episodes were as charming as is legally permissible. Yuko and Momo have already proven themselves to be excellent heroines in their own right, and far greater as a matched pair. Yuko’s confident spirit and profound incompetence slot her into a long and distinguished line of anime gremlins, while Momo’s deadpan affectation is a fun twist on expectations that make her a perfect foil for Yuko. Momo seems genuine in her support for Yuko’s ambitions, but also can’t help but tease her adorable demon friend, making for a wonderful central dynamic.

Of course, along with that strong character chemistry, I’ll also be keeping an eye on this show’s intriguing perspective on magical girls more generally. Like Madoka Magica before it, Demon Girl seems interested in how magical girls can be used as a signifier for society’s expectations about women. In these worlds, righteousness is not something we embody, but something we are assigned, and must perform as the eye of society wills it. Demon Girl gestures towards the limits of this philosophy even with its lead’s personalities: Yuko’s chipper disposition makes her a natural magical girl type, while Momo’s cool, imperturbable affectation is more regularly assigned to villains. But here they are, trying to do their best with the roles they’ve been given, and propping each other up in spite of society’s demand for blood. Let’s see how our perfectly mismatched heroines fare!

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Fall 2021 – Week 11 in Review

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Hello everyone, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. I have to admit, my film viewing hours have been diminished as of late, due to one obvious and embarrassing cause: Darkest Dungeon is taking over my life. I am not one of those people who plays a videogame casually, logging in a few minutes here and there throughout the week. Either I bounce off a game almost immediately, or I let it consume me entirely, thinking of little else until my trials are complete. My mind is now perpetually half-occupied with hardy adventurers and the trials thereof, but I fortunately managed to sneak in a sturdy collection of film viewings in the margins of the week. With a healthy mix of artistry, indulgence, and straightforward violence ahead of us, let’s dive into the Week in Review!

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Shadows House – Episode 1

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m reaching deep into our bag of outstanding projects, as we check out the first episode of the recent production Shadows House. I know very little about this production, beyond the fact that its source material seems relatively well-liked, and that the adaptation received a modest but altogether consistent degree of praise. 

Director Kazuki Oohashi cut his teeth on a variety of SHAFT productions, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see some degree of the post-Shinbo school’s signature tricks represented here. After that, he storyboarded and directed several episodes of the Persona 5 anime, meaning he’s also spent time with that irrepressible stylist Masashi Ishihama. Given this combined education, I’m expecting ornate scene-setting, a strong focus on overall layouts, and a general disregard for naturalism as a cinematic goal. Ishihama is one of very few directors who can pull off horror in animation, so I’m eager to see if Oohashi brings some of that style to this production. Without further ado, let’s dive into Shadows House!

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Eureka Seven – Episode 9

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Yeah, no, we’re not doing another five year break between episodes. Eureka Seven has been a delight to return to, and I’m eager to learn more about Holland’s mission and history. The conclusion of last episode seemed to promise we’ll be digging into Holland and Talho’s shared past, but whatever this episode brings, I’m content just to luxuriate in this show’s overwhelming bounty of character animation and background design. We just plain don’t get originals of this scale and quality anymore; the market has moved towards single-cour light novel adaptations as a rule, with only an occasional Deca-Dence or Sonny Boy slipping through the cracks. It’d be easy to lament this transition, but every era of anime production has its own pleasures and pitfalls, and I’d rather celebrate the good in each of them. Let’s explore the wild bounty of the ‘00s then, as we return to the skies of Eureka Seven!

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