Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. I actually didn’t get to any noteworthy films this week, but that’s largely because I’ve been devoting most of my free time to two acclaimed TV shows, both of which I attempted and failed to finish once before, and both of which I’m determined to complete this time. Powering through arcs of Steven Universe and Breaking Bad at the same time has made for a somewhat unorthodox media diet, but they’re both very interesting in their own ways, and it’s been illuminating getting a better grasp on the whole “prestige TV” genealogy. Meanwhile, Deca-Dence remains excellent, and I’m also continuing my rewatch of Oregairu, which you can follow through my first honest-to-god twitter thread. There’s plenty of media to break down, so let’s not waste any more time, and jump right into the Week in Review!
Symphogear AXZ – Episode 7
Hello everyone, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today we are absolutely continuing our journey through Symphogear AXZ, as our last episode left us on a… hm, is there a unique word for a positive cliffhanger? Like, normally “you need to know what’ll happen next” is something relevant to a moment of great narrative uncertainty and distress, but in this case, we’re not hanging on to see “how will the good guys get out of this one” – the good guys are fine, and actually just resolved their whole LiNKER subplot last episode. We’re instead in the reverse case: “wait and see just how badly the good guys beat the crap out of the villains.” I’m actually pretty certain that’s still just a cliffhanger, but either way, with all six wielders now at full strength, episode six left us with the promise of a full ensemble battle, or at least an immediate forced retreat by those dastardly alchemists. Let’s see where our journey takes us in another episode of SYMPHOGEAAAR!
Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 16
Having been extremely good and worked hard enough last week to increase my overall article buffer, today I am treating myself, and you know what that means – we’re heading back to Alola, where the seas are blue and the skies are clear and the pokemon all have adorable mannerisms that make you wanna just squish their little faces. Sun and Moon’s last episode was brimming with just that sort of charming character acting, as we watched Ash and his pokemon engaging in some genuinely grueling training in order to beef Rockruff up for his big fight. And with Rockruff now on his team, Ash might now possess the proper poke power to continue his island pilgrimage, or at the very least solidly trounce Team Rocket. But whether this episode advances the larger narrative or just luxuriates in slice of life reveries, I’m just happy to be back in Alola, and hope you’ll join me for another episode of Sun and Moon. Let’s get to it!
The Weight We Carry: Spirit Circle, Volume 3
As Kouko drives him forward and Rune cheers him on, it’s becoming more and more clear that our young Fuuta is beginning to come apart at the seams.
This is not really Fuuta’s fault. At this point, he’s carrying the regrets of three past lives with him, all of whom lived longer lives than Fuuta himself. The vast majority of Fuuta’s memories are now inherited, and as he goes through his daily life, old selves float like intrusive thoughts to the surface. Sometimes, even Fuuta himself doesn’t notice the change; Spirit Circle frequently employs sequences of panels where Fuuta slips between selves without warning, with only the audience truly understanding his flickering selfhood. At other times, his past lives trudge behind him like a sad caravan, a burden he must carry wherever he goes.
Summer 2020 – Week 4 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome to another Week in Review. This week I’ve got a pretty diverse stew of films and shows to cover, ranging from the persistently fascinating Deca-Dence to new releases, old classics, and whatever my housemate could find on Netflix. The big hit this week was Do the Right Thing, which I’ve known by reputation as one of the most insightful and just-plain-excellent films on race in America, and which I’m happy to report is fucking fantastic, obviously. It turns out the entire film criticism community was right about that one, who would have guessed. Anyway, I’ve rambled about things I’m about to ramble about again for long enough, so let’s get right down to the Week in Review!
Why It Works: What Are Your Favorite Musical Cues in Anime?
This week on Why It Works, I dug into the power of a great musical cue, something I personally am an absolute sucker for. Nearly all of my favorite moments in anime take strong advantage of a impactful music drop; music possesses an ability to immediately evoke an emotional state like few other art forms, and can hit us on a level that entirely bypasses conscious, reasoned response. I greatly enjoyed writing this one, and hope you have a nice time reading it too. Let’s get to it!
What Are Your Favorite Musical Cues in Anime?
Kaguya-sama: Love is War – Episode 2
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! Today I’ll be continuing a journey through one of the most acclaimed recent shows that I haven’t already seen, as we explore the second episode of Kaguya-sama: Love is War. So far, Shinichi Omata’s creative, energetic direction has been Kaguya-sama’s strongest feature by far, with nearly every gag earning itself a unique style of visual embellishment. Building off the base color scheme of Kaguya’s own design, Omata has created a spy-versus-spy reminiscent aesthetic that gives the whole show a sense of cohesiveness and cool, acting as a perfect tonal counterpoint to the show’s absurd conflicts.
Visually, I don’t really have any complaints. However, the show’s initial premise already feels it’s wearing thin for me – meaning for this episode, what I’m really hoping for is some expansion in terms of the show’s scope, and particularly in terms of its emotional punch. I know Kaguya and Miyuki like each other, but I don’t really know them well enough to know why they like each other, or see their relationship as something to actively root for. I’ll forgive a lot in a show if it has a compelling central romance, and if Kaguya-sama can match its stellar visual execution with some endearing character writing, I’ll probably be hooked. Let’s see what’s in store in the second episode of Kaguya-sama!
Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 15
Over in the real world, COVID is still ravaging the globe, protests are raging worldwide in response to my country’s racist, murderous police force, and government officials are calling on the military to cut down citizens with absolute impunity. If these aren’t the end of the days, they are the very least a brutal crucible through which all of us must pass with tremendous hardship, emerging into a future that bears little resemblance to the untenable past.
In light of all that fire and brimstone, I think we could all use a brief trip back to Alola. Staying involved and fighting for a better future is important, but we have to keep our spirits up as well, and recently, very little has given me as much joy as Pokemon Sun and Moon. Both Sun and Moon’s heroes and villains are utterly charming characters, the islands themselves are an inherently relaxing destination, and every episode demonstrates the strengths of this production’s animators in new ways. Last episode was entirely taken up by Lillie learning how to pet a Vulpix named Snowball, and I’d be perfectly happy with an equally fuwa fuwa premise this time as well. Let’s set aside the concerns of the day for just a moment, and enjoy some Pokemon Sun and Moon!
Toradora! – Episode 6
“Are you tired of being nice? Don’t you just want to go ape shitt?”
– Anonymous
It’s a little ironic that Ryuuji and Taiga initially bonded over their mutual inability to truly express their feelings. Though they have the same fears anyone might have about directly confessing to their crush, in a general sense, Ryuuji and Taiga are both unusually transparent, straightforward teenagers. Ryuuji would never lie or manipulate to get ahead, and Taiga wields her emotions like a rhinoceros driving a go kart, crashing through social niceties with the force of her feelings. And though they can’t really appreciate this, it’s actually that transparency and sincerity that their friends like about them. Kitamura respects Ryuuji for his straightforward decency, and Minori regularly lets Taiga’s rage be the vehicle for her own feelings. Our heroes envy their friends for their seemingly effortless cool and grace, but those friends in turn understand their own actions are in part performances, while Ryuuji and Taiga are always, unabashedly themselves.
Summer 2020 – Week 3 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! Last week I just barely managed to scrabble together enough airing shows to return to my traditional streaming-focused Week in Review model, but since then, my circumstances have taken a couple major turns that make that style significantly less tenable. For one thing, I’m dropping God of High School, because it’s not a good show and I don’t really enjoy watching it anymore. But more importantly, and far more positively, I’ve received some extremely generous reader donations directed towards Oregairu S3 writeups – meaning that from here out, I’ll hopefully be jamming out full weekly Oregairu articles, just as soon as I marathon the entirety of the first two seasons to refresh myself.
Considering the only thing you can really say about God of High School is “animation good, story bad,” hopefully all this counts as a net positive for you folks. And meanwhile, after a slight cooldown period to rekindle my engine after Preview Week, I’ve resumed munching through classic films in earnest, and have plenty more reflections to share with you all. Let’s dive into another Week in Review!