Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to slink back into the shadows of Call of the Night, after a premiere that embodied the manifold strengths of author Kotoyama and director Tomoyoki Itamura. Anxious yet intensely felt sensuality, charmingly off-kilter protagonists, and a preoccupation with the “dead time” of our lives, the many moments between active concerns that accumulate into the collective tone of our private worlds – all things Kotoyama grappled deftly in Dagashi Kashi, and all represented with as much confidence here. Those concerns feel right at home married to Itamura’s aesthetic sensibilities; his Monogatari-forged methods of conveying character perspective neatly illustrate the difference between these characters’ self-assigned and outward presentation, while his emphasis on otherworldly landscapes suits a story about the allure of exploring the night perfectly. Let’s see what Ko and his strange new companion get up to this time!
Tag Archives: Anime
Solo Leveling – Episode 1
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re checking out a new property I was recently commissioned, as we explore the first episode of the currently airing Solo Leveling. To be perfectly honest, I’m not entirely sure what to expect from this one, or how exactly it might be my sort of thing; the synopsis seems to indicate it’s basically a post-Sword Art Online riff on similar concepts, and I didn’t really have anything positive to say about the original Sword Art Online. “We’re growing stronger in a world that’s essentially a videogame” is a concept that has very little appeal to me; I prefer my fantasy worlds to be realized as genuine places, and am of the wrong generation to get a thrill out of watching someone else be excellent at a videogame.
In general, I see these works as the consequence of fans not reading broadly, or really at all; if you only consume videogames and light novels, you are almost categorically incapable of writing something rich enough to keep my interest. As for the staff, neither director nor art director nor series composer have any noteworthy credits to their names, but I imagine we’re in for some bombastic musical cues courtesy of the ever-excessive Hiroyuki Sawano. With almost no idea of what we’re getting into, let’s check out the first episode of Solo Leveling!
Yuki Yuna is a Hero – Episode 8
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m hearing the rumble of storm clouds on the horizon, as the peaceful days of the Hero Club’s summer vacation are swiftly coming to an end. In spite of having defeated the twelve vertexes and sustained a variety of lingering injuries in the process, Yuna and her friends are being called to battle once more, facing both an uncertain threat and an increasingly suspicious alleged benefactor. Though their tour of duty was explicitly framed as a clear and finite quest, it seems a hero’s duties are never truly ended – or at least, that our Taisha is far less certain of this venture’s scope than Fuu and the others expected.
This is all great fun for me, of course, as wandering into uncertain structural territory means Yuki Yuna’s thematic intent is now certain to reveal itself. For the first half of this season, Yuki Yuna presented a reasonably executed but generally familiar narrative, focusing on the magical girl genre’s common themes of finding community and developing self-confidence through adolescence. However, the show was always seasoned with an uncommon dash of fatalism – a quiet implication that its heroes were less “destined warriors” than “conscripted soldiers,” forced into mortal peril yet considered expendable by their distant overseers. Fuu’s bargain to protect her family, Karin’s maniacal focus on combat, Tougou’s fear of being called a “traitor” – all of these lingering peculiarities seem to at last be resolving themselves, and I’m eager to see where the show ultimately lands. Let’s get to it!
Ojamajo Doremi Sharp – Episode 10
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive right back into Ojamajo Doremi Sharp, and see what else is new with our hapless ojamajos. Our last sojourn with Majo Rika’s mother only served to remind me just how charming and generous this production truly is; whether it’s embracing the goofy flexibility of animation for comedy or stabbing at the heart with another tearjerker, Doremi always proceeds with absolute confidence, riding high on its mixture of sensitive characterization and gorgeous execution.
With the witch baby Hana consuming so much of our young witches’ attention, Sharp has been developing a clear thematic throughline regarding the perils of parenting. With Hana at hand, our girls are swiftly coming to understand the extraordinary strength required to raise a child – and having recognized that challenge, they’re furthermore coming to appreciate the struggles their own parents faced, and how they might share such burdens in the future. It’s a characteristically nuanced portrayal of coming to know your parents not just as caretakers, but as fallible yet dedicated human beings, and I imagine more lessons in that vein are just ahead. Let’s see how our witches fare in a fresh episode of Ojamajo Doremi!
Winter 2024 – Week 6 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. With the winter season nearing its halfway point, it seems like it’s about time to check in on the seasonal anime contenders, which at this point have generally either derailed in a cloud of smoke or proven themselves of an enduring, superior caliber. And for this season in particular, that unsurprisingly means I really ought to check out Delicious in Dungeon, which seems to be the undisputed winter all-star. I’ll surely be getting to that soon enough, while also continuing my Gundam education with all haste – we’ve now concluded Zeta, rewatched 08th MS Team, and most recently checked out War in the Pocket, on which I offer a handful of thoughts below. The grand climaxes of the Universal Century’s conclusion await, but for now, let’s burn down the Week in Review!
Kaiba – Episode 12
Kaiba’s final episode begins with the plant that is its namesake extending its tendrils through space, eager to consume all memories, to devour everything humanity has fought for and built. It is an omen, a warning, and perhaps an inevitability: if we do not tend carefully to the cultivation of human experience, if we do not seek to share what we have and create an edifice that can last into the future, all of our achievements will eventually collapse into the dirt. We will be as the ghosts of that abandoned moon, or even worse – simply an absence where our feet once tread, where we once strove and yearned for eternity, or merely for a better tomorrow. With the powers currently at our disposal, our capacity for self-destruction seems like it will naturally, inevitably overwhelm our capacity for self-preservation.
Star Driver – Episode 21
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to Star Driver, after an episode that graciously drew back the veil obscuring the prior generation of would-be Cybody pilots, revealing some clear parallels with our current group in the process. Ryosuke and Tokio make for an odd contrast with Takuto and Sugata; though both pairs are defined by their competition regarding a shrine maiden, Tokio’s Takuto-reminiscent role as societal outsider stands in contrast with his obsession with mastering the Cybody system. In that, he is more like Sugata, while the insider Ryosuke’s antipathy towards this whole order makes him more like Takuto. And that’s before you get to the question of Takuto’s parentage, and the pocket watch connecting all six key players.
It’s been nice to have so much of this island’s history clarified, but to be honest, episode twenty’s revelations didn’t actually change our understanding of the ongoing conflict. Star Driver has been focused on clear personal dramas and equally clear thematic concerns from the outset, the strictures of tradition and call for personal agency set in conflict through both the love triangle at its center and hormonally charged scaffolding of its science fiction inventions. Rather than obscuring the truth, its metaphors have emphasized the clarity of its philosophy, painting adolescent identity-forming as the crux of apocalypse or revolution in the manner of many anime classics, including a number penned by Enokido himself. Let’s see how our young lovers fare in a fresh episode of Star Driver!
Hugtto! Precure – Episode 42
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into Hugtto! Precure, where I’m frankly hoping for some kind of irreverent, nonsensical side adventure, perhaps one starring our former villains and the hamster villagers or something. After the one-two punch of Traum’s reunion with Lulu and Emiru’s grappling with this story’s conclusion, I’m just not sure my heart could take much more of the heavy stuff. Can’t we just hang out and maybe beat up an Oshimaeda or something?
Of course, given last episode’s allusions to Henri’s physical injuries, I imagine we’re actually on the verge of a heel turn by our young ice skater. And to be honest, I’m actually fine with that. I’ve long felt that Henri’s character and arc embodied Hugtto’s most thoughtful instincts, exploring not just the difficulty of defining yourself outside of society’s expectations, but also the challenges of aging out of your preferred self-image, and grappling with the frequently undesirable changes of puberty and adulthood. Henri carries Hugtto’s general focus on finding hope for the future into challenging, deeply personal territory, and him stumbling here would serve as a natural continuation of the world-weary ambiguity that has always attended his episodes. Let’s see what’s in store in a fresh episode of Hugtto!
Spy x Family – Episode 28
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today seems like a perfect day to treat ourselves to some cozy Spy x Family, so that’s precisely what we’re going to do. Our last episode provided an equal portioning of Spy x Family’s two principle offerings: ludicrous spy drama shenanigans and heartfelt family drama. Of course, Endo’s always gotta be mixing it up, so each of those courses were provided by an unexpected server, with Bond headlining the spy mission while the unfortunate Damien learned a thing or two about community and friendship.
Damien’s unhappy family situation, and the way the lessons of his father have filtered down into his classroom social dynamics, have unsurprisingly made him one of my favorite characters in Spy x Family. While the Forger house is pretty close to idyllic, Damien embodies the consequences of family constructed as a strict hierarchy, where only deference and scholastic accomplishments might earn you the favor of your allegedly loving parents. Seeing both his peers and caretakers push him towards embracing ordinary, unconditional happiness has been one of the most satisfying arcs within Spy x Family, and I’m anxious to see where his journey leads next. But whatever’s coming, I’m sure we’re in for an altogether lovely time with this eminently likable production. Let’s get to it!
BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! – Episode 10
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!, for the very simple reason that I cannot wait another moment to find out what happens to these goddamn teenagers. MyGO was riveting enough as a richly characterized drama about pulling a mismatched group of musicians together, but now that Soyo is threatening to destroy the group, it has become a truly un-put-downable page-turner. Tomori is in despair, Anon is blaming herself, Taki is ready to throw hands, and Raana is… well, probably enjoying a parfait somewhere, blissfully unaware of the maelstrom spinning overhead.
Raana aside, Sakiko’s unambiguous denial of any CRYCHIC reunion has laid bare the insecurities and deceptions undergirding our group’s sunny surface. Anon finds herself facing the precise combination of disconnects that prompted her to flee home from England: an inability to keep up with the group’s technical ability and a failure to parse the “language,” here articulated as the unspoken bond of the former CRYCHIC members. Tomori has discovered that Soyo is just like all the others, smiling to her face while secretly engineering ways to avoid her discomforting presence. Taki is once again grasping at straws, seeking a closeness with Tomori that she can only articulate as misdirected anger and redoubled physical commitment. And Soyo might be unhappiest of all, having resigned herself to the superficial high school experience and false smiles that Anon once saw as her only future. It’s an absolute mess at the moment, but such frictions often force us to be our best; when we cannot abide our current circumstances, we have nothing to lose, allowing us to fling ourselves bravely towards a better future. Let’s see how our band fares!