Tag Archives: Anime

Skip and Loafer – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re embarking on a brand new adventure, as we explore the first episode of last season’s highly regarded Skip and Loafer. I’ve had a few friends single this production out as my sort of thing, a school drama that takes unusual and welcome care in elucidating the nuances of its characters’ personalities, and also simply a particularly charming romantic comedy.

As for the production, I find myself immediately struck by the resume of director and series composer Kotomi Deai. Alongside episode director and storyboard credits on productions as diverse and distinguished as Flip Flappers, House of Five Leaves, and Kids on the Slope, she also served as the overall director for the enchanting Rolling Girls. Rolling Girls’ late-season stumbles and generally oddball nature have sadly dimmed its profile over the years, but the show’s joyful energy and fanciful visual style secured it a permanent place in my heart, with Deai’s personally directed first episode standing as one of the best premieres I’ve ever seen. Deai’s one of those top caliber talents who’s never quite gotten the recognition she deserves, so I’m eager to see how she brings this drama to life. Let’s get to it!

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Summer 2023 – Week 8 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. It’s been another hectic week on my end, as we approached and marched by the due date for moving all our shit out of the old apartment. I’d been living at the old place for a full-on decade at this point, which meant moving out involved not just grabbing all my furniture and figurines, but also the towering boxes of manga, blurays, and everything else I reviewed during my Anime News Network tenure. Also I lived on a third floor, and the only passage down from that floor was a winding little staircase, and… look, I won’t bore you with any more details, but rest assured it made for a sucky sequence of days. I’ve now basically got a leopard’s coat worth of bruises down both my pale, twig-like arms, and have vowed that it’s just me and my laptop moving in wherever I head to next.

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Dear Brother – Episode 6

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to be returning to the tangled drama of Dear Brother, wherein Nanako has found herself isolated from basically everything that once brought her comfort or security. Thanks to Shinobu’s expert manipulation, Nanako’s best friend Tomoko has abandoned her, and now refuses even to answer her phone calls. Through the cruel performances of Miya-sama, it has become abundantly clear that the Sorority is essentially a kind of cult, with Miya-sama as its tyrannical leader. And even at home, the secrets her parents are keeping regarding Henmi’s identity mean they can no longer serve as confidants. The last shot of our preceding episode made Nanako’s position wincingly clear, casting her as isolated in shadow before a veil of tearful raindrops.

All of this is a real bummer for Nanako, but an absolute dramatic feast for us in the bleachers. Riyoko Ikeda is clearly a master of melodrama, spinning a variety of narrative plates with grace while ensuring Nanako’s experience feels tense and propulsive rather than simply hopeless. And Dezaki is the perfect director for this tale of woe, with his evocative compositions and clever manipulation of lighting raising Nanako’s trials into a decadent realm of visual theater. I’m frankly not sure what else Nanako still has to lose, but I’m eager to find out. Let us return to the imposing halls of Seiran Academy, and see what our unfortunate teens get up to next!

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Spy x Family – Episode 22

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am eager to dive back into Spy x Family, and also supremely embarrassed to admit that I somehow skipped an episode the last time I checked in on the Forger family. What’s more, I managed to skip the first half of one the show’s rare two-parters, missing out on all the context that apparently existed for episode twenty-three’s high stakes tennis match. I have neither explanation nor excuse for how I managed this feat, and can only sincerely apologize for my dumbassery.

Fortunately, while the context is less than ideal, this does in fact mean we get to enjoy another episode dedicated to high-octane underground tennis matches, with presumably even more clandestine skullduggery than the last (next) episode. Tatsuya Endo always nails the full-on Twilight missions, so I’m expecting great things from this preposterous assignment. Let’s get to it!

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Summer 2023 – Week 7 in Review

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Hey folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. It’s been a hectic week on my end, as me and my housemates have been racing to find a new apartment that’s anywhere close to affordable (and also accommodating of our beloved Eevee). It’s been ten years since any of us checked the rental market, and it turns out the city has spent that time upping its rates to accommodate the average billionaire looking to spend some time off his moon-yacht, leaving scant affordable housing for the rest of us. Nonetheless, we’ve got at least a couple prospects lined up, and have spent the time in between apartment viewings consoling ourselves with the indomitable spirit of Goku and his companions. Yes, Dragon Ball Z Kai has indeed become a fixture of our viewing schedule, and has left me with a few thoughts regarding the father of modern shonen. Let’s get to it!

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Land of the Lustrous – Episode 10

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Land of the Lustrous’ ninth episode concludes with Phos effortlessly dispatching a Lunarian, and in the process rescuing the twin Amethysts they were previously helpless to assist. Such an accomplishment would have registered as a stunning victory for the Phos of several months ago, an affirmation of the strength they were so desperate to possess, and their suitability for the role they craved above all else. But having lost Antarcticite and acquired the strength to fight, Phos has only found a fresh sense of emptiness on the far shore. Looking down at this fresh kill, Phos simply laments that this Lunarian is one of the old models, and thus cannot help restore their friend. 

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Thunderbolt Fantasy S3 – Episode 5

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’d like to hop back into the ongoing theatrics of Thunderbolt Fantasy, as our heroes find themselves drifting far and wide in their variable adventures. From an initial cleanup job tracking down the Seven Blasphemous Deaths, Shang and his companions’ quest has evolved and splintered in all sorts of nasty directions, incorporating both old nemeses and onetime friends in a conflict of national and multiplanar scale.

While Shang is finding all these new complications a bit much to bear, Lin is unsurprisingly in his element, delighting in both the general chaos and the delectable righteousness of Wan Jun Po. Lin delights in either toying with the earnest or toppling the arrogant, and Wan is actually both – a man driven by earnest love of country into a dangerous certainty regarding the Sword Index’s proper use, and one who promises to lead Lin towards an even more tantalizing prize: the leader of the Divine Swarm. With evil cyborg monks, cursed sword-bearing demonesses, and murder princesses also in the mix, the ultimate clash of these forces promises to be spectacular indeed. Let’s get to it!

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Summer 2023 – Week 6 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I write to you from the midst of a furious thunderstorm, which I’m hoping will at some point calm down enough for me to get on with some apartment hunting. But whether I am swept away by the torrential rains of August or not, I will at least have left you all with another collection of ramshackle film reviews. This week our cinematic journey carried us from a heartbreaking classic to the latest One Piece film, with a couple unexpected detours along the way. We’ve also been churning our way through Dragon Ball Z Kai, and in the process discovering that if you pare down the original Z’s interminable pacing, the show’s actually pretty darn fun. I’ll likely have more coherent words on that next week, but for now, let’s check out some films!

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Spy x Family – Episode 23

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Editor’s Note: I initially skipped past episode 22 and right onward to 23, resulting in this writeup’s somewhat lopsided perception of events. My apologies!

Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. It’s been a rather chaotic week so far on my end, so I’ve decreed it’s time to chill out with another cozy episode of Spy x Family. Though I was initially nervous about last episode’s formal introduction of a rival for Loid’s affections, Frost’s visit to the Forger home actually ended up serving as an affirmation of how close our family have become. Frost’s condemnation of Loid’s softening instincts as a spy was simultaneously a validation of his growing bond with his new family; just like with Yor’s brother, every attempted division of this family has only proven how close they’ve grown.

Alongside the simple pleasure of seeing these characters come to care for each other, Loid’s transition is also facilitating new venues of comedy, as his panicked mediation of the Pengy-versus-Bond crisis illustrated. I’ve mentioned before how Spy x Family’s inherently propulsive conceit sets it apart from fully episodic sitcoms, and while that fact adds a certain tension to its long-term viability, it also means Tatsuya Endo is consistently able to exploit new comedic dynamics, like Loid using his now-exhaustive understanding of Bondman lore to comfort Anya. Endo’s clear confidence with this evolving platform makes me feel confident in it as well, and I’m eager to see what new calamities are approaching. Let’s get to it!

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Bocchi the Rock! – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today seems like a fine day to check back in on the trials of Bocchi and her Kessoku Bandmates, after an episode that proved a resounding triumph for both Bocchi and this show’s production team. After stressing about the group’s Starry performance all the way up through their first song, Bocchi finally took matters into her own hands, and led her friends through a riotous performance that undoubtedly earned them some new fans. And what came after was possibly even more validating, as Nijika confessed that it is Bocchi she has come to rely on, an admittance topped off by what I must begrudgingly confess was a well-earned title drop.

Though Bocchi has been growing in social competence and confidence throughout this series, it has generally required an instigator like Nijika, Kita, or even Kikuri for her to push herself beyond her own antisocial instincts. But here, having undeniably led her friends to a glorious final performance, Bocchi is learning that her presence is not something to apologize for, and that she has made a meaningful positive impact on the people she cares about. That in turn has altered the scope of her dreams; just as Nijika wants Kessoku Band to be a success for her sister’s sake, so Bocchi wants her friends to triumph alongside her. Buoyed up by voluminous storyboards courtesy of show director Keiichiro Saito, and further elevated through remarkably intimate animation for the performance itself, last episode was a clear peak for this generous production. Let’s see what comes next!

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