Tag Archives: Anime

Dear Brother – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am absolutely beyond eager to get back into Dear Brother, and at last find out however Nanako handles the imposing Sorority sisters. I’ve frankly been consumed with anticipation ever since I watched the last episode; I could try and feign some critical distance here, but the honest truth is this show has already swept me up, and I’m eager to simply know what happens next. I know, me caring about plot developments? It’s a strange affair to be sure, but Ikeda is proving herself a master of hooks and momentum, and Seiran is such a fantastical venue that it feels like anything is possible.

Last episode saw Nanako racing towards her destiny with renewed determination, as Misaki’s schemes forced her to abandon her comfortable passivity, and actually fight for her position in the Sorority. Her personal growth was accompanied by a variety of ingenious new visual tricks from Dezaki, ranging from the glimmering motes of light used to convey sunset’s glow, to the aggressive screen partitioning and negative space used to foster a sense of growing entrapment. Nanako’s already changed to such an extent that she’s unwilling to reveal her transformation to Dear Brother, but I imagine it’ll take even more calluses than that to survive the trials of Seiran. Let’s get to it!

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Bocchi the Rock! – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome the heck back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into the drama of Bocchi and her Kessoku Band, which most recently acquired its long-awaited singer (and prospective rhythm guitarist). And though this was a great victory for Kessoku Band at large, it was even more of a victory for Bocchi personally, who actually spearheaded the operation to get Kita into the group. By observing this new friend, Bocchi has come to realize that even extraverted people suffer from anxiety and imposter syndrome, and thus gained a touch more courage in facing her own fears.

This has all been delightful for Bocchi and the show at large in a character development sense, but I’ll admit I have a more selfish reason for cheering Kita’s arrival. After that excellent first episode band performance, I’ve been hungry for more sequences of the gang actually playing music together, and the appearance of our long-awaited singer seems like the perfect chance. Regardless, I’m sure we’ve got a charming and luxuriously animated experience ahead of us, so let’s dive back into Bocchi the Rock!

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Winter 2023 – Week 12 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am at last feeling optimistic about spring’s theoretically imminent arrival; in fact, I’m actually sitting here typing this in my running shorts, waiting for the thermometer to inch its way up into the fifties. I know I really should get a gym membership or something for the winter months, but it’s just hard to beat the convenience of stepping outside my door and jogging off in whichever way I choose. Anyway, I’ve finally written up some of those recent anime I’ve been yammering about, so today you all get some thoughts on Outlaw Star and Berserk in addition to our usual cinematic ramblings. Our assault on classic anime shows no sign of stopping, either; we’re currently charging through Dragon Ball at breakneck speed, which has been both a delight in its own right, and also a welcome education in the roots of modern shonen convention. More to say on that later, but for now, let’s run down the features of the week!

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Rilakkuma and Kaoru – Episode 5

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The long evenings of summer are perfect for horror movies. After the constant bustle of a day in the sun, I find little more satisfying than curling up with a spooky movie, and letting someone else deal with All The Problems for once. It’s a feeling much like sitting by a fire and looking out the window at a storm; a “grass is greener” in reverse, with only the stark alternative revealed by some window or screen allowing us to truly appreciate the security of our home. It’s perhaps not the noblest instinct to only feel secure when we see how we could have it worse, but that’s human nature for you – our first instincts are often more petty than we’d prefer, making both self-reflection and forgiveness all the more essential. 

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Spy x Family – Episode 16

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into Spy x Family, and see what further madness Anya gets up to now that she’s acquired a precognitive steed. The limiting factor on Anya’s capacity for mischief has always been her tiny legs, so now that her mobility is improved by a factor of one big floofy dog, I imagine some profound chaos is in order.

Last episode seemed to mark the end of this dedicated Bond arc, so I’m guessing we’ll be returning to Anya’s school drama in force this time, and once again attempting to secure Damian’s friendship. The relatively open canvas of the school setting makes it an easy venue for episodic larks like the dodgeball episode, but I’d also be happy to dig more deeply into Damian’s situation, and give Anya some clues regarding his home life. It appears they’re setting up Damian’s home life as the inverse of Anya’s: while Anya lives with an allegedly fake family that actually love each other, Damian lives with an allegedly real family that’s utterly lacking in familial love. You all likely know I’m a sucker for that “family is who we choose to love” theme, so I’d be happy to either pick at those intricacies or just marvel at some hilarious episodic madness. Let’s get to it!

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Tsurune S2 – Episode 1

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be embarking on a new project that’s also a bit of a homecoming, as we explore the second season of Kyoto Animation’s Tsurune. Tsurune was the last drama Kyoto Animation produced before the 2019 arson attack, and therefore the last show they produced in the mode that essentially drew me back into anime. Back in 2012, Hyouka was one of the first anime to rekindle my interest in the medium, after I’d largely fallen out of watching anime during college. That was followed by poignant, delicately animated dramas like Sound! Euphonium and A Silent Voice, all of which collectively solidified Kyoto Animation as my favorite anime studio, and the studio that best exemplified what I found compelling about the medium.

When Kyoto Animation suffered that attack, my hope for anime’s future, as a medium that prioritizes intimate human stories and captures life as it is truly experienced, was nearly extinguished. The years since have largely proven my fears correct; though other studios have tried, only Naoko Yamada’s own Heike Monogatari has achieved the level of brilliance embodied by KyoAni’s best productions. Anime has been significantly poorer for KyoAni’s absence, but with a new season of Tsurune, it seems like we’ve reason to hope again. After far too long away, let’s see how our young archers are faring!

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Toradora! – Episode 10

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Toradora’s ninth episode was, if anything, a bit of a backslide or regression for our luckless heroes. After the eighth episode saw Taiga passionately acknowledging her connection to Ryuuji, the allure of a summer trip and its attendant opportunities found both our leads slipping back into old habits, and attempting to contrive some ghostly encounter that might push each into the arms of their destined love. Not only have they failed to recognize the mutual affection they already possess, but they’ve also returned to seeing romance as some sort of solvable logic puzzle, wherein love flowers not from the steady march of shared time and meaningful experiences (like, say, Ryuuji and Taiga’s desperate episode eight training), but through the engineering of some arbitrary situation that flips some theoretical “love switch,” jetting its participants from awkward acquaintances to comfortable lovers in one turbulent motion.

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The Demon Girl Next Door S2 – Episode 7

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into The Demon Girl Next Door, which most recently surprised me with what felt very much like a mid-season season finale. Pretty much all of our immediate narrative concerns were addressed and to some extent resolved by our last episode, whether we’re speaking in terms of the characters’ overt task or their emotional trajectory.

As far as the “save Sakura” quest goes, Sakura Chiyoda has been discovered nestled safely in Shamiko’s heart, serving as her magical protector until Shamiko is strong enough to stand on her own. And Shamiko’s private vow to make Momo smile has reaped stunning rewards as well: not only has Momo earned that treasured genuine smile, but it was even in the context of Momo pledging that “make Shamiko happy” is her new goal to strive for, just hours after Momo embraced the darkness to save Shamiko from bad dreams.

Such definitive conclusions would generally mark the end of a series, which makes me all the more intrigued about what comes next. How will Momo act now that she’s free from the stress of saving Sakura, and will all these relational milestones crossed help Shamiko realize that she and Momo are already dating? Let’s find out!

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Dear Brother – Episode 3

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to dive back into Dezaki’s majestic Dear Brother, whose last episode presented us with a dizzying array of narrative developments and relational revelations. We swiftly learned the identity of Nanako’s alleged brother, but that was only the tip of the iceberg. In the leadup to the reveal of Nanako’s candidacy, we also saw clear battle lines drawn between the school’s three objects of adoration, as well as plenty more evidence that Shinobu will eventually burn this whole place down.

In the midst of all these passionate, larger-than-life personalities, my most urgent question is how exactly Nanako will make herself stand out. Unlike many high school heroines, there’s little that’s remarkable about her, and she’s spent the first two episodes being guided by others rather than establishing her own path. Her persistent use of Cinderella imagery to describe her school life makes it clear that she can’t quite see her Seiran experiences as real, so I imagine it’ll take a disruption of her current fairy tale framing to bring her down to earth. Regardless, I’m certain Dezaki will realize her experiences with decadent visual splendor, and eager to see how Ikeda’s tangled narrative proceeds. Let’s get to it!

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Spy x Family – Episode 15

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we return to Spy x Family in a moment of crisis, as Loid faces off with a bomb-laden dog in a dark alley! Is this the end for Loid, or perhaps just for this poor pooch? How will we resolve this encroaching calamity!?

Well, I’m guessing Spy x Family isn’t the sort of story to either shoot or explode a dog, so I imagine we’re in for some quick thinking and dazzling acrobatics from our resident Bondman. Either way, I’m eager to reach the climax of this arc, which has so far served as the fulfillment of one of Spy x Family’s most alluring promises: the entire family in battle array, employing their powers in unison to accomplish some grand objective. Anya’s certainly settling into this mode well; the acquisition of a big floofy dog has vastly enhanced her reconnaissance abilities, not only through its apparent precognitive powers, but perhaps more importantly through its ability to move much faster than Anya’s tiny little legs. Seeing the whole family in action has been a delight, and I’m eager to see how we turn this attempted bombing into some improbable bonding exercise. Let’s get to it!

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