Tag Archives: Anime

Spy x Family – Episode 33

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to Spy x Family, wherein it seems we’re galloping towards the conclusion of its cruise liner arc. While Anya provides cover and Loid works on his Normal Man impression, Yor has been fending off a procession of devious assassins, each more cunning and lethal than the last. At the same time, her growing bond with her targets has led her to question the meaning of these missions, and whether she still needs this Thorn Princess persona at all.

Granted, I don’t expect her to actually abandon her duties as a result of these questions. Spy x Family’s conceit relies on a delicate balance of comically contradictory circumstances that doesn’t really allow for that much personal reinvention (even the very title is a riff on “spy vs spy”), at least until Tatsuya Endo decides to aim for the endgame. At the same time, its best personal drama tends to involve chafing at the edges of this paradigm – Loid favoring Anya over the “greater good” of his professional duties, Anya risking exposure by flagrantly using her powers, and now Yor questioning whether she has outgrown her Thorn Princess role, as she has found in the Forgers the stable family life she once saw her secret identity as protecting. Regardless of her conclusion, Yor challenging her own unconsidered beliefs has made her feel significantly more substantive as a character, and I’m eager to see how this story ends. Let’s get to it!

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Toradora! – Episode 12

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To truly open up to another is a pursuit fraught with danger. To reveal both our passions and our vulnerabilities invites misunderstanding, our rough edges frequently pinching and bruising as they align in ill concert with the sharp extremities of another. As Schopenhauer described and Evangelion agreed, for those not naturally inclined to absolute sincerity, intimacy is a hedgehog’s dilemma, a process by which we hurt each other precisely because we wish to grow closer. And after a season’s worth of managing that process with whatever grace they could muster, Ryuji and Taiga have at last been torn apart by the very closeness of their feelings, and their desperation to understand each other.

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Yuki Yuna is a Hero – Episode 12

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re rejoining the battlefield alongside Yuki Yuna and her companions, as our heroes fight for the last fragment of reality in a hostile, voracious world. The revelation that our heroes were sacrificing themselves as nourishment for the Divine Tree proved only the first of this story’s terrible secrets; now, they have learned that their island stands alone, the last remaining holdout of a battle between hungry gods. It is a sobering and satisfyingly Lovecraftian twist on convention; our heroes are no more than the barest eddies swirling around the movements of god-titans, sacrificing themselves only so that future innocents might live to take their place.

Having been twice over manipulated and abused by this system, and now having drawn her precious friend Yuna into the conflict as well, it is little surprise that Togo is ready to watch the world burn. If their only choices are to be sacrificed piece by piece or reject this bargain altogether, better that this paradigm be destroyed wholesale, and that a new world might be born. Togo’s loyalty to family and country made her the perfect target for the Divine Tree, but she is as fearsome in rebellion as she is in complicity, and now the walls are beginning to fall. What hope remains is aspirational, perhaps even foolish – that the collective loyalty and love of the Hero Club might conquer all the forces of heaven, a hope for which Karin gladly sacrificed her senses. And now we come to a familiar standoff, with the scenery of apocalypse furnishing that most fundamental of questions: can love truly save us?

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Skip and Loafer – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today the rain is casting a dreary scene outside my window, and giving me a craving for something upbeat and energetic to brighten my day. As such, we obviously have no choice but to return to Skip and Loafer, and check in on the continuing adventures of Mitsumi and her companions. Mitsumi’s earnest cheer is so contagious it actually extends beyond her own friends; it’s hard to watch this show and not feel warmed by her endearing presence.

Granted, we’re currently mired in some uniquely thorny territory as far as Skip and Loafer is concerned. The introduction of Ririka has brought Shima’s unhappy history to the forefront, as he is condemned anew for derailing her route to stardom. It’s easy enough to see why this experience would prompt Shima to withdraw from both celebrity life and earnest, vulnerable engagement with the world, but in truth, my own immediate response to Ririka’s “you think it’s okay now that four years have passed” was an unconditional “yes, absolutely.” Ririka is holding an unreasonable grudge against a boy who no longer exists, and I can only hope Mitsumi is able to help Shima forgive himself. Let’s get to it!

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Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End – Episode 4

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I thought we’d check back in Frieren and Fern’s rambling journey, as they pay back the debts of the past and chart out an unknown future. A lifetime is a very long thing for an elf, but with Fern at her side, Frieren is being forced to embrace at least a touch of urgency. Is life best appreciated as a long arc towards an uncertain destination, or as a series of individual challenges and experiences? Frieren’s perspective invites us to consider both, with a melancholy assurance that no matter your perspective, precious things will inevitably slip through your fingers.

Our last episode explored the vagaries of time’s passage from a new angle, emphasizing how the grand lifespans of fantastical beings can make them ill-equipped to counter the curiosity and industry of mankind. Time moves slower when it is in abundance, as the young blithely accept and the old are unfortunate to know well. An ageless being might see its power as similarly ageless, but the returning Qual found himself outgunned by progress, his once-singular powers now incorporated into the bedrock of magical inquiry. You could take that as a lesson in clinging to past glories, an assurance that seemingly insurmountable hurdles often just require dedicated consideration, or a rueful acknowledgment that mankind will always find a way to build a better gun – regardless, it serves as a fine extrapolation of Frieren’s fundamental questions. With an open road before them, let’s see what new questions await the mage and her apprentice!

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Scum’s Wish – Episode 9

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I figured we’d check back in on the bedraggled stars of Scum’s Wish, who are presumably hard at work doing the most mutually destructive things they can do to each other. Though to be fair, they were actually on the right track going into our last episode, with both Mugi and Hana having resolved to announce their crushes and thereby move past them. Unfortunately, Akane would never turn down such a ripe opportunity for chaos, and thus answered Mugi’s confession by manipulating him into sleeping with her.

That’s all of a course with Scum’s Wish’s usual style, wherein youthful dreams are left to rot into festering obsessions, and every day stacks fresh sorrows upon the old. In the context of Mugi and Hana’s somber perspectives, I actually quite enjoy Akane’s proud “I am going to cause problems on purpose” attitude, a callousness and whimsical cruelty that positions her in a long and illustrious line of bodice-ripping baddies. Akane is a Dear Brother character in a world with no melodrama antibodies, offering a perpetual promise that things could always be worse. Let’s see how her latest crimes play out as we return to Scum’s Wish!

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Hugtto! Precure – Episode 44

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Hello folks, and welcome on back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to the drama of Hugtto! Precure, after an episode that was largely preoccupied with Homare resolving her crush on a shape-shifting, time-traveling hamster. That’s just sometimes how it’s gonna be in the land of Precure, and to be perfectly honest, it actually made for a surprisingly poignant adventure. Rodent-related specifics aside, Homare’s feelings offered an endearing portrayal of how even unrequited love can be emotionally enriching, and her journey towards that realization was adorned with all sorts of lovely visual compositions.

With Henri and Homare’s skating performances now behind us, the slate is once again clear as we march towards Hugtto’s endgame. Is it time for George’s plan to be unveiled, or can we still sneak in some seasonal shenanigans with Hana and the gang? I’m sure whatever we’ve got coming will be delightful in its own way, so let’s dispense with the preamble here, and dive into the continuing adventures of our hug-happy heroes!

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Summer 2024 – Week 8 in Review

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I write to you from deep in the midst of my Sailor Moon marathon, having completed the show’s first two seasons and first film, and just recently started on Sailor Moon S. The show’s got a pretty steady formula, but it’s a good one – the main cast are charming and bounce off each other well, and both the direction and character acting remain exceptional, which is no surprise given its absurdly distinguished core team. Funnily enough, it’s actually when the show tries to do serious, multi-episode drama that I generally tune out; the fantasy action is repetitive and seasonal arcs kinda weightless, so my interest tends to ebb whenever the stakes start to rise. Fortunately, each new season offers a reset back to sailor guardian infighting and cat episodes, so there’s always something fun just around the corner. I’ve also been munching through some interesting films as of late, so let’s turn our attention to those, as we burn down the latest Week in Review!

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Neon Genesis Evangelion – Episode 24

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The words of Cruel Angel’s Thesis speak of a boy on the threshold of greatness, the wind of destiny wafting through the open door, wings only waiting to be unfurled adorning his shoulders. And yet the boy hesitates, “desperate for that gentle touch,” his gaze focused solely on the protector beside him. Generations of audiences have interpreted this metaphor of awakening in their own ways, whether to point out Anno’s clear antipathy towards the perpetual adolescence of fandom, the ways in which Evangelion echoes and reifies the heroic journeys of prior mecha pilots, or Evangelion’s own obsession with human connection and distrust of “adulthood.” Of course, Anno did not write Cruel Angel’s Thesis; if he did, I somehow doubt the song would proceed with such confidence, such assurance that any hesitant boy will one day learn he has the wings to take flight.

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Anne of Green Gables – Episode 16

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m eager to return to Anne of Green Gables, wherein our young heroine is still embroiled in a brave battle against public education and its attendant indignities. With both the peabrained Mr. Phillips and intolerable Gilbert Blythe arrayed against her, it is no wonder Anne simply cannot countenance the thought of returning to her public studies. Fortunately, Marilla has been largely accommodating of this moral crusade, clinging to the perhaps unwise hope that Anne will at some point get over herself.

Sadly for Marilla, Anne is nothing if not stubborn, and I doubt even the shame of having served their guests a dead mouse for tea will have convinced her that some time out of the house might be for the best. Still, between Diana’s pleading and Gilbert’s continued demonstrations that he’s not actually the tyrant she has made of him, a hope remains that she might return to the world of socialization and scholastic achievement. With tempers flared and stakes high, we return to the delightful Anne of Green Gables!

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