Tag Archives: Anime

The Demon Girl Next Door – Episode 2

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be returning to The Demon Girl Next Door, for a very clear and obvious reason: the first episode was delightful, and I’d like to see more of it. Yuko has already proven herself to be a charming mess of a heroine, and it seems like Momo’s combination of wry amusement and deadpan delivery will make for a perfect contrast with her “nemesis.”

At the same time, the show’s assumption of “destined roles” for demons and magical girls, as well as its offhandedly class-aware framework for this dichotomy, seem to imply it may be interested in grappling with the same questions of feminine agency articulated by shows like Madoka Magica. The magical girl genre often features inspirational stories of solidarity and personal growth, but it can easily be used to cast a light on the systems that bind young women, with even ostensibly “lighthearted” shows like Pretty Cure frequently tackling these issues. I’ll be intrigued to see if Demon Girl continues to complicate its thematic subtext, but for now, I’m also happy just to watch Yuko trip and fall on her face repeatedly. Let’s get to it!

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The Woman Called Fujiko Mine – Episode 10

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am eager to return to The Woman Called Fujiko Mine, which most recently offered one of its most fascinating episodes so far. The tale of the woman who’d become a tattooed piece of art clearly had a special resonance for Fujiko. Fujiko spent her childhood in the captivity of Count Armeid, and has since then seems to have defined herself in opposition to that captivity: where Armeid prized delicacy, obedience, and chastity, Fujiko has defined herself as an embodiment of independence and proud sexual agency.

Of course, Fujiko would undoubtedly hate to be told that her identity is still defined by a man’s influence, even if only through opposition to that influence. But when presented with the tattooed woman, Fujiko couldn’t help but see herself – and thus strove manically to kill this girl, almost destroying herself in the process. Some traumas are too painful to confront directly, but Fujiko has never been one to back down from a challenge. If she truly wants to untangle herself from Armeid’s influence, she will likely have to confront her nemesis, and prove to herself that the shadows of the past can never reclaim her. But however today’s adventure goes, I’m eager to spend more time with Fujiko and the rest of these rapscallions. Let’s get to it!

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Space Battleship Yamato 2199 – Episode 8

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The universe beckons! Having made their last farewells to the known world, the Yamato’s intrepid crew now set their sights starward, as they move beyond the boundaries of our known solar system. Fearsome terrors beyond our imagining surely await them, yet our gallant heroes are undeterred, and proudly bear the weight of humanity’s future. What secrets await beyond the celestial shroud? That is for our brave sailors to discover, as they chart a course beyond the horizon.

Man, I could probably write a whole essay in that voice, though I’m sure it’d get tiresome after a paragraph or two. Regardless, I’m delighted to announce that we are indeed returning to Space Battleship Yamato! Last episode offered a clear denouement for the story’s first act, as the crew’s victories in our solar system were capped off by a line-crossing ceremony that saw them moving beyond the reach of terrestrial communication. After all the action theatrics of the first act, an episode that explored the motivations and relationships of the core crew was quite welcome; but with all that foundational character-building work covered, I’m eager to see what obstacles Matsumoto conjures up next. Space Battleship Yamato embodies a spirit of fantastical possibility, fusing iconic presentation with outlandish invention to bring its audience back to the wide-eyed wonder of childhood. Its world has won me over entirely, so let’s not waste any more time, and return to the bridge post-haste!

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Anne of Green Gables – Episode 3

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be returning to Anne of Green Gables, and I couldn’t be happier about it. I’ve actually been looking forward to this return for most of a week now; the show has already captured my imagination, offering a window into a sedate yet beautiful world, where the peaceful mastery of Montgomery and Takahata intertwine.

Many of anime’s finest attractions advertise themselves with great fanfare, promising dazzling animation highlights and stories like nothing you’ve seen. Anne of Green Gables is more my speed: a work of extraordinary craft that still sees the mundane as worthy of attention, helping to reacquaint us with the beauty of the living world, and the profundity of small acts of kindness. I feel at home in its lovingly painted hills, and comforted by the presence of its humbly human characters. Productions this generous are an odd quirk of history, borne of production conditions that ebb and subside, never to return. I am thus thankful it exists at all, and doubly thankful to be exploring it with you readers. Let’s return to the rolling fields of Green Gables!

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Eureka Seven – Episode 8

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be diving back into a property that we last touched five goddamn years ago, as we return to the long-dormant Eureka Seven. It’s been so long since we watched Eureka Seven that my last episode’s writing style feels almost unrecognizable, so yes, this is a pretty weird feeling for me. That said, I still have a pretty clear recollection of Renton’s journey so far, and can’t imagine we’ll have too much trouble getting reacquainted with the Gekkostate and its many strange inhabitants. Emerging from the earth to claw at the sky, let’s celebrate the reanimation of Eureka Seven!

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Fall 2021 – Week 5 in Review

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Hoo boy, we watched some garbage this week, folks. It wasn’t really intentional – my housemates have learned to schedule their hate-watching outside of my hangout hours, and we entered all of these films with the hope of at least being entertained, if not enriched by the experience. But somehow the cards just didn’t fall in our favor, and we ended up watching a half-dozen or so films that peaked at “middling” and bottomed at “how much longer is this, again?” So congrats folks, it looks like I’ll be back on my old bullshit for a moment, as I callously assess and disregard a pile of film productions, and also mention maybe one or two ones. Let’s get to it!

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Adachi and Shimamura – Episode 12

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I have some bittersweet news, as we’ll soon be reaching the end of a delightful journey, and leaving some friends behind. Yes, it’s time at last to watch the conclusion of Adachi and Shimamura, and see if these two mixed-up kids are gonna make it out okay.

Of course, it’s unlikely that this episode is going to feel truly definitive in its resolution of our heroines’ drama. For one thing, the light novel series this show is based on just released a new volume five days ago. But more importantly, Adachi and Shimamura are still a great distance away from true emotional honesty, or even a comfortable understanding of themselves.

This isn’t their fault, obviously; I mean, they’re high schoolers, how well could they know themselves? But it’s a credit to Hitoma Iruma’s storytelling that I can already see the road sprawling out beyond them, the hills they’ll traverse and hurdles they’ll encounter on the way. Adachi and Shimamura are imperfect and unsure in resoundingly human ways, and at all times, their story has emphasized that our identities are not fixed points.

The Adachi and Shimamura we met at the beginning of this story are quite different from the Adachi and Shimamura we now know, or the ones we might meet in the future. The easy, ignorant solace of their first few encounters has been lost; they each know too much about the other, and have each grown in their own way. Adachi has gained the confidence to act on behalf of her desires, while Shimamura has begun to feel like she has desires, after a long period of emotional dormancy. The desire for intimacy and inevitability of change have set our heroines on a tumultuous course, but their feelings for each other have held strong. Let’s join Adachi and Shimamura for one last time!

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Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 47

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to announce that we’re returning to Sun and Moon, after more than a month away. It’s not Sun and Moon’s fault we didn’t visit sooner; the show is outrageously charming, and I’m always happy to check out another episode. But I’ve been making an effort to balance my output of the various reader-funded projects lately, and that’s put Sun and Moon on the backburner as I build up the stock of Oregairus and Toradoras and whatnot.

Well, I’ve been building that stock for a month straight, and I think I’ve earned a day in the sun. When last we left off, some major narrative gears seemed to be creaking into motion, with the awakening of the Ultra Beasts and the machinations of Lusamine’s lab associate both promising future trials. I’m eager to see all that play out, but also would be perfectly happy with a lazy beach episode, and maybe some Team Rocket shenanigans. There are really no wrong answers with Sun and Moon, so let’s not waste any more time, and get back to Alola!

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ODDTAXI – Episode 10

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Through the miracles of science, it has become easier than ever to measure our success in the world, and compare it to the wealth of others. Where once we might have fretted blindly over the potential riches and happiness of our peers, now their successes are easy to tabulate – just a click away, listed and formatted through a whole ecosystem of social media platforms. Never again must you be tormented by the fear that unknown others are beating you at life; now you can know they are, through their carefully pruned instagrams and twitter feeds and facebook pages.

Via the advent of social media, our every statement has become a performance, declaring our wit and wealth and social worth. Thousands of also-rans clamor for the spotlight, hoping to one day know the pleasure of waking up in fear every morning, terrified that your audience will figure you out. Everyone is a showman, and everyone is a fraud. We construct ideals out of quips and personal victories, sweeping all that might irritate the beast behind the show curtain. Even our admissions of weakness or exhaustion carry a hint of salesmanship – after all, vulnerability is relatable.

Odokawa never intended to serve as a weird human antidote to modern malaise; in fact, basically all of his life choices seem to reflect a man with little sense of self-worth, who’d rather drop out of society than contend with its trials. Nonetheless, his taxi cab has become a sanctuary of authentic performance, and over time, a source of meaningful personal bonds. In the back of Odokawa’s taxi, no one is performing for society – his seat is the place between performances, where characters like Taichi or Shun can catch their breath between fabrications. It is not to our followers, but our service workers who we present our most authentic self; and through this shelter of identity, Odokawa has cultivated friends who might just see him through the trials ahead. Let’s return to the remarkable ODDTAXI.

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Fall 2021 – Week 4 in Review

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Alright folks, pile in, pile in, we’ve got a full session to get through and no time to waste. As is so often the case, this was an eclectic week in film viewing, with our selections ranging from unimpeachable classics to balletic martial arts displays to subversive horror revivals. I even tried out some of this season’s new anime, though to be honest my experiences were routine enough that they’ll probably just slot in as a few lines at the end. But first, let’s charge through some assorted feature films, as we ramble past one more fleeting Week in Review!

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