Hello folks, and welcome back to the Week in Review! I worked through a solid pile of fresh films this week, including a mix of anime tie-ins, strong genre features, and one of 2019’s fan favorites, and I’ve got plenty of thoughts to share with you all. Incidentally, I’d like to thank you all for accepting this season’s shift in Week in Review structure, as from my perspective, it’s been very rewarding to simply write about whatever recent art has actually inspired me, rather than limiting myself to the scope of the current anime season. Anime’s great, but there’s an infinite horizon of art out there, and I plan to explore as much of it as I can. Let’s get to it!
Tag Archives: Anime
Why It Works: My Hero Academia’s Most Terrifying Team-Ups!
Today I’ve got a pretty silly Why It Works feature, mostly prompted by how much fun the new My Hero Academia movie was. Inspired by that film’s generous spread of 1-A combinations, I took a crack at building my own My Hero Academia teams, along with some light commentary on the general fun of the hero team concept. Here’s the piece!
My Hero Academia’s Most Terrifying Team-Ups!
Chihayafuru S3 – Episode 19
The Master and Queen matches have evolved into an emotionally and physically exhausting battle for the future of karuta, with all four contenders playing as though their very lives were at stake. And in a way, they are – all four of these competitors have given a great portion of their lives to karuta, and all four of them are hoping to honor that time, and validate the karuta philosophy that has carried them this far.
For Harada, this match represents his last, best chance to become the Master, before his body is no longer up to the task of holding out for full tournaments of competition. He cannot possibly match Suo in physical dexterity, but what he lacks in youth, he’s making up for in endless tactical invention, as he deploys new weapons for each separate round of play. For Haruka, her approaching third child means this is her last chance as well – and she’s fighting not just for herself, but for anyone who’d hope to balance both karuta and family life.
On the defending side, the reveal of Suo’s vision problems may imply he’s facing a physical clock as unforgiving as either of his opponents’, while simultaneously standing on the precipice of adult life and its time-sapping demands. And yet, in spite of the stress-inducing finality of all three of these positions, it might actually be Shinobu who needs this win the most – Shinobu, who has chosen never to compromise on her passion, and who has instead worked to wrap herself entirely in karuta, and build her identity solely out of love for the sport. Shinobu is strong, but her single-mindedness also makes her fragile, and her fate in this tournament may ultimately rest on those human connections she’s so long denied. However these matches end, the landscape of Chihayafuru is sure to be forever altered as we enter the final battles!
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! – Episode 6
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am beyond excited to continue our journey into Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, as I’ve once again put off my first viewing of this episode until this very moment. Last week, Eizouken managed to turn a topic I don’t actually have much interest in (giant robots) into another essential exploration of the creative process, as the show explored the finer details of seeking inspiration for new projects, dealing with difficult clients, and finding common ground within creative collaborations.
Asakusa and Mizusaki are in large part a strong team because they bounce so easily and happily off each other – in contrast, their negotiations with the robot club were far more tense, but still ultimately resulted in a design everyone was happy with. That negotiation process also highlighted some of the natural disconnects that tend to exist between audiences and creatives – in particular, how audiences often seek a “perfectly real” fantasy that can only exist as a personal feeling, and which becomes an impossible contradiction when introduced to sunlight. A great part of the artist’s job is to massage the sharp edges of that contradiction – to present a fantasy that is technically impossible, but still feels “real” and emotionally impactful, due to the many clever tricks of presentation Eizouken has so thoughtfully explored. Whatever creative design stone Eizouken wishes to unturn this week, I’m eager to return to this charming, beautiful, and incredibly generous production. Let’s get to it!
Winter 2020 – Week 7 in Review
Hello all, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time! I’ve got a fresh pile of films I watched this week, including Masaaki Yuasa’s latest feature, along with another boatload of variably watchable horror films. Along with me personally being a big horror fan, horror is also one of the few genres I can always convince my housemates to take a chance on, so we end up screening a fair number of blood-curdling features around my apartment. The pickings were pretty solid this week, so let’s not waste any more time, and dive into the latest Week in Review!
Bodacious Space Pirates – Episode 2
Heya folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. I’m currently feeling sick as a dog, having spent most of last night coughing and sniveling in the throes of my first winter cold. Fortunately, today we’ve got a sunny, energetic new project to explore, which will hopefully help me put my own bodily dysfunctions out of mind: Bodacious Space Pirates.
Bodacious Space Pirates’ premiere powered through the first part of Marika Kato’s call to adventure efficiently and with a great deal of charm, as she rapidly discovered that space pirates exist, her mother actually was one, and her father’s death has left her as the improbable heir to a legal pirate ship. In narrative terms, Marika’s story seems to echo old adventure serials, along with a healthy dash of school drama tropes, like the mysterious transfer student. In aesthetic terms, the show is quite pretty on the whole, with solid CG and fairly expressive characters. I’ll be interested in seeing if that unique visual sequence while Marika was having her history explained is a persistent trick, but on the whole, I’m ready for whatever this charming show offers. Let’s get to it!
Chihayafuru S3 – Episode 18
We return to Chihayafuru in the midst of the challenger matches, with both Haruka and Harada having fought through difficult first rounds to arrive at luck-of-the-draw conclusions. Harada actually succeeded in beating Suo in that faceoff, but it remains an open question whether Suo is merely letting Harada win in order to prolong his final match as Master. While we’ve gotten a closer look into Suo’s psychology over the past several episodes, basically none of that context has made him more likable in any way – he’s proven himself to be not just selfish, but genuinely invigorated by toying with his opponents. And given how much of a physical toll just two rounds with Arata wrought on Harada, defeating an even stronger opponent who’s determined to drag this out across five rounds seems next to impossible.
Meanwhile, Haruka lost her own first round, but given the emotionally turbulent nature of Shinobu’s post-match experiences, it’s hard to say how future rounds will play out. Shinobu entered this match on an emotional high, energized by the knowledge that her grandmother actually supports her decisions – but after the first round, her mother stole that energy, by cruelly stating that her grandmother was just using her as an advertising prop. That blow was followed by a second, accidental jab courtesy of Chihaya, who unthinkingly admitted she’d prioritized her class trip over karuta, thereby proving in Shinobu’s mind that they don’t actually share the same passion. Will all this betrayal rattle Shinobu, or will it actually clarify her self-image, and return her to an unmatchable kinship with the cards themselves? I mean, I don’t know, but I’m guessing this episode will probably clarify that pretty soon. LET’S GET TO IT!
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! – Episode 5
Hello everyone, and I hope you’re ready for another episode of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! Today I am consumed by even more anticipation than usual, as unlike every other episode since the premiere, I actually haven’t watched this one myself yet. Yes, scandalous, I know.
Eizouken’s fourth episode seemed like a clear endpoint for the “first act” of this production, as our three young creators both created and debuted their first finished work, earning themselves an actual club budget in the process. “Hold That Machete Tight!” was a stunning demonstration of all three of their talents: Asakusa’s evocative designs, Mizusaki’s fluid and personality-infused animation, and Kanamori’s ability to wrangle her unfocused and overly ambitious friends into working on something they can actually finish. Their production managed to simultaneously embody all the shortcuts they had to embrace to actually finish, while also demonstrating the indescribable magic of seeing your creative ideas come to life. I imagine the team will be setting their sights even higher for their second production, and I can’t wait to see what dark corners of the creative process this show illuminates next. Let’s get back to Eizouken!
Pokemon Sun and Moon – Episode 5
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Why It Works. As the winter season continues its grisly course, today I’d like to once more escape from the muck and snow of my own chilly New England, off to the sun-kissed beaches and alluring jungles of Alola. Pokemon Sun and Moon has been a delightful ride so far, with its colorful, intricate background art and playful, expressive animation combining to create an aesthetic experience as joyous and energizing as Pokemon itself.
In narrative terms, the show’s mostly just been introducing key characters so far, though that process has of course been accompanied with plenty of small individual narratives and Pokemon battles. Sun and Moon’s overall structure seems most closely aligned with the slice of life genre; the focus is on having fun with friends, and though Ash is technically determined to become a Pokemon master, that goal currently seems roughly as realistic as Yui’s dreams of Budokan. “Fun with friends” also seems to be this show’s thematic heart – Ash loses more often than he wins, and thus finding satisfaction and camaraderie in simply competing is consistently emphasized. It’s a fine lesson for this show’s presumed audience, but I’ll be interested in seeing if the show complicates its narrative, now that most of the key players have presumably been introduced. Either way, it’s cold here and I’m ready for the beach, so let’s get back to Sun and Moon!
Why It Works: Not Born to Be a Hero: My Hero Academia and the Road to Greatness
Today I’ve got a fresh My Hero Academia article for you all, largely inspired by the show’s recent provisional license retakes, as well as Mirio and Nighteye’s additions to the story. One of the things that I feel sets MHA apart as a shonen is that in terms of temperament, Midoriya is far removed from the default “shonen protagonist,” who’s generally someone a lot more like Mirio or Yoarashi. Midoriya has to actually work to come off as inspiring, and that plays naturally into My Hero Academia’s framing of heroism itself as a source of inspiration. Anyway, here’s the piece!
Not Born to Be a Hero: My Hero Academia and the Road to Greatness
