Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we are returning to the bustling streets of CITY The Animation, after an episode that casually offered one of the defining sequences in twenty-first century animation. That’s not a claim to make likely, but it seems inevitable that episode five’s screen partition medley will be referenced and celebrated for years to come, a visual articulation of CITY’s “every community is a living organism” theme that astonishes both as a feat of sheer animated manpower, and also as a somehow cohesive, easy-to-follow master class in visual direction.

Episode five also offered the show’s first continuous narrative, taking advantage of its compelling venue to articulate a tale of hospitality deferred across a distinctive series of preposterous non-challenges. Given all that, I’m expecting we’ll be returning to the usual skit-based fare this time, if only because episodes like that last one must be a strain on even KyoAni’s incredibly healthy project scheduling. Fortunately, “a standard episode of CITY” is still one of the best things you could possibly experience, and with every episode we watch, more amusing/endearing bonds between its sprawling cast reveal themselves. Let’s see what’s going on in the city today!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today it is altogether too cold for me to be tramping around outside, so we’re instead going to take a vicarious walk around the neighborhood, by enjoying a fresh episode of CITY the Animation. Keiichi Arawi and Kyoto Animation’s latest collaboration has proven an absolute wonder so far, and if anything, it seems like the show’s ambition is only growing with every passing episode.

Last episode’s concluding race served as the show’s most impressive flourish so far, combining copious kinetic animation and skillfully attention-drawing boarding to involve the entire community in Niikura’s quest to retain her dignity. What made that sequence possible was not just the production’s ability to maintain dramatic momentum across half a dozen distinct sub-narratives, but also the underlying fact that the show had set up all those narratives so well, making it easy to spend just a few seconds with any given story and pick up a bonus punchline. The best sitcoms tend to culminate in sequences that weave A, B, and C plots together into something surreal yet dramatically inevitable, and if CITY continues at its current rate, we’re likely due for future climaxes that reach all the way to F, G, and even H plots. I can only be thankful Kyoto Animation is using their terrifying powers for good, as we charge forward towards another day in the city!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today the sun is shining on a crisp October day here in the city, the kind of day that invokes a natural yearning to get out there and savor the countless tiny stories of a community in motion. Well, I gotta finish this here article before I do that, but fortunately we are today visiting another of my favorite cities, as we return to the aptly named CITY the Animation.

The combination of Keiichi Arawi’s madcap storytelling and Kyoto Animation’s utterly breathtaking adaptation have so far made for one of this year’s greatest and most distinctive pleasures, a perpetual celebration of community, creativity, and the fundamental joy of motion. The clear enthusiasm this team has brought to this production is infectious, elevating every ridiculous pratfall and non-sequitur into a fond salute to life’s incidental, unexpected pleasures. Let’s see what new soft-hearted silliness they’ve got in store for us as we head back to the city!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to announce we’re taking a walk downtown, as we return to the manic, seemingly free-associated antics of CITY the Animation. As with its Arawi-penned predecessor Nichijou, CITY has established a diverse collection of local characters with their own concerns and social groups, from our Nagumo-centered main trio to the irreverent high schooler pair to the perpetually harried newspaper editorial department. Through their preposterous shenanigans, Arawi’s pen and Ishidate’s team are summoning the lively, lovable energy of a city in motion, a community that is greater for every unexpected link between its various component parts.

CITY has so far actually felt a bit more invested in this “communal texture” effect than Nichijou’s more farcical, localized approach; Ishidate has stated in interviews that he’s more focused on creating a certain warm, inviting atmosphere than emphasizing laugh-out-loud gags, and I’d say the production is better for it. Nichijou’s moments of familial bonding were often its greatest; though the show was full of incredible comic vignettes, it’s the love shared by Yuko, Nano, and all their friends that holds most clearly in my mind. With the last episode offering the sharp, unexpected stinger of Eri potentially moving away from her best friend Matsuri, I imagine we’ve got plenty of similarly tender moments ahead of us, and I’m eager to get back to the family. Let’s enjoy the CITY!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I’m delighted to announce we’re checking back in on CITY the Animation, and finding out what preposterous nonsense our locals are getting up to this week. The first episode introduced our presumed main trio of Midori, Niikura, and Wako, but as with its predecessor Nichijou, CITY is a proudly ensemble production, boasting dozens of characters who might jump in for a quick pratfall or surreal non-sequitur. The title does not lie; it is the city itself that is the protagonist of this production, a living organism whose many inhabitants all enrich each other’s lives in countless tiny ways.

So far the production has proudly, painstakingly emphasized that active coexistence, opening with an absurd flex of the entire city in motion, and continuing to link its various skits via their spatial proximity and shared cast of characters. CITY’s impressive loyalty to Keiichi Arawi’s original designs not only creates a uniquely charming, almost cut-paper-reminiscent world, it actually facilitates a union of traditional and CG animation that in turn enables the production’s frequent, ambitious junction of narratives, as stories ramble beyond their own sets to coexist with the ongoing stories of others. And this in turn underlines that core theme: that we are all in this together, and that every city is a collective promise, an investment in the love and support we owe to each other. Let’s get to it!

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Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to announce we are starting on a new yet likely nostalgic journey, as we explore the first episode of the ongoing CITY The Animation. Based on a manga by Nichijou scribe Keiichi Arawi, CITY is also being adapted by the singular team at Kyoto Animation, with Taichi Ishidate serving as director. In predictably KyoAni fashion, Ishidate has spent his entire career at the studio, serving as a key animator since all the way back in their Inuyasha outsourcing days, and more recently directing such lush spectacles as Beyond the Boundary and Violet Evergarden.

Nichijou is probably the best anime comedy that exists, and Kyoto Animation is possibly the greatest animation studio of all time, so my expectations are pretty high for this followup. And so far, I’ve seen no reason to temper those expectations – the previews have all been delightful, embodying that same mixture of warmth and surrealism that made Nichijou so special, and the art design looks incredibly appealing. Nichijou adapted Arawi’s style to something closer to KyoAni’s house aesthetic, but CITY appears to be embracing the comic book stylings of its source material, presenting a world of warm pastels, chunky lines, and flat yet strangely voluminous scenery. It has been far too long since I watched Kyoto Animation flex their powers (alright, it’s actually only been like four months since my last Euphonium binge), so let’s not waste another moment. Onward to CITY!

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