It’s been a year, huh, folks? Trapped inside by a pandemic, tormented by the xenophobia and callousness of our own governments, and hurtling towards a climate change precipice, 2020 has been a year where thriving is utterly out of the question, and just surviving is worthy of applause. In light of the extreme conditions of the world at large, it’s no surprise that anime studios suffered a strain as well, and thus it’s been a relatively light year in anime. But that’s only half the story – personally, this has been a year of change for my relationship with the medium, too.
Tag Archives: Deca-Dence
Summer 2020 – Week 7 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Wednesday has arrived again, and though my ostensible “Week in Review” posts are continuing their steady transformation into a shapeless, abyssal mass of unprompted media opinions, they’re still keeping me busy with plenty to write about. This week I watched through the first half of Steven Universe’s final season, caught up on the fascinating and beautifully executed Deca-Dence, and also tossed in a fresh film for seasoning. Deca-Dence has been so damn interesting that I’m almost certainly going to write some sort of long-form essay on it, but in the meantime, I can’t exactly let Tachikawa’s statement that “we were mostly inspired by Wreck-It Ralph” go unanswered. Without further ado, let’s explore some fresh new stories!
Summer 2020 – Week 5 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. I actually didn’t get to any noteworthy films this week, but that’s largely because I’ve been devoting most of my free time to two acclaimed TV shows, both of which I attempted and failed to finish once before, and both of which I’m determined to complete this time. Powering through arcs of Steven Universe and Breaking Bad at the same time has made for a somewhat unorthodox media diet, but they’re both very interesting in their own ways, and it’s been illuminating getting a better grasp on the whole “prestige TV” genealogy. Meanwhile, Deca-Dence remains excellent, and I’m also continuing my rewatch of Oregairu, which you can follow through my first honest-to-god twitter thread. There’s plenty of media to break down, so let’s not waste any more time, and jump right into the Week in Review!
Summer 2020 – Week 4 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome to another Week in Review. This week I’ve got a pretty diverse stew of films and shows to cover, ranging from the persistently fascinating Deca-Dence to new releases, old classics, and whatever my housemate could find on Netflix. The big hit this week was Do the Right Thing, which I’ve known by reputation as one of the most insightful and just-plain-excellent films on race in America, and which I’m happy to report is fucking fantastic, obviously. It turns out the entire film criticism community was right about that one, who would have guessed. Anyway, I’ve rambled about things I’m about to ramble about again for long enough, so let’s get right down to the Week in Review!
Summer 2020 – Week 2 in Review
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today, for the first time in over a full season, I’ll actually be offering some commentary on the latest episodes of several airing anime! I know, it’s been a while, and frankly, even this return slate is pretty limited – I’m currently just watching Oregairu, Deca-Dence, and God of High School, and fully expect my enthusiasm for God of High School to fall below the watchability line in the next couple episodes. Pure action spectacle married to bluntly atrocious storytelling just isn’t really my scene; fortunately, both Deca-Dence and Oregairu seem like unimpeachably solid contenders, meaning I might actually end this year with just enough shows for a top ten list. Let’s see what the season is offering so far, over the course of one more old-fashioned Week in Review!
Summer 2020 – Virtually Every First Episode Retrospective
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. With the summer season’s anime premieres behind us, it’s time to once again sort out the shining stars and cartoon crimes of the new season, and offer you all a mix of genuine recommendations and clearly exaggerated personal torment. As an understandable consequence of COVID’s continuous threat, a great number of anime were delayed from this summer season, meaning it’s actually the smallest anime season since I started cataloging them seven goddamn years ago. Personally though, as a grumpy old man with little interest in most shows, I tend to consider a season a success if it has even one show I’m extremely excited about – and with this season containing two such shows, hoo boy, I am ecstatic. Don’t worry about my deadpan phrasing, that’s just how I talk, I am actually super excited over here.
As usual, you can check out the full list of reviews over at ANN, or scroll below, where I’ll be breaking all of the season’s attractions down into handy categories from best to worst. If I end up panning one of your favorites, just remember that I’m making an implicit judgment of your personal character, and you should react accordingly (this is a joke, I’m joking, please do not do this). In the end, we’re all just watching anime to connect and feel something, and I hope I can make the task of finding a new show just a little easier for you all. Let’s get to it!
Summer 2020 Season Preview
Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. This is usually the point in this article where I say I can’t believe how quickly the time has passed, but let’s be real here: we’re all stuck inside, time has no meaning, and individual days are beginning to meld into one endless, featureless procession of the eternal Now. I hope you’re all doing your best to cope with quarantine in your own ways, but either way, time has been accelerating all throughout the spring, and at this point it feels like no surprise to already have reached the summer preview.
COVID’s global presence also means that the summer anime season has been dramatically diminished, with a great number of shows either pushed back or cancelled entirely. Fortunately, the surviving properties contain a few shows I’m genuinely hyped for, and frankly, I wouldn’t want all these already-overworked animators putting themselves in any danger, anyway. Without further ado, let’s run down the most intriguing prospects of the summer season!