Tag Archives: OreGairu

Oregairu S3 – Episode 12

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Alright folks, it’s time to finish this journey. I’ve been watching and writing about Oregairu for basically as long as I’ve been writing about anime; I was writing seasonal reflections back on reddit during the first season, handled Anime News Network’s articles for the second, and am appropriately finishing off the third on my own humble website. After nearly a decade of writing about Oregairu, it’s an exceedingly bittersweet feeling saying goodbye.

That said, it certainly feels like the time is right for this story to end. To be honest, this third season itself has felt somewhat superfluous; both Haruno’s claims of codependency and Yukino’s need to host the prom felt like new injections of drama, not conflicts that emerged naturally from the initial premise. This season also can’t help but embrace the sort of melodrama its predecessors would sneer at, with its character study origins giving way to something a lot more heightened and sentimental. But in spite of the ways we’ve grown apart, I still feel a great fondness for this cast, and am eager to see them step out into the wider world. Let’s say goodbye to Oregairu!

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Oregairu S3 – Episode 11

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be diving back into Oregairu’s final season, where when we last left off, Sensei had finally stepped in to help guide our severely mixed-up protagonist. Both Hachiman and Yukino have been laboring under Haruno’s prognosis of “codependency” all season, assuming that their implicit methods of supporting each other were in some way fundamentally childish or unhealthy.

Of course, what Haruno is actually describing is “friendship” and “mutual trust,” concepts which are undoubtedly foreign to her world, but which are nonetheless healthy aspects of any developed social life. In truth, the only thing holding Hachiman and Yukino back is their own insecurity; they’ve actually discovered the sincere bonds they were seeking, they just don’t have enough faith in their feelings to believe it. Hopefully that push from Sensei will provide Hachiman with the confidence he needs, as our long-suffering service club members only have two episodes left to sort things out. Let’s get to it!

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Oregairu S3 – Episode 10

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After three seasons of personal revelation and emotional catharsis, is it really going to be Iroha who fixes everything? The girl whose name is a synonym for chaos, who has loudly and proudly declared her total self-interest at every opportunity, and who seems to take pride in never learning from her mistakes? The girl with the psychological profile of a common housecat, who will happily push your full glass off the table while maintaining eye contact the entire time? Iroha is going to save us?

Well, desperate times call for unusual heroes, I suppose. And to be fair, it’s clear that Iroha has been dedicating herself to genuine self-improvement all season long, having been genuinely inspired by the ambitions of Hachiman and his friends. Frankly, it seems like Iroha has actually raced ahead of Hachiman’s crew in self-actualization, unburdened as she is by their paralyzing weight of self-doubt. Yukino still sees herself as an appendage of her family, and Hachiman lacks the confidence to challenge her directly, so I suppose it’s Iroha’s turn to lead the drama for a change. With high school’s end approaching, let’s return to Oregairu!

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Oregairu S3 – Episode 9

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What the fuck is wrong with you kids? Why can’t you let yourself embrace happiness for one goddamn second? Why you always gotta be martyring yourself for the sake of social conventions you don’t even fully understand? What is so wrong with having a good time with the people you love!?!?

Jesus cripes this show drives me crazy sometimes. The challenge to Yukino’s prom has been circumvented, yet our heroes are actually even more distraught than before, more certain they’re doomed to majestically drift apart. Kids, you’re only seventeen, you could fuck up for the next five years straight and still be ahead of the curve. And why would you take advice about relationships from a woman who’s destroyed all of her own personal bonds, anyway? Sometimes I feel like Ray dealing with Little Nephew when it comes to these anxious little devils, but it’s hard to fault the realism of teenagers thinking they don’t deserve love. I’m really hoping this is the low point of their journey, but I’ll be sticking by them regardless to the end. Let’s dive back into Oregairu!

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Oregairu S3 – Episode 8

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Alright Hachiman, how are we doing this? Last episode saw our quasi-hero taking clear steps towards establishing his anti-prom, as he conscripted a bunch of former allies to his planning committee, and even got Jazzhands hyped about a potential multi-school collaboration. Of course, all of his plans have been theoretical so far; he hasn’t even raised the possibility of a second prom to any school officials, meaning his greatest battles are still ahead of him. At some point Hachiman will have to face Yukimom directly, and I’m eager to assess the bloodshed.

Meanwhile, Hachiman’s personal life is such a clusterfuck that I barely have the strength to untangle it. Iroha will make it out of all this with her usual grace, but Yui is being set up for some kind of Fated Tragedy, which frankly feels terribly unfair. It was Yui’s kindness and generosity that essentially taught Hikki and Yukino to be decent people, and to desire the kind of sincere friendship they initially distrusted. But Yui isn’t some ethereal saint with no desires of her own; she instigated this whole situation because she actually likes Hikki, and having her bow out to ensure the others’ happiness would just be a repeat of the same self-sacrificing behavior she hates to see from Hachiman. I’m not sure how this show will make Yui happy, but I’m ready to hold it accountable if it fails. I’ve got my eye on you Watari; if you make Yui unhappy, I’m getting on a plane.

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Oregairu S3 – Episode 6

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Alright Hachiman, what’s the plan? You’ve wormed your way back into the prom preparations, but how are you actually going to triumph over the full power of Yukino’s mother? You’ve largely dealt with children or peers in the past, using your understanding of adolescent psychology to manipulate the actions of those around you. That’s clearly not going to work on an adult woman with institutional power, who knows exactly what she wants, and has no obligation to entertain the whims of teenagers.

His one real piece of leverage, which he was quick to point out last episode, is that the PTO wants the student body to voluntarily abandon their plans. If he can rally the students to his side, he could possibly create a conflict of a scale that supersedes Yukimom’s authority. If he can turn this conflict into a liability for her reputation, he might just win out.

Of course, even if he does that, it’ll still be an embrace of the old, limited methods he’s always employed. In fact, as of this moment, it feels like all three of our heroes are backsliding. Hachiman’s once more acting as a lone avenger, Yukino is refusing to relinquish her pride, and Yui is sacrificing her own happiness for the sake of her friends. It’s clear they’re all trying to reach a certain level of independence as high school ends, but it was their mutual friendship that made them strong, and without it, they’re relying on the same old habits as before. Can they successfully stand apart while still embodying the honesty, empathy, and humility they’ve learned together? Let’s find out!

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Oregairu S3 – Episode 5

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be returning to Oregairu, where we most recently witnessed Yui once again martyring herself for the sake of her friends. Though she’s been attempting to pursue a relationship with Hachiman since the very beginning of the series, she also feels that Yukino actually needs Hachiman, and thus steps aside with a smile the moment her happiness inconveniences their relationship.

Yui’s actions aren’t really unexpected. She’s been sacrificing her happiness for her friends’ sake all series long, and one of Oregairu’s fundamental lessons is that personal growth doesn’t progress in a straight or orderly direction. Sometimes we take strange detours on the road to adulthood, and frequently we’ll find ourselves backsliding into habits we’d hoped to escape from. Hachiman himself has experienced this process a few times, but at least with Hachiman, there is generally the intent to improve. In contrast, it seems like Yui has fundamentally accepted that her needs will always come second to those she cares about, and has no plans to impose her desires on anyone. It’s a very Yui decision, but not a healthy one; kindness is a virtue, but everyone has the right to seek happiness, and Yui’s friends would ultimately want her to be happy as well.

Meanwhile, Yukino is busy locking horns with her mother, in what appears to be a proxy battle representing her overall quest for autonomy. I’m not sure how Hachiman plans to address this situation, but I’m content to watch the sparks fly as these battleships collide. Let’s return to the emotional battlefield of Oregairu!

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Oregairu S3 – Episode 4

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today, we are at long last returning to Oregairu, where things are currently going so well that it’s making me nervous. Normally, watching Oregairu is a sensation not unlike being tortured on a medieval rack, where each new episode’s awkwardness and drama stretches your limbs just a few centimeters past their breaking point. But recently, pretty much all of our principal characters have been getting along, and supporting each other with their various endeavors. What does this mean? 

It’s pretty simple, actually: these kids are finally growing up. Yukino is learning to set aside her brittle pride, Hachiman is becoming more comfortable admitting he cares, and Iroha is earnestly committing herself to the projects she’s passionate about. The crew have grown so much that they might not even need Yui to act as a social moderator anymore – a fact that Yui herself is keenly aware of. With the end of high school approaching, the artificial closeness of the Volunteer Service Club will soon end as well – and at that point, our stars will have to decide what they truly mean to each other. Let’s return to the rich drama of Oregairu!

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Top Anime of 2020

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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.

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Oregairu S3 – Episode 3

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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. We return to Oregairu at a particularly improbable moment, as the show establishes a point of connection between two deeply incompatible people: Yukino and Iroha. Yukino is a brittle pillar of integrity, determined to embody her ethos by living as a righteous example – meanwhile, Iroha is an incorrigible gremlin, always eager to foist her work on others, and most comfortable hiding her feelings behind an insincere smile.

At least, that’s who they used to be. Over the course of Oregairu’s first two seasons, Yukino has learned to be far less judgmental, and gained a sense of humility and closeness among her friends that has disarmed her originally unapproachable nature. Meanwhile, Iroha has realized she’s genuinely good at a lot of things, learned to take pride in her efforts, and decided she too wants the genuine connections Hachiman is seeking. Through each of their journeys, they have arrived at a point where Yukino can recognize Iroha’s shared desire to assert her competency and independence, and want to help her achieve her dreams. Whether attempting to organize a prom while also renegotiating her familial duties is wise is another question entirely, but Yukino’s tendency to overexert herself isn’t likely to disappear overnight. Without further ado, let’s see what our crew get up to next!

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