Hello everyone, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’ll be embarking on a brand new journey, as we check out the first episode of the 2017 drama Scum’s Wish. I recall a fair degree of buzz regarding the Scum’s Wish manga, with the story making waves for its willingness to engage with the emotional and physical messiness of teenage sexuality. In a field that frequently sanitizes relationships to the point where a chaste kiss is the ultimate expression of sexual fervor, Scum’s Wish acknowledges that teens are horny, and often express that horniness in self-destructive ways.
As for the production, we’ve got Masaomi Andou serving as director, whose projects all tend to feature a few common signatures. The most obvious indicator that you’re in an Andou production is the proliferation of screen-in-screen shots, where a character reaction, physical action, or some other variable is illustrated through smaller boxes layered on top of the original image. This technique tends to create a distinct sense of flow in his works, as well as the sense of a “moving comic” that is a bit closer to manga than film. Andou balances this visual signature with an otherwise restrained, almost conservative approach to direction, generally favoring clear, wide shots over angled or aggressive cinematography. Given this is a manga adaptation, I assume that’ll all translate to a rigorously manga-loyal adaptation, with his flourishes almost recreating the paneling of the source material.
Alright, I think that covers everything I know about this property and production. Let’s get to it!