Another year has come and gone, leaving us undeniably older and presumably wiser, though at this point it’s hard for me to tell if each new year of knowledge outpaces the mental erosion of aging. That phrase “they’ve forgotten more about subject than you’ll ever know” always seemed a bit strange to me – I mean, I’ve forgotten way more stuff than I’ve remembered, and I don’t exactly take that as a point of pride. I’m really good at forgetting stuff! It’s probably what I’m best at! It does not make me a better thinker or critic!
Tag Archives: Vinland Saga
Fall 2023 – Week 4 in Review
Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today I am delighted to report that we finally locked down a new apartment, after far too many weeks of searching and touring and failing to pull anything together. The place won’t be available until the first, and I’ve got plenty of move-in tasks still ahead, but it nonetheless feels amazing to once again have a room of my own awaiting me. I am a furtive and solitary creature, and though I enjoy sharing a common space with friends, I also need a cozy den to which I can retreat, particularly during these key months of hibernation. It’s a profound relief to know I’ll soon have a slice of personal space again, and in the meantime, I’ve been continuing to both munch through films and catch up on the year’s outstanding anime releases. Let’s break down some fresh stories in the Week in Review!
Top Ten Anime of 2019
Hello all, and welcome to the end of another year in anime. This has been an undeniably difficult year, both in the world at large, and within our smaller sphere of Japanese animation. The Kyoto Animation arson stole dozens of lives, leaving a studio that embodied all the brightest hopes of this industry in ruins. From its artist training programs to its full-time employment opportunities to its gorgeous and moving productions, Kyoto Animation is a shining star in anime, and I can only find solace in the massive groundswell of support its employees have received, and its leaders’ commitment to maintaining their irreplaceable vision and place in the industry. This has been a year of tragedy, but I pray that we can end it with hope, and seek to right some of these terrible wrongs in the coming months.
This has also been a year of anime, and that’s what I’m actually here to share with you. My tastes have changed to some extent over the last year, but I still tend to value the same basic things in art: rich characters, engaging thematic arguments, inventive, expressive art design, and a sturdy narrative center. Not all of my top ten shows this year embodied all those qualities, and some of them were frankly just a really fun time, but I enjoyed all of them, and I hope you find something to enjoy among them too. I tried to at least check out every show I thought had a chance of making it into this list, but as usual, a couple fell through the cracks – in particular, I still need to catch up on O Maidens in Your Savage Season, burn through Symphogear’s final seasons, and get started on Beastars. Those aside, I at least checked out nearly all of this year’s shows, and have plenty of thoughts to share with you all. Without further ado, here’s Wrong Every Time’s Top Ten Anime of 2019!
Fall 2019 – Week 10 in Review
Well folks, it’s just about that time again. Wednesday has arrived once more, and though I’m currently buried under a variety of end-of-year lists and other assorted projects, the ongoing anime season still demands a moment of reflection. The anime was quite good this week, on the whole – My Hero Academia seems to finally be realizing the dramatic potential of the Overhaul arc, while Stars Align and Vinland Saga remained as reliably excellent as ever. There’s plenty to discuss and never enough time, so let’s jump right into another Week in Review!
Fall 2019 – Week 9 in Review
Hello all, and welcome back for another Week in Review! The year’s winding down at this point, meaning I’m grappling with a variety of year-end summaries and lists and whatnot, and am happy to report it’s been a pretty solid year in anime. I believe Mob Psycho 100, Carole & Tuesday, and Stars Align are currently wrestling for the top of my annual listings, but there’s a fair number of other fine contenders as well, and I still need to find the time to finish off overlooked shows like O Maidens. Meanwhile, this season’s own airing anime continued in its reliable fashion, as My Hero Academia at last entered the punchy part of its new arc, as Vinland Saga put the breaks on its own relative punchiness. There’s plenty to discuss and never enough time to do it, so let’s dive into another Week in Anime!
Fall 2019 – Week 8 in Review
Alright folks, it’s time for one more Week in Review. We’re actually reaching the late stages of the season now, though it doesn’t really feel like that. Stars Align is the only show I’m watching that’s formally concluding at the end of this season, and yet Stars Align also feels like it could go on forever – its team has only participated in one actual match so far, and all of its characters still have stories to tell. Meanwhile, My Hero Academia’s third season has only just finished clearing its throat, while Vinland Saga and Legend of the Galactic Heroes continue with the stately confidence of adaptations that know they’ll be sticking around for a while. I actually fell behind on LoGH this week, but I’ll hopefully be making up for that blurb’s absence with the sheer volume of writing I’ve assembled for this week’s other episodes. Let’s get to it!
Fall 2019 – Week 7 in Review
I really don’t know how this happened, but somehow we have arrived at Wednesday once again. With the overall year drifting into its final stages, I find myself once more buried under a variety of seasonal projects, as I start to hack away at top tens and bottom fives and whatever else the ceaseless content mill demands of me. Additionally, this happens to be a uniquely consequential year, as it signals the end of a full decade in… well, reality I guess, but more specifically anime. While I try to marshal my thoughts regarding the inherently panic-inducing last ten years of my life, I hope you all enjoy reading my latest thoughts on the week’s new cartoons. Let’s get to it!
Fall 2019 – Week 6 in Review
Pack it on in folks, it’s time for the Week in Review! We’ve somehow arrived at the season’s halfway point, and though this year’s increasingly rapid succession of days is a source of constant terror for me, it’s also a source of NEW CARTOONS! Today I’ve got plenty of new episodes to talk about, having finally caught up on Vinland Saga, and I’m eager to share all my hip-fired opinions with you fine people. From My Hero Academia at last starting its engine to Stars Align demonstrating some remarkable sports drama finess, we’ve got plenty to discuss regarding this week’s episodes. Let’s get to work!
Fall 2019 – Week 3 in Review
Well shit folks, it’s time for the Week in Review. After one more week of racing to catch up on all the shows I’ve left hanging, I believe I’m at this point current on my actual schedule for the season. I finally caught up on Stars Align, which has continued to offer convincing and unexpectedly sharp-edged adolescent drama, and also powered through the remaining Vinland Saga. I’ve also put Blade of the Immortal on hold, which isn’t really a knock against the show itself – pulpy action dramas just aren’t really my thing, and my schedule this season is pretty darn full. I also won’t be covering Chihayafuru here, for basically the opposite reason – Chihayafuru is so much my thing that I’ve already written two separate articles covering its season premiere. With all that sorted out, let’s dive into the highlights of another week in anime!
Fall 2019 – Week 2 in Review
Alright folks, we’ve got a ton of anime to discuss and not nearly enough time, so let’s get to work. In addition to catching up on all the second episodes I missed due to preview week’s never-ending nature, I also spent much of the last week tying up various loose ends from the summer season. I spammed through what remained of Vinland Saga, have nearly caught up on JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, concluded Carole & Tuesday, and swore a blood oath to catch up on O Maidens at the first possible opportunity. With only a single season left in the anime year, it’s time to start thinking about 2019’s best shows, and that discussion kinda demands actually having watched the year’s best shows in the first place.
Meanwhile, the fall season itself is proving to be full of treasures, packed with strong continuing productions, excellent sequels, and some genuinely stunning new productions. Both Blade of the Immortal and Stars Align have immediately established themselves as top shelf 2019 productions, while steady favorites like Legends of the Galactic Heroes and Chihayafuru remain as compelling as ever. It’s a genuinely kickass anime season, and I’ve got a heck of a lot to talk about. Let’s break down the concluding stars of summer, and the new favorites of the fall season!