Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we\u2019re going to be examining another OVA from the format\u2019s late \u201880s-early \u201890s heyday, as we check out Spirit of Wonder: Miss China\u2019s Ring. This OVA was adapted from the overall Spirit of Wonder manga series written and illustrated by Kenji Tsuruta, who channeled his love of fantastical storytellers like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells into a series of steampunk-adjacent vignettes, with each chapter centering on a new character and a new marvelous invention.<\/span><\/p>\n Combining the playful storytelling of the great nineteenth century fantasists with the generous animation of the OVA era sounds like a great time to me, and Spirit of Wonder\u2019s key staff also seem promising. The key director\/animation director team of Mitsuru Hongo and Yoshiaki Yanagida would actually go on to reprise this partnership as the director\/AD of the recent Ascendance of a Bookworm, while Hongo\u2019s significant work on the Shin-chan franchise makes me suspect he\u2019s a director with a clear eye for how boarding and character animation can play off and elevate each other. Meanwhile, fellow art director Ogura Hiramasa will likely be managing the background art, as his own credits as art director include such standouts as Royal Space Force and Patlabor the Movie. And with reliable hand Michuru Shimada (Little Witch Academia, Before Green Gables, Galaxy Express 999) handling the screenplay, I imagine Tsuruta\u2019s tale will be adapted with absolute confidence. Let\u2019s see what this spirit of wonder is all about!<\/span><\/p>\n Spirit of Wonder: Miss China\u2019s Ring<\/b><\/p>\n We open on a blurry composition of a man smoking a pipe in a chair, his figure only visible as a silhouette left by the light behind him. He asks us if we know the story of the China Ring, and then sighs and says he\u2019ll explain it. An excellent way to essentially frame the ensuing episode as a bedtime story, a fantasy whose details may be as blurry as our sleepy-eyed view of the storyteller himself<\/span><\/p>\n Though they\u2019re obviously preoccupied with new inventions and discoveries that seemed just out of reach at the time, Wells\u2019 and Verne\u2019s stories are more timeless than you\u2019d think; Wells\u2019 comedy is sharp and whimsical, Verne\u2019s grounded \u201cadventure travelogue\u201d prose adds a charming stateliness to his tales, and both understand the fundamentals of a properly satisfying fantastical voyage. It\u2019s no surprise that both get steady adaptations throughout the years; rather than feeling dated, their work always feels refreshing, a reminder of a charming dramatic style that has at this point fallen enough out of favor to feel somewhat novel, in spite of having essentially set the aesthetic and tonal assumptions of what we now see as steampunk drama<\/span><\/p>\n An owl in flight leads us to a sleepy estate, where a woman calls for \u201cMr. Breckenridge,\u201d who appears to be sneaking through the parlor. His design is light on linework but highly expressive; I appreciate the consistency of his shabby combover across his movements<\/span><\/p>\n We then meet a woman who could only be Miss China, given her cheongsam dress and Chun Li-style hair buns<\/span><\/p>\n The semi-realistic expressiveness of Mr. Breckenridge actually does remind me of Patlabor\u2019s style, though of course, what I\u2019m likely recognizing is the more general trend towards realistic character designs across the OVA era. The medium was attempting to expand beyond adolescent fare into adult markets, and such productions tended to embrace more realistic character art<\/span><\/p>\n The move to late-night TV time slots in the \u201800s seemed to more or less end that trend, prompting producers to double down on the core market rather than court general audiences<\/span><\/p>\n Then Miss China high-kicks right through the door. It wouldn\u2019t surprise me if they\u2019re riffing directly on Chun Li here, though to be honest, Chun Li herself is embodying a common archetype across martial arts cinema (though generally her character is a waitress or proprietress like this, not a cop)<\/span><\/p>\n Oh, that\u2019s unexpected. Miss China\u2019s face is actually animated in the same realistic style as Mr. Breckenridge, with large but unexaggerated eyes and a prominent nose bridge. Also like how they\u2019re animating her talking out of the corner of her mouth, like she\u2019s biting her lip in exasperation while dictating terms to her unruly tenant<\/span><\/p>\n She\u2019s got a nicely rounded design in general, with the roundness of her cheeks echoing her hair buns. A neat compromise between realistic features and geometrically simplified animation-friendly silhouettes<\/span><\/p>\n A lovely pan across the estate looking down to the bay and seaside village introduces us to the town proper. Between the romantic strings in the background and the beauty of this provincial scene, I\u2019m immediately reminded of Anne of Green Gables \u2013 and then we learn that this is actually Prince of Wales Island, in the Alaskan panhandle. So, other side of Canada, but similar climate<\/span><\/p>\n Her restaurant is called \u201cTenkai\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The bustling restaurant shows off more of Yanagida\u2019s semi-realistic and highly expressive character designs, again in a similar style to fellow art director Hiramasa\u2019s Royal Space Force and Patlabor<\/span><\/p>\n I like how Miss China\u2019s go-to expressions aren\u2019t just cheerful smiles; she\u2019s got a unique sort of self-conscious smile, demonstrating her preoccupation with work as she attempts to fend off her guests\u2019 requests<\/span><\/p>\n Two men in impressive top hats arrive at the inn<\/span><\/p>\n Love their color-coded suits \u2013 one with a white jacket and black shirt, the other reversed<\/span><\/p>\n Yeah, some of these shots of Miss China are so good, emphasizing a specificity of bone structure that you don\u2019t often get in anime, and thereby facilitating new expressive possibilities. This up-tilted expression as she announces Breckenridge\u2019s guests is fantastic; it leans into both the prominence of her chin and depth of her nose bridge, her whole face evoking a sense of suspicious, guarded curiosity<\/span><\/p>\n Her eyes are also capable of a much wider range of expressions than you normally see in anime; the very fact that they\u2019re not exaggerated means the animators can embrace the specificity and versatility of realistic expression shifts<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAt last, the day when we can travel to the moon has come!\u201d So it appears we\u2019re doing a version of Wells\u2019 The First Men in the Moon, given Breckenridge\u2019s circumstances and the general tone of the drama. We\u2019ve just replaced that story\u2019s struggling young playwright with Miss China<\/span><\/p>\n His potential investors are not impressed with his blathering, and swiftly exit<\/span><\/p>\n Mr. Breckenridge\u2019s expressiveness makes for a neat contrast with Miss China. While her prominent chin, upturned nose, and generally circular features collectively evoke a sense of youthful curiosity and suspicion, his features sag sideways and down across his face, presenting the impression of a huckster melting into his rented suit. She\u2019s always visually rising, he\u2019s always descending<\/span><\/p>\n His invention is a \u201cSpace Reflector,\u201d which appears to be a kind of holographic mirror reflecting the space in front of it<\/span><\/p>\n Miss China is disappointed by his finicky invention, and promptly attempts to high kick it. She\u2019s pretty great<\/span><\/p>\n A trip outside demonstrates Miss China\u2019s consistency of upturned design elements, with eyes, nose, and chin all rising towards the sky. The combination gives her some strong \u201cprotagonist energy\u201d \u2013 even without saying so, you can tell she\u2019s ready to seize the day<\/span><\/p>\n These features also facilitate her befuddled and suspicious looks, which pretty much covers her main expressions<\/span><\/p>\n She meets a group of local kids on a stone bridge. I like how the general lightness of coloration and overall light saturation give these drawings the feeling of a weathered picture book, or perhaps a collection of pencil-sketched watercolors<\/span><\/p>\n A charming cut of the whole crew marching to the village only bolsters the Anne of Green Gables vibes. Couldn\u2019t really ask for a better formative artistic influence than that<\/span><\/p>\n And now we meet Jim Floyd, Breckenridge\u2019s assistant. Going by The First Men in the Moon\u2019s narrative, this would actually be the story\u2019s protagonist. Little surprise the anime version chose to instead prioritize the theoretical love interest, and also turn her into a cute high-kicking Chinese lady<\/span><\/p>\n Frankly, her character also rules in the original story. I\u2019d <\/span>check out the \u201864 film adaptation<\/span><\/a> if you\u2019re interested, which also offers some delightful Harryhausen miniatures<\/span><\/p>\n Miss China\u2019s clearly got a thing for Jim here as well, and stares glumly as he conspires with the village girl Lily<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLooks like you\u2019ve been a busy boy, staying out this late.\u201d Miss China really nailing the disappointed spouse look<\/span><\/p>\n Oh wow, really impressive cut as the camera spins while Miss China chases Jim\u2019s treasure. Smart use of the heavy shadows here; because the room is so dark, spinning the camera doesn\u2019t necessarily require as many significant redraws. Still an impressive combination of animated fluidity and boarding though, with the spin amplifying the sense of Miss China\u2019s speed<\/span><\/p>\n He distracts her by reminding her it\u2019s her birthday tomorrow<\/span><\/p>\n Breckenridge claims he and Jim have already been to the moon, and now only need a way to secure proof of the voyage<\/span><\/p>\n Yeah, as it turns out, Jim was talking with Lily about a special present for Miss China\u2019s birthday<\/span><\/p>\n Fun multiplanar cut detailing Jim\u2019s walk up from the shoreline, with the heavy slope of the town represented by the houses\u2019 cel layer sinking down to reveal more of the port beyond<\/span><\/p>\n Meanwhile, Miss China\u2019s high kicking some unruly customers. I am immensely charmed by the fact that Kenji Tsuruta\u2019s main complaint about First Men in the Moon was apparently \u201cnot enough high kicks\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Nice moonlit lighting as we jump to China and Jim enjoying a drink after closing. China\u2019s silhouette fuses with the moon as she asks if Jim would like to work here, emphasizing the ephemeral beauty of this moment, the unlikeliness of its continuance<\/span><\/p>\n He says his true destiny is to be an inventor. They are just ships briefly passing in the night<\/span><\/p>\n Excellent smash cut from \u201cI don\u2019t get tipsy easily\u201d to China collapsed among empty bottles of Johnny Walker<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like you to get so plastered! Stop it.\u201d Ah, to be an anime protagonist who\u2019s oblivious to the affections of the person nearest and dearest to them. What a life!<\/span><\/p>\n Soft pink and orange light falls over Tenkai as China sleeps off her liquor. The variations in sunlight cast upon Tenkai and the town offer a natural articulation of time\u2019s steady passage, while also celebrating the various faces of this community at different times of day. An effect that feels very Takahata-like in general, Green Gables aside<\/span><\/p>\n Looking out the window, she sees that someone has apparently written \u201cHappy Birthday to China\u201d across the goddamn moon<\/span><\/p>\n Breckenridge is very proud of his lunar vandalism<\/span><\/p>\n Aw jeez. In her disarray the previous night, she actually broke Jim\u2019s moonstone ring. As in the scene itself, their feelings just barely missed each other<\/span><\/p>\n The weather continues to echo her mood, with a predawn fog emphasizing her gloom and lack of direction as she attempts to practice her martial arts<\/span><\/p>\n China is too embarrassed to speak to Jim, which Breckenridge interprets as her \u201cinability to appreciate such a fine gift.\u201d Please do not take anything Breckenridge says about gender relations seriously, Jim<\/span><\/p>\n The newspaper surprisingly has no reflections on their moon writing \u2013 in fact, all of the headlines are Beatles or Simon and Garfunkel songs, from Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite to Bridge Over Troubled Water<\/span><\/p>\n Lily plays coy about having seen the words on the moon, saying \u201cany normal person would never believe something like that could happen.\u201d When faced with the fantastical, those without the courage or imagination to embrace it will doubt themselves, thinking it must have been just an illusion, a trick of the light<\/span><\/p>\n Thus China is the only one who believes in their mission, but she\u2019s of course too embarrassed to say so<\/span><\/p>\n The only others who\u2019ll admit they saw the words are the children, but their parents told them not to mention it. If you ignore fantastical whimsy, it can\u2019t hurt you!<\/span><\/p>\n After her preoccupation eventually leads her to lose in a fight against a thief, China finally admits that the ring broke to Jim. Of course, he\u2019s only concerned that the compression process of the moonrock made it unstable, which leads him to another scientific revelation. Smart, consistent use of circle motifs throughout, which seem to serve as portals of connection, encompassing eyes, rings, and the moon itself<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf I were to present you with another ring, would you accept it this time?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Adorable bashful look by China in response<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll be waiting for you, up on the Heath Hill, tonight at 10!\u201d I\u2019d love for their meeting to go well, but everything about this narrative\u2019s structure and tone seems to imply these two will never truly unite \u2013 they will always be staring at each other through portals from different worlds, passing briefly on their separate journeys. Definitely a little bit of the Chang\u2019e myth in this version of the tale<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cRemember the Gravity Compressor that I built way back?\u201d Presumably a variation on the gravity-reversing device that actually facilitated First Men in the Moon\u2019s journey<\/span><\/p>\n I had never previously considered what you\u2019d get if you put H.G. Wells, Chang\u2019e, Anne of Green Gables, and Chun Li in a mixture together, but I\u2019m certainly pleased by the results<\/span><\/p>\n The traditional box-patterned windows of Tenkai do an excellent job of creating visual drama within these compositions, either framing China directly or casting shadows across her<\/span><\/p>\n You can tell how much China cares about this rendezvous by the care she\u2019s taken in her appearance; a more ornately patterned dress than usual, alongside lipstick, mascara, and tasteful earrings<\/span><\/p>\n Jim leads China to their \u201cSpace Reflex Telescope\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She learns Jim only visited the flower shop for their black market parts, but her response to this revelation is cut short by that cockblocking piece of shit Breckenridge<\/span><\/p>\n Another ambitious spinning cut accompanies Breckenridge\u2019s explanation of his space-distorting telescope. As with the darkened shop, the night sky facilitates some convenient yet conspicuous camera movement<\/span><\/p>\n The telescope is capable of projecting a giant, physically tangible China within its projection array<\/span><\/p>\n Thus China becomes Chang\u2019e, physically projected to the moon within their array<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI hope I\u2019ve risen a little in your estimation.\u201d Jim believes that conducting these experiments is proving his worth to China, when his worth has always been clear to her. Instead, these experiments demonstrate how he likely cannot stay at her side; his destiny lies somewhere far away, almost as far as the moon itself<\/span><\/p>\n I love how these character designs employ the actual shifts in your cheeks as your jaws move, offering these little details of dimples and puckered lips that add so much personality to their expressions. Rarely seen a show that takes such care in its animation of cheeks<\/span><\/p>\n Jim claims he\u2019ll make a ring for her out of the whole moon, while she traces her own message on the moon beneath the birthday greeting<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019d you write?\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s a secret.\u201d China, billions of people are<\/span> going to see that kanji<\/span><\/p>\n A very generous apportioning of convoluted mechanical devices whirring and beeping, always a pleasure<\/span><\/p>\n Still, seems perhaps ill-advised to attempt to compress the entire moon into a fashion accessory<\/span><\/p>\n With the machine\u2019s power at its limit, only China\u2019s own \u201cbutt-kicking power\u201d can fully tame the moon<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cJim\u2026 will you help out at the shop?\u201d After Jim frames this in terms of \u201cour future,\u201d China is swift to extract a series of concessions regarding precisely what that future will look like. Excellent negotiation skills, China<\/span><\/p>\n Their victory heralds a wondrous star shower<\/span><\/p>\n And the world returns more or less to normal, with Jim helping at Tenkai, and China\u2019s self-smashed engagement ring now circling the earth<\/span><\/p>\n And Done<\/b><\/p>\n That was delightful! No surprise that something like this would be up my alley, but yes, a combination of H.G. Wells-inspired turn-of-century science fantasy and inviting, Takahata-reminiscent pastoral romance is just a lovely combination. Tsuruta\u2019s main innovation on Wells\u2019 narrative was Miss China herself, and she proved an exceedingly charming lead, offering a pragmatic counterpoint to her no-good inventor patrons and persistently demonstrating the character acting talents of this excellent animation team. Endearing, lovingly animated characters, a gorgeous, nostalgic country setting, and a whimsical love story ending in absolute tidal chaos for the world\u2019s oceans \u2013 what more could anyone ask for?<\/span><\/p>\n This\u00a0article\u00a0was\u00a0mad<\/a><\/em>e possible by reader support<\/a>. Thank you all for\u00a0all that you do.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/April16102720.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n