This is the story of Ai, an introverted girl whose fate is forever changed when she acquires a
mysterious “Wonder Egg” from a deserted arcade. That night, her dreams blend into reality, and as
other girls obtain their own Wonder Eggs, Ai discovers new friends—and the magic within herself.
(Source: Funimation)
[ENG] (TL;DR at the end) “You're a crybaby” "Everyone has days like this, this is normal" "You just want to get attention" "You don't know what a real problem is" "Why don't you do it and stop bothering us?" Yes, these are difficult words to hear, especially if we're going through a more delicate phase in our lives. I hope you never suffered from any of them, but if that's the case...let's talk about it? First of all, let's present the Anime in question. Wonder Egg Priority is a Anime produced in 2021 by CloverWorks Studios, Shinji Nojima's original work, and all of these themes are covered in its history, from its premise to its main characters: Initially we have Ai Ohto, a girl with blue hair who has heterochromia, meaning that her eyes have a different color from each other, being yellow and blue respectively. In addition, she always wears a yellow hoodie with a large sunflower printed on the front, which in a way represents her cheerful and innocent personality Soon after there's Neiru Aonuma, a girl with brown skin, dark hair and beautiful green eyes. Her seriousness is not only represented in how she dresses, in this case a gray dress with long sleeves, but in her own expression, rarely showing emotions or even a brief smile Rika Kawai is almost the total opposite of Neiru and, although her surname actually means "cute", perhaps "eccentric" would be a more accurate description. With a more relaxed and even at times intrusive personality, it is possible to see these traits in her appearance in general, especially in the small pink streak in her blond hair And last but not least, we have Momoe Sawaki, who despite being a girl, it is difficult for people to identify that at first, either because of her quiet and protective personality, or because she dresses in a more masculine way, almost everyone ends up confusing her gender, especially the girls around her Even though they are somewhat different from each other, they all met and got together for the same reason, which is precisely the premise of the Anime. In a brief way, they were invited by two mannequins, Acca and Ura-Acca, to buy some unique and different eggs, when they sleep with these eggs, they are transported to their dreams with them, and if they break the egg within that dream, a girl ends up coming out of it, and from that moment, their mission is to save this girl from the monsters that will chase her, which may vary from Seeno Evils, Haters or even Wonder Killers... A different premise, isn't it? But it all ends up making more sense when we closely observe the messages that the Anime conveys with its story, and when we bring them into our reality, we can understand that it is a delicate and even complicated subject to talk about. Wonder Egg is not just a regular and light story, it is not heavy because it contains things like death, blood or the like, but because talks about the century's greatest evil, called Suicide It is nothing new that countless works try to explore this theme in their stories, but considering that it is a very unique feeling, rarely is approached in the best way, but the great idea of Wonder Egg was exactly how to incorporate that in its narrative, because instead of focusing only on one side, it ends up showing how this illness affects the world as a whole, whether in the despair and "mental hell" of the person who commits such a terrible thing, and even in the pain and resentment of those who saw it a loved one passing away too soon TL;DR Wonder Egg is an incredible Anime, and that is exactly how it manages to approach this topic with maturity and mastery, having the courage to talk about this issue in its entirety, showing that it is a more complex problem than imagined, and showing that, instead of closing our eyes and pretending that this illness does not exist, we need to stand up, get together and face it head on Bellow there is a video link, entitled “The Message Behind Wonder Egg Priority”, which better analyzes the Anime and its premise as a whole, making this review even more accurate (Please turn on the English Sub for it). [PT-BR] (TL;DR no final) “Isso é frescura”, “Todo mundo tem dias assim, isso é normal”, “Você só quer chamar atenção”, “Você não sabe o que é problema de verdade”, “Por que você não faz logo, e para de encher o saco?” Sim, essas são frases difíceis de ouvir, especialmente se estamos passando por um momento mais delicado em nossas vidas. Espero que você nunca tenha sofrido com alguma delas, mas se esse for o caso...vamos conversar sobre isso? Antes de mais nada vamos apresentar a obra em questão. Wonder Egg Priority é um Anime de 2021 produzido pelos estúdios CloverWorks, obra original de Shinji Nojima, e todos esses temas são abordados em sua história, desde sua premissa até com seus personagens principais: Inicialmente temos a Ai Ohto, uma menina de cabelos azuis que possui heterocromia, ou seja, seus olhos têm uma cor diferente um do outro, sendo amarelo e azul respectivamente. Além disso, sempre veste uma blusa amarela com um grande girassol estampado na frente, que de certa forma representa a sua personalidade alegre e inocente. Logo depois temos a Neiru Aonuma, menina de pele morena, cabelos castanhos e belos olhos verdes. Sua seriedade não é apenas representada em sua vestimenta, no caso um vestido cinza com mangas longas, mas em sua própria expressão, raramente demonstrando emoções ou até mesmo um breve sorriso. Rika Kawai é quase um contraste da Neiru e, apesar que seu sobrenome significa “fofa” de fato, talvez “excêntrica” seria uma descrição mais assertiva. Com uma personalidade mais relaxada e até em alguns momentos intrusiva, é possível ver esses traços em sua aparência no geral, em especial na pequena mecha rosa em seu cabelo loiro. E por último, e não menos importante, temos a Momoe Sawaki, que apesar de ser uma menina, dificilmente as pessoas conseguem identificar isso de primeira, seja por causa de sua personalidade tranquila e protetora, ou pelo fato de se vestir e se arrumar de uma maneira mais masculinizada, quase todo mundo acaba confundindo o seu gênero, em especial as meninas ao seu redor. Mesmo sendo diferentes de certa forma umas das outras, todas elas se conheceram e se uniram pelo mesmo motivo, que é justamente a premissa da obra. De maneira reduzida, elas foram convidadas por dois manequins, o Acca e o Ura-Acca, a comprarem alguns ovos únicos e diferentes, quando elas dormem com esses ovos, são transportadas para seus sonhos com eles, e se quebrarem o ovo dentro desse sonho, uma menina acaba saindo do mesmo, e a partir desse momento, a missão delas é salvar essa tal menina dos monstros que vão persegui-la, podendo variar de Seeno Evils, Haters ou até mesmo Wonder Killers... Premissa diferente, não é mesmo? Mas tudo acaba fazendo mais sentido quando observamos de perto as mensagens que a obra passa com sua história, e quando trazemos elas para nossa realidade, entendemos que é um assunto delicado e até mesmo complicado de se falar. Wonder Egg não é uma obra leve de ser consumida, ela não é pesada por conter coisas com morte, sangue ou algo parecido, mas sim por falar do mal do século, chamado Suicídio. Não é de hoje que inúmeras obras tentam explorar esse tema em suas histórias, mas como se trata de um sentimento muito único, raramente ele é abordado da melhor maneira, mas a grande sacada de Wonder Egg foi justamente como incorporou isso em sua narrativa, pois ao invés de focar apenas em um lado, acaba mostrando como esse mal afeta o mundo como um todo, seja no desespero e “inferno mental” da pessoa que chega a cometer tal ato terrível, até mesmo na dor e ressentimento das pessoas próximas que viram um ente querido ir embora tão cedo assim. TL;DR Wonder Egg é uma obra incrível, e é justamente assim que consegue abordar esse tema com maturidade e maestria, tendo a coragem de falar sobre essa questão em sua totalidade, mostrando que é um problema mais complexo do que se imagina, e mostrando que, ao invés de fecharmos os olhos e fingir que esse mal não existe, precisamos levantar, nos unir e enfrentá-lo de frente. Segue o link do vídeo, intitulado de “A Mensagem por trás de Wonder Egg Priority”, que analisa melhor a obra e sua premissa como um todo, tornando essa review ainda mais precisa. [Link of the Video](https://youtu.be/erp8jTBIKHE)
~~~"Despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, I have not been able to answer the great question that has never been answered: what does a woman want?"~~~ ~~~_- Sigmund Freud_~~~ *No spoilers.* ~~~img600(https://i1.wp.com/butwhythopodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/maxresdefault.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1)~~~ A bit of a quick and dirty one here for me. Wonder Egg Priority was, by far, the most excited I've been to follow a show this season. It was like Rice Krispies - it snapped, crackled and popped. Every episode brought something really interesting to the table, whether it was a cool idea, or a great fight scene, or even some fascinating revelation. But at the end of it all, WEP somehow felt a little bit empty. Episode after episode, I'd wait for something to really tie the show together and cement it as great. But without that - and, no, I don't think that the last few episodes quite got there - it couldn't have ever been much more than just awfully good. I want to caveat that this is not a finished show, technically. Production hitches mean that we'll have to wait until June for a real conclusion to Ai, Rika, Momoe, and Neiru's stories. But there's enough here to render a judgment. So render judgment I shall. >__Story__ ~~~img600(https://i1.wp.com/wrongeverytime.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/February17115242.jpg?resize=768%2C432&ssl=1)~~~ WEP has a fascinating premise and a great hook. Magical girls (and let's be clear, that's what these girls are) have to save girls from supernatural enemies - but if they die in the dream world...they die in real life! Dun dun dun. Throughout the front half of the show, there's a sense of crystal-clear mission and storytelling. In the back half, though, things get a little bit fuzzier. It's less clear what the writers are after. There are still good ideas scattered here and there, but they're buried. And the episodes devoted to each egg feel more like a way of exploring those ideas rather than a way of exploring the characters who they represent. Rika is best-served, and Momoe and Neiru (especially Neiru) get the short end of the stick. There's a great framework here, it just seems to be lacking that something more that the contemporaries of this show (dare I mention a certain magical girl anime that starts with M, ends with a, and has "adok" in the middle? perhaps a show about a character that starts with U?) have. WEP says a lot - it tries to tackle some awful big issues. Suicide, gender identity, the perils of obsession, sexual assault, et cetera, et cetera. It's pretty goddamn grown-up. But at the same time, it never really has anything to say about those things other than that they exist. And that's valuable, sure, but never really feels that impressive. It's all just a bit...sophomoric. It kind of feels like the author is trying to get away with a fairly surface level read on social issues by depicting them graphically. That's why the best moments are where things like Rika's self harm are treated, because it's done quietly and carefully. >__Art/Animation__ ~~~img600(https://i0.wp.com/butwhythopodcast.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Wonder-Egg-Priority-Episode-6-But-Why-Tho.jpg?w=1500&ssl=1)~~~ The art and animation is simply astonishing. The character designs are fantastic and absolutely leap off the screen. They're *so* full of life, and the character acting by the animators at CloverWorks is just wonderful. The use of colour is beyond brilliant, and the fight scenes are so, for lack of a better word, _big_. Actions feel like they have a lot of weight, and the fighting has real inertia to it. Absolutely top-notch. Nothing really to criticise here. >__Music__ ~~~img600(https://formeinfullbloom.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/wepe101.png)~~~ Music is great. The OP, to use a technical term, "frickin slaps", and really fits nicely. Sound design is never knowingly undersold, and even though it would be very, very easy to slip into irrelevance for some of the more high-concept ideas, the sound effects always feel strangely completely appropriate. The VAs put in good work with what they have, although I never felt any performance really stood out. >___Final Thoughts___ ~~~img600(https://i1.wp.com/beneaththetangles.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/img_2663.jpg?fit=1997%2C1125&ssl=1)~~~ So, here's the problem. WEP, by all standards, should be fantastic. But at the same time, it never really gets beyond just really good. While there's maturity in the writing, enough to treat what are _very_ serious issues with some measure of respect and a lot of seriousness, it never feels like WEP has anything to say about them, preferring instead to slip into high-concept sci-fi in the last few episodes. And that was a cool way to go, but it never felt like it mattered past aesthetics and some interesting ideas. Perhaps the production difficulties put the kibosh on the proper expression of the writer's ideas, and I'll have to wait for the special coming in June to put a neat bow on the story. Perhaps. But I really don't think so. We have to judge on what's there, not what might be there. And what's there is something that I never felt got that far beyond being gorgeous and *feeling* smart. Ultimately, I think WEP is a (gorgeous) missed opportunity. It could have been a lot more than what it was. Anime usually doesn't treat serious subject matter well, preferring instead to catastrophise, allegorise, and trivialise. WEP had the potential not to do any of those things, and come up with a much better treatment of some societal dirty laundry that really needs an airing. What it was is still pretty good, and by gosh was it exciting to follow along with Ai, seeing what each week would hold. But would I recommend it to someone else? Eesh. I don't think so. And that's all you need to know. Maybe next time. >“It’s a dream. It’s a bad dream.” ____ \- Pointy
~~~___“Crosswalks are still scary even when you move with the crowd. I’m done pretending not to see_.”__~~~ _Wonder Egg Priority_ is a refreshing anime that has took one of the biggest spotlights for this season. With its heavy themes and lovable characters, this anime has piked the interest and touched the hearts of many. This story starts with our main character, __Ai Ohto__. She decides to embark on a personal journey to save her best friend, Koito, and meets many new friends on the way. For me, Ai's development is absolutely phenomenal. The way she started off as a gloomy character who couldn't go to school, to a person who is ready to fight and protect was written quite brilliantly if I do say so myself. Her growth was very realistic and it protrayed a human mindset very well. Aside from Ai, we're also presented with three other main girls: __Neiru, Momoe, and Rika__. Just like Ai, these girls also received excellent development. Although Momoe is quite lacking in that department, Rika and Neiru developed very well too. A good thing about this series is how it gives attention to each character with their own backstories and why they're fighting. It gives us insight on who they are and gives us a chance to get attached to those characters. A good thing about this anime is its attention of details and how they make each character unique. All characters have a distinct personality that compliments each other in some way, and the visual symbols that represent that is very good. WEP has beautiful art and each frame usually has something special to it. The symbolism found in each episode (especially the last episode) is meaningful and could be analyzed for a long time to keep things interesting. The animation doesn't disappoint at all too. WEP exceeded my expectations when it came to the visual and musical aspects of the series. The storyline is quite messy. This anime has incredible potential; it could've stood side by side with Madoka Magica in terms of how fresh and unique it was both art-wise and story-wise. However, this anime failed to wrap up nicely and the ending has left us with even more questions instead of answers. This type of ending is usually a big hit or miss, and unfortunately, WEP didn't nail the ending at all. The pacing is all over the place. The characters get good development but the actual story gets nowhere until the last two episodes. Its concept is very interesting, yes, but the fact that the genuine story behind all the events that happened before that _really_ marks the start of WEP was only introduced in the last few episode makes everything go quite quickly. The flashback added context to things, but it just makes us viewers even more confused rather than enlightened. Usually this would've added a factor of mystery and interest, but the fact that it was introduced so late just baffles us to the point where it can't be closed very properly. This series explores mature themes but never really dives into it seriously, and ends up brushing over them to disguise it as more lighthearted. It talks about _very_ serious topics but it never really shows the extent of them like a well written show usually would. Overall, Wonder Egg Priority is a very unique show that explores mature themes and makes you think about the value of life. It is the type of anime you would want to see if you want to rethink how important life is and how people would react to the things around them. However, there are many flaws blatantly shown in this anime. This anime is just a missed opportunity to become a masterpiece, but it is still a very enjoyable watch, with intriguing topics, visually impacting scenes, and amazingly developed characters. Wonder Egg Priority will not fail to catch your heart and bring tears into your eyes as it brings you to rediscover how beautiful life is and how it is important to appreciate the things around you, especially your friends.
I've had really high expectations for this show, but in the end it was a rather big disappointment. I really loved the first episode, but sadly every episode after that aside from maybe 10 and 11 were just... Not great. ___ __The Story__ is a real mixed bag for me, the parts where the show took a serious turn were really good, those parts were the only thing really keeping me going, all of the other parts felt extremely corny and just made me really want to skip the parts until something more interesting happened. They also like to add a bunch of confusing stuff near the end, some of which are really good and interesting additions to the story, but there are a few things that I'd just prefer not having there. I wouldn't say the story was inherently bad or terrible, but it wasn't amazing either, it was just pretty mediocre, hopefully the special episode coming out in june will wrap everything up nicely. ___ __The Characters__ is probably what the anime does best, every character feels human, even the small characters that appear for one episode are rather well made, the only characters I didn't really like were the twin sisters that came out of one of the eggs, but they appeared for such a short amount of time that I could care less about them. ___ There's not much to talk about __The Art Quality__, aside from the final episode it's pretty consistent and the quality is great all throughout, most of the fight scenes are really dynamic and fun to watch, and that's pretty much it. ___ I really don't like __The Soundtrack__, it's not that it's exactly bad per se, but their choice of music for scenes is just really bad, the worst offender of this from what I remember is a scene where ` (spoilers for one of the later episodes) ` ~!they are about to unplug the life support of a person one of the main heroines holds close, which is supposed to be a really emotional scene and all that, but the music they choose for that scene is some rather energetic electronic music, which is just, why?!~ On its own, if you like electronic or dance or trap or whatever the genre the soundtrack is, you'll probably like it, but when looking at it used in the show itself, it's used really poorly. ___ __Overall__, Wonder Egg Priority had a lot of potential, but in the end, it didn't really live up to my expectations, combine that with an apparently really messy production process, I wouldn't really rate the show higher than 65/100. With each new episode I kept thinking to myself "Maybe the next episode will be as good as the first one?" but it sadly didn't deliver for the most part. But even with all of these flaws I would say you should at least try it out (the first 3-4 episodes), I know some people might probably love the show way more than I did.
I've tried to avoid spoilers img220(https://i.imgur.com/K5U2I0U.png) Wonder Egg Priority is a very interesting show, and it's one that I began watching on a complete whim. That's not to say I didn't do a little bit of research on what type of show it was, but for the most part I saw the OP in my YouTube recommendations, thought the animation looked nice, peeked at the shows tags, and started watching. This was my first time watching a show week-by-week with release, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Wonder Egg became something I looked forward to every week, and now I've let the final normal episode sit in my mind for a bit, and I feel as though I can say that Wonder Egg Priority is a very good show. It's themes and subject matter are extremely relevant to our world today, and it stays true to them to the end. However, I can't feel as though it stepped on it's toes a little during the home stretch, and while many of its issues may stem from it's extremely troubled production, I have to judge what's in front of me. __Story__ Wonder Egg Priority's story and premise are instantly intriguing, and it is slowly built up throughout the series. There's a great sense of mystery and at times it even feels surreal as the plot threads slowly unravel. It takes a unique spin on the typical magical girl concept where four girls individually fight to protect people within their dreams who suffered from some sort of trauma or issue. The subject matter and trauma the show tackles with each of these characters is explored nicely despite each issue only getting one episode each for the most part. The subject matter hits hard, but it's all dealt with respectfully and in an intelligent way. However, I understand that some of the stuff covered in the show can be an uncomfortable topic for some, Wonder Egg Priority has a page of Does the Dog Die if you're concerned. img220(https://i.imgur.com/m1H8NNU.png) Wonder Egg's characters are solid. Of the main four girls, Ai Ohto and Rika Kawai stand out to me the most. While I'd rather not elaborate too much as not to spoil anything, they both mature a great deal as you learn about what's made them who they are. The other two girls, Neiru Aonuma and Momoe Sawaki, are also fine enough. The main cast is fleshed out pretty nicely and they're all quite distinct. The side characters are also alright, there's a bit of a character of the week aspect and most of them are memorable. Wonder Egg's main antagonist is also an intriguing character, but saying anything about them probably isn't the best in a mostly spoiler free review. While Wonder Egg Priority's story content is strong, I feel like it begins to begins to falter a little bit about three-fourths of the way in. The show's pacing takes a bit of a dive as things start getting thrown at you quickly, I feel like it just could have been presented better then it was. Wonder Egg Priority's actual conclusion is set to be released near the end of June in a special episode. Hopefully the finale is able to wrap things up nicely, but I think the journey itself is fine. __Animation__ If you know one thing about Wonder Egg Priority, it is most likely the animation. img220(https://media.giphy.com/media/l9bOgbxNQjYVzkgJUs/giphy.gif) Wonder Egg Priority's animation is absolutely sublime when at it's best. The show looks amazing both in stills and in motion, which isn't something you come across too often. The animation will exaggerate impact to make it more apparent to the viewer, camera angles are dynamic, and the colours are bright and vibrant, but not to the point where they hurt your eyes. It's a total joy to see. Wonder Egg is also filled to the brim with visual symbolism, from things like flower symbolism to shot composition, it adds an extra layer to the show if you look for it. Unfortunately, the animation takes a little bit of a downgrade in that o-so special final fourth, with the last episode in particular having a couple of scenes that just don't look right or were made in a way to save time due to the production buffer having been burnt through entirely. (They really do the thing where the scene zooms out really far so they don't have to animate the mouths.) They're able to focus their attention to the big action set pieces in these final episodes, but I would be lying if I didn't say it was jarring to see the pretty much perfect animation from the beginning become kind of duct taped together by the end. __Music and Sound__ Wonder Egg Priority has good voice acting, don't know what else to say. The music is fine. It's nice and upbeat, the tracks don't stand out too much but they're good enough. I will note that the shows OP is a song called Sudachi no Uta, or "Song for Leaving the Nest". It's a song usually played at graduations which I think is lovely fits perfectly with Wonder Egg's coming of age themes. __Enjoyment and Final Thoughts__ I really do like Wonder Egg Priority, I think it's themes are admirable, it's presentation is strong, and it's story has some alright ideas. Wonder Egg easily could have been a miserable watch with the subject matter it covers, but it isn't. It's actually quite optimistic, but not overly so where it reaches Pollyanna. Whether I would recommend the show to someone boils down to two things. First, the symbolism can seem like it's in your face at times, if this annoys you this likely isn't the show for you. Second, if the subject matter bothers you, probably best not to watch. I will reiterate, the stuff the show covers is done respectfully, but if you want to know what you're getting into Does the Dog Die has a decent list. If you are okay with these things, then yes, Wonder Egg Priority is a good watch. While I think Wonder Egg is very good, I can't help but think there were some missed opportunities. I touched upon the cracks in it's presentation down the stretch earlier, but it would have been nice to seem some elements or themes expanded on a bit more. Wonder Egg Priority had all time potential that ultimately had to settle for very good, but hey, aiming for the stars and landing on the moon isn't bad at all. img220(https://i.imgur.com/3SWxUkA.png)
~~~ __HOW DO YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS?__~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~The egg is a standard breakfast fare, but many people may be wondering what makes eggs so special?
Well for starters, eggs are an efficient, rich source of protein and vitamins and have multiple health
benefits. They are basically a “superfood”, loaded with nutrients, some of which are rare in the
modern diet. But truthfully, the beauty of eggs comes from the fact that they are one of the most
versatile ingredients out there allowing for a multitude of creations that one may never even think
about in the first place. Yet despite have such a beauty to it, we often resort to the same old
tried-and-true recipes, instead of trying to find a different way to enjoy eggs. Breaking out of our
own shells and trying new things definitely isn’t always easy, so to give some insight and perhaps
enlighten you all, here are some of my favorite kinds of eggs.~~~
~~~__1. Over Easy Eggs__~~~
~~~
~~~
The “easy” doesn’t necessarily refer to the simplicity of turning over an egg, but the state of your
yolk. To make over easy eggs, you crack an egg directly into you greased frying pan, then fry it until
the edges turn brown. Once that occurs, you flip the egg over and cook it long enough to make a film
on the top of the yolk. When served, the yolk – and some of the whites are still runny. Now if you
don’t like your eggs too runny but still want to try this out, you can make over medium eggs. Simply
leave the egg to fry a little longer, and you’ll develop a thicker film on your yolk, but the inside
is still runny. Over easy/medium eggs go good in a cheesy sandwich and some hash browns on the side.
~~~__2. Hard Boiled Eggs__~~~
~~~
~~~
This doesn’t require much thinking. A hard-boiled egg is cooked in its shell in boiling water. First
fill a pot with enough water to cover your eggs by about two inches. Turn the heat up to boiling point
and carefully drop in the eggs and leave them for about 10-12 minutes or until you forget you left
your eggs boiling and yell “Oh shit! My eggs!”. To make the eggs easier to peel, you can place them in
an ice water bath after boiling but it really shouldn’t take that much effort. The best part about
hard boiled eggs is that you can boil multiple at a time and then refrigerate them to have as a snack
later. You can chop them up and add them to a salad or simply eat them like that with a bit of salt.
~~~__3. The Wonder Egg__~~~
~~~
~~~
Now this is pretty much new to me, as I have never experienced this kind of egg before. I don't think
its edible but it sure is entertaining. _Wonder Egg Priority_ follows Ai Ohto, a 14-year-old junior
high student who is temporarily not attending school due to the mysterious suicide of her only friend,
Koito. Ai's fate is changed when she acquires a mysterious "Wonder Egg" from a deserted arcade, where
the mysterious mannequin men, Acca and Ura-Acca reisde. With the Wonder Egg, Ai is able to enter a
dream world where she must protect the spirit of girls who have committed suicide from creatures known
as "Seeno Evils". By buying more eggs and saving enough people, Ai has the chance to bring Koito back
to life, which becomes her main goal throughout the anime. Along the way Ai meets three other girls
with the same goal: Neiru, Rika and Momoe, and the four girls become unlikely friends.
~~~__CHARACTER AND STORY__~~~
If I had to describe Wonder Egg in one word it would probably be "unique". It has this different
atmosphere and vibe from any other anime I've ever watched. I have been meaning to get into the whole
magical girl genre of anime for quite some time and while I'm not too sure if this really fits that
category, it has certainly been a great experience. I mean, who doesn't like to see some kick-ass
girls fight off supernatural creatures? The plot is straight forward and each week is another
adventure as the main cast helps the troubled souls of the girls overcome the trauma they experienced
when they were still alive. And at the same time the main cast overcome their own problems and begin
to slowly accept themselves for who they are. I genuinely like how the show isn't shy about tackling
serious real-life situations that others may find uncomfortable to even think about. There is a lot of
symbolism and metaphors used in this anime which I won't go over for the sake of keeping things simple
but if you watch the show you should be able to notice them since they're quite obvious.
The characters themselves were without a doubt my favorite part of the anime. Each character is
distinctive and charismatic in their own way. __Neiru__, the reserved and isolated girl can be very
blunt at times but does have a caring side to her. __Rika Kawai__, the energetic and sometimes
obnoxious junior idol is high spirited but under all that she is hiding her unspoken pain. __Momoe
Sawaki__, the elegant tall beauty has this strong and confident vibe to her that makes you feel like
she'll protect you but she also has a sweet and feminine side to her. And finally, there's __Ai
Ohto__, the adorable bubbly girl who starts off kind of self-depreciative but slowly coming out of her
shell. She's the most courageous of the girls, inspiring others along the way. Their interactions
together are lively and dynamic and simply a treat to watch just because they get along so well.
~~~
~~~
I won't lie, the anime kinda loses its sense of direction the in the latter half of the season and the
entire plot is pretty much rushed through in the last 2 - 3 episodes. I honestly would have had any
issues if the anime simply stuck to just being a slice of life because like I said earlier, the girls
are carrying the story already. However, with the plot already being set up, I just wish it would have
been paced better. The goal was so simple at the start which was to save their loved ones but then it
became complicated with parallel worlds, gods, artificial life and whatnot. Yet despite being entirely
lost with these last two episodes, my enjoyment did not diminish much since the story is still full of
action and emotion making it enjoyable.
~~~__SOUNDTRACK / ANIMATION__~~~
Nothing much to say about soundtrack and animation other than it was good. The opening and ending are
catchy, and soundtrack is a bop and feels just as unique as the anime. Animation was great throughout
the entirety of the show, and I loved the fluid movements the characters had which made them feel more
realistic and alive. The quality kinda dips in episode 12 but I understand that the tight work
schedule made the entire production complicated, so I won't criticize them for that.
_NOTE: I know the anime is technically "not over" as there is still one more episode that will air in
June but if I'm being completely honest, I doubt it will have any effect on my final verdict for the
anime. Unless it's like an hour special, but I doubt it. At least it was a fun ride though._
~~~__FINAL VERDICT__~~~
It is an undeniable fact that _Wonder Egg Priority_ has had a huge impact on the anime community, as a
single week has not gone by where I don't hear talk about it on social media. However, it tried to be
more than it truly is. And as a result of that, many people were probably left disappointed, bitter,
or feeling empty. I was about to make an analogy to steak but I realized THIS IS AN EGG REVIEW. Wonder
Egg left a bitter taste in my mouth or to be more exact, it's a half-boiled egg. My least favorite
kind.
And that concludes my review on Eggs. Some are good. Some not so good. But in the end eggs are eggs.
Or in the famous words of that one meme: "Black or white, we're all just some eggs fr". And what makes
eggs so special is the various ways we can find to enjoy them. So go ahead, try something new. You'll
never know if you'll like it or not unless you try.
~~~
~~~
~~~_This was a half meme review for April Fools btw. Don't take it too seriously._~~~
~~~__This review has a spoiler-free section and a spoiler section.__ All I can really say about Wonder Egg Priority is: _what happened?_ The first episode of WEP is probably the best first episode across pretty much anything I've ever seen. It's surreal, it's melancholic, it establishes character wonderfully, it pulls at your heartstrings, and it's unsettling. The tone is clear from the get-go: this is a show that will handle a lot of delicate topics and it asks you to come to it with nothing short of sincerity. This review will be hard for me because the first episodes of WEP are SO strong and meticulously, lovingly crafted, and then it just kind of...falls apart at the end. The best takeaway I can offer (before I jump into a more intensive review) is to __watch episode 1 and then stop. __There's no point getting sucked into the rest of the mystery of the story when WEP doesn't deliver. I walked away from WEP mostly thinking, "what was the point of all that?" I will say that Wonder Egg has some of the most incredible visuals and framing in anime. The way some scenes are shot is incredibly masterful. The use of color is amazing. The character designs are charming and shoujo/magical-girl-esque while still feeling very much like a type of girl you'd see on the street. The main girls are a very colorful cast, each with their own personalities, strengths, weaknesses, and traumas, and watching them bond and come together was nothing short of wholesome. The show loses itself at the end by turning away from its characters and trying to concoct a narrative along the likes of Lain or Madoka Magica, but where Lain succeeds as a character analysis of one very intricate girl, and Madoka Magica wins as a plot-intensive story furnished with fun characters, WEP just doesn't really do any of that. # __Spoiler review begins here.__ ~!My biggest complaint about WEP, as mentioned, is the turn away from its characters. Personally, I was really hoping that WEP would shape up to being the world's most unconventional form of group therapy as the girls became closer friends, grew into their strengths more, supported each other, and then ultimately were able to leave behind their friends who had killed themselves to move towards a better future. I was hopeful this story would be about an analysis of grief and how it molds us but doesn't define us. I was hoping this would be a tale of unlikely friends who bring out the best in each other and learn how to help others. This didn't do any of that. I get there's a 13th episode coming out in June, but given the direction of the show, I can't see myself liking it much. The turn to this being a story of Frill accessing the multiverse (ok...) to tempt various girls to their deaths as a sort of revenge just seems so bizarre and out of pocket to me. The plot tries really hard to set up a backstory for the REAL reasons of all these suicides, as if girls killing themselves isn't good enough and they needed a real "bad guy" to direct their attention to, but it just comes off as sort of insensitive to me. At the beginning WEP was about confronting all sorts of traumas and horrible things that lead to suicide and understanding the why and how to move forward. Now it's placing a big mortal enemy behind all of that, as if taking down Frill will somehow remedy people from ever killing themselves. It feels like a disservice to the rest of the narrative.!~ I don't really know what else to say. I don't really feel like I _disliked_ WEP, but I was definitely let down by it, especially as the first 7 or so episodes were really shaping the show up to be one of my all-time favorites. To be given that and then walk away with a hollow feeling is a strange sort of disappointment. Giving it a 5/10 feels wrong, but giving it a score any higher or lower than that feels equally wrong. WEP just _is._ It happened, I watched it, and that's about all I can really offer. But I wanted to talk about the weird emptiness it offered me, so what better place to complain than a review on an anime site? lmao. __EDIT 6/30: __My Priority just came out and given the generally negative reviews it received, I'm not going to waste my time with watching it. But since I mention the upcoming special episode in this review, I thought I'd at least add a blurb about it here.~~~
Episodes: 12 Plot: Ai is guided to a world where she can bring back her friend who killed herself. To do this she has to crack the wonder eggs and help girls who also killed themselves get past their fears. This happens in abstract fights, they're immoral as long as their eyes and heart are not harmed. Ai meets: Rika, Neiru and Momoe who also want to save their deceased friends. img220(https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/036/898/Use-this-to-resize-images-2021-01-12T195500.298.jpg) Animation: To be honest, I really like the art in this. It's abstract and unique, the monsters kinda remind me of toilet-bound hanako-kun however that is probably just me. It's bright and colorful which contrasts with the gore and death- it's a good balance. The main character's design is so cute and colorful, I really enjoyed whenever she appeared on screen. However overall its very weird and can look confusing. img220(https://static3.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Wonder-Egg-Priority-4-girls.jpg) Characters: Ai- She's super cute and her personality is cute as well. She is bullied for having heterochromia but makes a friend, Koito. She has short, blue, wavy hair; big, round brown and blue eyes and always wears as oversized hoodie with a sunflower on it. She is bright and naïve, definitely a fun character. Rika- I actually didn't like this character. She is full of herself and wants to bring back to life a fan from when she was an idol. Her fan killed herself after starving herself because rika said she would never be friends with a 'fatty.' She is obnoxious and rude but has a troubled and lonely background. She has blue eyes, blond, medium hair and a pink stripe on her bangs. She wears jeans and a jacket. Neiru- (Probably one of my favorite characters) she is a calm and collected girl who is rich and intelligent. She has medium dark-brown hair that is tied in a plat. She also has piercing blue-greenish eyes and wears a cute dress. She owns a company and wants to bring back her sister. I won't spoil the reasons why ;) Momoe- A beautiful slender girl with short brown hair and green eyes. She is often mistaken for a boy which makes her quite down, she is constantly being asked out by girls (who she has no interest in.) Out of the group she is the most 'normal.' There's not actually much weird about her. She want's to bring back her friend Haruka who committed suicide after Momoe declined to touch her. img220(https://i.imgur.com/BLGGbTS.jpg) Overall opinion: I feel like it missed the mark a bit. The animation is great and the characters are likable it's just a bit too odd for me. I was expecting it to be a dark horror, but it is actually a fighting anime. It got confusing and rushed a tiny bit at the end and I felt that they didn't quite get the right effect of suspense that they were going for. However I do recommend it, only if you're into weird stuff like this aha. Maybe not for beginners. img220(https://static3.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Wonder-egg-priority-feature.jpg) I hope you appreciated this review, I tried to limit the amount of significant spoilers. I haven't written many reviews before but I hope I'm getting better. Have a good day. xxx
Este anime decide tratar temas como suicidio, identidad de género, vínculos sexo-afectivos, orientación sexual en el marco de la adolescencia. Sinceramente creo que es interesante la propuesta de hablar de estos temas y de manera cruda. Pero opino que falla. Por ahí peca en tibieza o en desinformación. _¿Cuál es el público al que está dirigido el anime?¿Qué les estás diciendo?_ Creo firmemente que para tratar temas tan gedes debería haberse informado para hablar, pero no parece que se haya tomado la molestia. Me sucede que la falta de problematizar y/o cuestionar acciones como relaciones con personas menores, abusos, violaciones, me produce disgusto y hasta me hace cuestionar qué tanto quiero apoyar el discurso que maneja el anime en cuestión. Con esto me refiero a que me molesta que no haya repercusiones negativas para la gente que hace "las cosas mal" o no haya ni un intento por buscar algún tipo de justicia, o de dar un apoyo real a las víctimas por parte de los demás personajes. Que la empatía quede en un, te entiendo, o un, te creo (o un, hay gente que te quiere, vos podes) es un montón (o es algo), sí, pero me deja ese sabor amargo de: _y qué cambia? y qué pasa? es un intento de simplificar y minimizar problemas recurrentes? responsabilizar a la víctima de su salud mental/física?_ ~~~_Qué se yo, me pasa que mientras iba viendo quería rescatar cosas, tipo: -bueno está visibilizando estas cuestiones, y ya que admita la existencia de disidencias es un progreso en una industria tan machista._~~~ Pero conformarse sería ingenuo, sobretodo si cada dos segundos refuerza estereotipos de femeneidad, de que hay "cosas de chicas", y que se manejan de cierta forma por haber nacido con vagina, todo esto al mismo tiempo que reconoce la existencia de las presiones y sexualización que sufre un ser humano adolescente considerado mujer por la sociedad. Onda el mismo anime te dice cómo los círculos sociales (colegio, trabajo, deporte) o los medios de comunicación influyen, presionan y sexualizan a las mujeres lo suficiente como para generar traumas o suicidios. Si me estás haciendo un anime que me dice eso: cómo un producto puede afectar al usuario, cómo un comentario puede lastimar a alguien. No cuesta nada pensar en cómo manejar el discurso con un poco más de sensatez, y evitar contradicciones que "nublen" lo que podría ser positivo. ~~~*__puede considerarse un gran spoiler__*~~~ ~!Porque en la parte del chico trans, Momoe con sus problemas de que la gente no la consideraba/trataba como mujer (sin mencionar que nadie, pero __nadie__ reconoció como abuso lo que hizo su "amiga" la cual se suicidó. __Eso es abuso Wonder Egg Priority, que quede claro__) se rompe la camisa y dice soy mujer, en frente del pibe que tiene tetas y es pibe, ¿me estás cargando? como si tener tetas fuese de mujer, como si usar vestido fuese de mujer, como si hablar de romance fuese de mujer. ME SACA DE QUICIO LAS CONTRADICCIONES EN EL DISCURSO. Además que trata todo de una manera superficial. De cierta forma "condena" a las madres, porque son las que crían y la responsabilidad recae únicamente en ellas. También tiene cuestiones anti aborto, como decirle bebe, al feto que tuvo dentro el pibe trans que se suicidó.!~ La verdad entre el mar de contradicciones, y el discurso tibio, reconozco que tiene una animación hermosa y tiene una trama ambiciosa jodida de llevar. El opening me relaja. La estética en general del anime me resulta agradable. ~~~ Le daría un 5/10. ~~~ * 7/10 Si me agregasen algún adulto responsable, alguna terapia/ayuda médica, algún: che eso es violación, abuso, pedofilia.
~~~# img220(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wrGCWDy4t-I/YHrPKtG3-WI/AAAAAAAALKo/2L37-kB2YmUWPIGyQQdhJLOKc8CosCgywCPcBGAsYHg/s16000/ErtNpm6XAAIGWee.jpg) ~~~ >__>Esta es nuestra historia... Una que nadie más conoce, una sobre nuestros temores, nuestros traumas y nuestras desesperanzas... Esta es la historia jamás contada de cómo los corazones rotos pueden volver a sonreír... Esta es la historia maravillosa de... Wonder Egg Priority__ La serie nos pone tras los pasos de Ai Ooto, una adolescente quien ha sido constantemente molestada debido a la heterocromía que padece (el tener ojos de distinto color) lo cual la ha llevado a vivir aislada de su entorno, encerrada en casa y sin apenas contacto con los demás. Pese a ello, durante una de sus escapadas nocturnas, Ai encontrará una luciérnaga muerta y justo cuando esta dándole sepultura, descubrirá que dicho insecto no solo ha revivido sino que ahora está hablándole, instándola a seguirla a un lugar donde puede resolver sus problemas... Es así como la chica persigue a su locutor hasta un lugar bastante particular donde obtendrá un wonder egg (huevo especial). Sin embargo no será hasta más tarde cuando, al dormir, Ai aparezca repentinamente en su escuela, observando además como es que el huevo se ha transformado en una chica. Y su sorpresa no termina ahí pues la voz que anteriormente la condujo al wonder egg ahora le explica lo que está pasando: está en un mundo de sueños, donde su misión es proteger a la chica que salió del huevo, teniendo que hacer frente a los enemigos y "pesadillas" que se presenten, siendo estos indicios o detonantes de la muerte de dicha chica en la vida real. O lo que es lo mismo, Ai deberá proteger y luchar en este mundo para poder recuperar lo que más desea: La vida de su amiga Koito, quien se suicidó. ~~~__Corazones Rotos...__~~~ Es así como durante la serie iremos viendo cómo es que Ai hará frente a este mundo onírico, conociendo de paso a otras chicas como ella, con problemas, traumas y sobre todo perdidas que buscan recuperar a toda costa. Neiru quien es una chica inteligente y reservada, Rika quien es una ex idol bastante divertida y despreocupada y Momoe (Momo-chan) quien pese a tener una apariencia masculina es amable y le encanta lo femenino. Así que estas, nuestras 4 protagonistas comienzan a enfrentarse a los retos de proteger los huevos maravillosos, teniendo de paso un eje narrativo centrado en explorar sus problemáticas sociales, su pasado y mostrar los actos o las decisiones que las llevaron a ser y vivir de la forma en que lo hacen. Y es aquí cuando viene el primer gran acierto de la serie: Tratar temas "prohibidos" de esos que nos esforzamos por mantener en secreto, de una forma bastante directa y sobre todo sin buscar la salida rápida del sentimentalismo siendo que en su lugar apuesta por tomarlas como base para una gran aventura, un viaje lleno de locura y de auto salvación en el que sin embargo, podemos ver presentes los dolores y las cicatrices emocionales de cada una de sus protagonistas... Porque desde un inicio podemos ver el temor social de Ai, o el miedo e incapacidad de abrirse emocionalmente de Neiru, cosas por las que muchos de nosotros pasamos y que sin embargo callamos, siendo reflejadas en la serie de manera sutil pero potente. Y no solo ello, porque también somos capaces de ver el sufrimiento emocional debido a la ausencia familiar de Rika (narrativamente la más cruda y directa de todas las tematicas) así como el miedo por parte de Momoe por expresarse tal como quiere. Así que sí, Wonder Egg se basa en la fragilidad emocional de las chicas como trampolín para llevar su narrativa más allá, y lo hace, nuevamente, de una manera que toca las fibras pero sin provocar lastima, haciéndonos ver la cruda realidad... Y gran parte de la potencia de dicho eje recae sobre el mundo de los sueños, siendo que se presenta como ese espacio en donde cada una enfrenta distintas problemáticas, tanto de las chicas a ser protegidas como de ellas mismas, basándose en la idea de Freud sobre cómo es que los sueños son un reflejo y representación de aquello que no queremos admitir. Y esto no solo hace más orgánica la trama, sino que permite explorar muchas otras capas narrativas... ~~~__Un huevito sorpresa...__~~~ Y es precisamente esta variedad de temas la que trae (paradójicamente) el mayor fallo de la serie, pues pese a tener un claro eje centrado en la autosuperación y el temor social, Wonder Egg también nos va introduciendo en subvertientes como el acoso escolar, el suicidio por influencia, el abandono familiar, la identidad de género, la auto flagelación e incluso la creación de Inteligencia artificial. Y todo esto sería un gran acierto si (como espero sea el final) se hubiese tenido mayor tiempo de desarrollo para cada una pues incluso hay referencias a los dioses griegos o a Fausto (recordando por momentos a Madoka Magica)... Espero que esto se resuelva con el material extra que llegará en unos meses porque mientras tanto, la serie parece literal... Un huevito sorpresa, donde no sabes que temática surgirá ahora... ~~~__Salvando un Girasol Pt. 1__~~~ Pero regresando al inicio, Wonder Egg Priority puede ser una serie oscura, cruda y quizá hasta cínica en su tratamiento de los complejos adolescentes sí, y sin embargo, estaríamos muy equivocados al pensar que su mensaje es negativo. Al contrario, la serie nos mete de lleno en las desventuras de su cuarteto protagonista no sin antes unirlas como "grupo", haciendo que se conozcan, que se apoyen, se diviertan y sobre todo, que reconozcan los pesares de las demas, dotándolas a través de estos momentos (la mayoría alegres) de un desarrollo que es cliché si gustan, pero que no por ello es menos efectivo y referente al mensaje: Siempre habrá alguien a tu lado, solo no te rindas... Algo que es ciertamente balsámico al entender que pese a que todas sufrieron una perdida que las condujo a la situación actual, esa misma perdida es la que permitió que unieran sus caminos. Y sí, que esto quizá no sea suficiente y yo esté hablando superficialmente del resto de problemas pero a falta de conclusión (y refiriéndome al eje narrativo principal del aislamiento) el mensaje dado cala y se queda... Lo mejor de la serie sin embargo, viene al hablar de su trabajo técnico, teniendo una animación que seguramente sea de lo mejor en los últimos años (quizá década). Cortesía de Saki Takahashi tenemos un diseño de personajes bien estilizado y que encaja perfecto con la atmosfera onírica en la que se desarrolla la serie. Teniendo un gran nivel de detalle y características propias en la vestimenta y el aspecto físico de cada protagonista, Wonder Egg utiliza dichos elementos como recursos para darles trasfondo y causas directas a sus problemáticas, como la heretocromía de Ai o el aspecto físico de Momoe (ese impermeable quedara por siempre...) el trabajo de expresiones sigue la misma línea, permitiendo que se refuerce visualmente cada sentimiento expresado. Respecto a Acca y Ur-Acca me sorprendió gratamente el tipo de facciones utilizadas (a lo old school...). Pero no nos ponemos serios sino hasta hablar de los escenarios, siendo nuevamente el elemento diferenciador de la serie así como el principal factor narrativo gracias a ese mundo de los sueños, teniendo secuencias llenas de color, brillo y fluidez en las que cada elemento este cuidado al detalle, acompasado con una genial paleta de colores y un estilo psicodélico en momentos puntuales, recordando nuevamente a series como Sarazanmai o Kyousogiga gracias al nivel de imaginación puesta... Pasando al nivel sonoro tenemos más de lo mismo, con un trabajo cortesía de DE DE MOUSE que si bien se muestra más sutil, continua la línea de calidad y logra acompañar cada secuencia de gran manera gracias a su variedad de temas instrumentales, desde aquellos alegres y que reflejan los momentos divertidos hasta aquellos llenos de locura y ritmos acelerados, con poderosos coros discordantes de fondo que por momentos recuerdan (nuevamente) a Madoka Mágica en las secuencias de pelea. Respecto a los temas principales tenemos el OP "Sudachi no Uta" cortesía de Anemonelia un tema que atrapa desde su suave piano, que te prepara para lo que estas por ver al ritmo de desgarradores violines y que, de poner atención, puede entregar mensajes bastante significativos entre sus visuales, en definitiva un tema quizá común pero que se ha vuelto uno de mis favoritos de la temporada. Respecto al ED "Life is Cider" del mismo grupo, cambiamos completamente la melancolía esperanzadora del inicio para sumergirnos en un corte optimista, lleno de tonadas alegres y que marca el contrapunto perfecto para toda la tragedia que es WEP. >El color de una flor, la sombra de una nube, son recuerdos nostálgicos... ___Wonder Egg Priority es simplemente un espectáculo; una obra que brilla en todos y cada uno de sus aspectos y que, sin embargo, aún tiene lo mejor de sí por dar. Con una narrativa que toca temas a más no poder sin importar lo crudos que puedan ser, una dirección que cuida al detalle cada escena, unas protagonistas que cautivan y te hacen querer seguirlas y la que seguramente sea la mejor animación del año, Wonder Egg Priority es una refrescante pequeña gran obra como hace mucho no veíamos... Es la historia de un girasol brillando en medio de la oscuridad...___ >__Esta y muchas más reseñas en mi blog!! >> https://13fotogramas.blogspot.com/__
Well first let me start by saying wonder egg priority is a great anime but it has it's bad sides like plot holes sometimes a bit of choppy animation and a few other things. (also this is an edit of my review i did the other day) ___ #~~~Plot 8.5/10~~~ I really liked the anime’s story it was really unique so to put it simply, four girls fight in a dream world to help girls that commit suicide. The anime has a lot, and I mean a lot, of plot holes so I can’t really explain everything but the fight scenes were actually really good especially with the great animation. Also something I didn't know was that the anime was psychological so I was pretty surprised when they talked about suicide and girl problems. Which brings me to another thing, the anime seems to be mainly for a female audience since, like I said, it focus's a lot on the problems and the reason's for the girls suicide but am a guy and I enjoyed so i would still recommend other guys to watch it if their interested. So probably the one thing that kept the anime from being a ninety was how poorly explained it was. img(https://media1.tenor.com/images/cce77c0219d7bad0c7680ac1e07e5d06/tenor.gif?itemid=20124245) ___ #~~~Animation 8.9/10~~~ The animation was really good but my only complaint was that at some scenes the anime felt like it was going at 10 Frames per second. This really ruined some of the fight scenes but it was fixed, at like episode 5, so it’s not something you’ll have to worry about while watching it. Something that stood out to me as well was that the anime is really colorful especially at the boss fights which makes it really enjoyable. img(https://data.whicdn.com/images/352964641/original.gif) ___ #~~~Characters 8.5~~~ I personally liked the character's (my favorite being Rika) even though they were kind of generic like the self-conscious main character, shady tsundere, always positive, and I don't how you could describe the last one but you get the point. The art style is pretty good and they were capable of making them all look unique and good backstories. They didn't have any noticeable development except for Ai (the main character), she trusted herself more and became less self-conscious. img(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/77/76/37/77763771b508ea7abcf237552f28d1e9.gif) ___ #~~~Music 8.5~~~ This anime had some of the weirdest music I’ve heard. All of it just sounded like a remix but it was actually still pretty good. The OP was… fine I guess but the ED was way better and it grew on me even more by the end of the show. img(https://64.media.tumblr.com/76289c796ff2e7b8cc8865019ca8cf56/ddce05c60b1a8502-3f/s540x810/efc0f5864b63d2c9a7a747d66b79307909b38d2b.gifv) ___ #~~~Overview 8.6/10~~~ Great anime but I would only recommend it to certain people but still since its getting a special to finish the anime I'll hope I can raise the score since I really enjoyed it. img(https://media1.tenor.com/images/f42992cc9aa82235c4a4920f294295b9/tenor.gif?itemid=20076163)
The show handles heavy topics like depression/self-harm, sexuality, school, bullying (and so on) with much skill and does a great job portraying the characters and their interactions with each other. The animations are extremely good and even better 100% consistent, honestly- the production value of this show goes toe to toe with some high quality movies. However the studio seemed to have failed the schedule which lead to the result of the last episode not actually being the last episode. For reference, a "special" for Wonder Egg Priority is announced to air in June. ____ __Characters__ First things first, I call the names in formal order, Family name first and then the given name. This is probably the most important aspect this show has to offer besides the high valued quality. The main characters are Ohto Ai, a sweet girl with a lovely personality. Aonuma Neiru, a smart, calm and rational girl that the average person would consider as cold-blooded perhaps. Kawai Rika, a girl that has the tendency to make her first appearance giving the vibes of a 'lil ignorant brat - however she proves to have her charms throughout the show. Sawaki Momoe, a nice girl that unfortunately has to deal with the trouble of getting her gender misjudged due to her rather "boy-ish" look. Out of those 4 my favorite is Ai-chan simply due to her adorable, yet brave, personality. The most important side characters are arguably the duo Acca and Ura-Acca, both are relatively calm beings but you'll see that they are rather different, to say the least. They're also in connection with the, in my opinion, antagonist Frill. Who is Frill? No information given here as I want you to watch the show after all. Other important side characters, in my opinion, would be Nagase Koito and Kurita Kaoru. Rather than explaining why I will simply tell you with which characters those two are in connection with. Koito: Ai-chan and Sawaki Shuichiro (another important side character). Kaoru: Momoe (for more than the one reason fellow fans would probably think of right now). That's about it regarding the characters. ____ __Music__ Wonder Egg Priority is one of the few top tier shows that has a extremely calm opening, you would think it's more of an ending. The actual ending still feels like a ending theme but in comparison to the opening it might as well be a opening. It's very sweet and gives some funky J-pop vibes (the ending, not the opening). Unfortunately the only OST that wasn't too forgettable was the one in the first episode. ~! referring to the ost when Ai-chan reveals her weapon and finishes her first egg!~ ____ This show was without a doubt one of the best new Anime I've seen in years if not. It's an anime original so there wasn't even any source material to rely on. My deepest respect to everyone who worked on this show and continues to do so when it returns. With this I'm ending my review. ____AS A MATTER OF FACT THIS REVIEW AGED POORLY - PLEASE DON'T PUT ANY VALUE IN THIS____
This show is the most interesting thing I watched in a while. While most episodes shown here are masterfully executed, it has some huge problems inside. __Story 6/10__ The story builds upon itself every single episode. The plot is fairly "simple". Usually focusing on one of the main characters defending another person then defeating the villain which that person has some relation to. While it sounds like a show that is repetitive and boring, WEP isn't that. It also plants seeds of mystery around the world they are partaking. While it got me really hooked, especially Episode 9, it doesn't answer everything in its entire runtime. In fact, I think there are a ton of questions that went unanswered ~!and the season finale gives more questions than answers like the alternate timeline stuff.!~ There are mature themes here with at least one different theme every episode. It covers ~!suicide, bullying, rape, abortion, cults, euthanasia, manipulation, etc.!~ There are so many mature topics in display here that it can be overwhelming. I don't recommend binge watching this. At the very least watch 3 episodes/day to take all of the info in and not overwhelm yourself. __Characters 7/10__ Characters are in the same situation. All of them are well developed and distinct from start to middle but kind of falls apart at the very end because of unresolved problems. Only one of them was given closure in my opinion. You know there's something wrong when in the very last episode, and we're still introducing characters. The supposed main antagonists are just as important as the weekly ones which is very disappointing. __Art 9/10 __ __Music 10/10__ The art is stellar here. The animation shines the brightest in the action scenes though corners are obviously cut in the last episode. The music is very good too. It's very misleading particularly the ED. Now, I mentioned the last episode a lot here, because excluding Episode 8 which is filler, that episode shows how much the animators are struggling to get that episode out in time for air. It explains the cut corners and the recap episode. I don't know if Sony or Cloverworks is to blame here but it's disgusting to see that shows are being made at the expense of the workers below. Wonder Egg Priority is an amazing series that lacks an ending. The writing and characters are amazing but it left me with more questions than answers. The animation and music lifted the anime by a bit. If Cloverworks was given more time and resources, it may have been one of the best of the year which is the same thing I said to Horimiya, another Cloverworks production that ran almost in the exact same time. Hopefully, the special will answer most of my questions when it goes live. Update: No they didn't unfortunately. In fact it made me even more confused with it. __Overall: 8/10__
First off just want to state that this is my first review (rant) so please feel free to leave any constructive criticism. I've been thinking of posting a review here and there for awhile and after watching the "finale" I felt now is the perfect time to vent my frustrations... There is some vague references about the overall story but I would consider this write up to be spoiler-free. Tl;dr at the bottom for those who don't want to read the wall of text.
A review in three parts. __Part One: Broken Promises__ Someone once described good storytelling to me as a relationship between Promise and Payoff. Narratives constantly make promises to the audience. When a story hints something will happen, that becomes a promise. Audiences love to see payoff to promises. The same person also said that if you don't payoff a promise with what's promised, you should instead give them something better. There's more depth to this theory, involving subversion, denial, making the audience wait, but that's not relevant to this review. As the title of this section indicates, Wonder Egg Priority fails to deliver on many of its promises. This is why I find the show disappointing. Here is a short list of major promises I believe were broken. We'll dive more in depth later. _Promise: Explore themes of suicide in a deep and engaging way._ I believe this promise was broken. _Promise: Characters will fight to get back someone they lost._ I believe this promise was broken. _Promise: Explore the backstories and relationships of a compelling cast in a compelling way_ I belived this promise was broken. I'll leave it at that for now. You can probably think of some more if you feel similar to me about this show. It's worth noting that the creators of this show may not have been meaning to make these promises. However, they still did. Some promises are explicit, like how One Punch Man promises you Saitama can defeat a villian in a single blow, or how Re Zero: Starting Life In Another World promises the main character will start life in another world. Most promises are not explicit. They're subtle. They happen when you can see a payoff coming based on the events which are presented to you. Most of this show's promises happen in the first few episodes. The first two episodes spend a lot of time on Koito, Ai's dead best friend and Suicide Girl Goal. We're lead to believe that we'll be spending a lot of time exploring these kinds of relationships. Instead, Koito, her relationship with Sawaki-sensei, and everything else about her character is essentially ignored until near the end of the season. Each of the other three protagonists has a Koito-equivalent, and each of these is developed even less than Koito, to the point where two of them are basically not explored at all. This leads me to suicide. Very few shows feel comfortable dealing with suicide, in and out of Japan. Suicide is a deeply emotional topic, and one which is difficult to appropriately approach. In my opinion, it requires both a serious amount of respect for the subject matter, but not so much respect that you refuse to approach any of the complexities of the issue. I'm aware that sentance doesn't really mean anything without significant extrapolation on the reader's part. I am very down for suicide anime. Especially if it's got women in it. A show about adolescents girls killing themselves, if handled properly, is something with the potential to be excellent. If handled properly. I could go in depth about how W.E.P. seems at first to handle it with respect, but ultimately doesn't, but I don't need a particurally deep argument to prove the way they handle suicide is terrible. This is because there is not a single character in the show who kills themselves. All of them were somehow manipulated by an evil AI who somehow amplifies the desire for adolescent women to end their existence, because she's jealous her daddy dared love a woman who wasn't her and then locked her in a basement for being a murderer. This is a subversion of my expectation that we'll explore suicide and suicidal ideation in a deep manner, because there aren't any characters in this show who killed themselves. When I began to guess they were lacking agency in their suicides around episode 7, I started to enjoy the show a lot less. When it was revealed this was the case, my feelings cemented. if you don't fulfill a promise, you replace it with something better. I do not believe what we got instead was better. __Part Two: Structure__ The show has twelve episodes. The first four episodes are character introductions. Each episode is focused on a single character, and introduces them to the cast. These episodes are all very good, and set up a promising future for the show. I only wish they were worse, so I could have dropped the show instead of becoming invested. The fifth episode is a focus episode for their group dynamic, and is also very good. The sixth episode is an introduction for their pets, which only exist for a single narrative purpose which we may touch on later, as well as a chance to expand the character dynamic between Sawaki, Ai, and Ai's mom. It's also good. The seventh episode is a focus episode for Rika. This is probably my favorite episode of the show. It managed to take Rika's mental health seriously, and have a powerful sad tone. Up until this episode, the show could have been excellent. I had noticed a few things beginning to slip, but nothing major enough to sink the entire show. The next episode is a recap episode. Recap episodes are worse than hitler. Ask yourself, who is the recap episode for? This show has had seven episodes so far. The character dynamics don't need to be recapped. The only people this episode is for is the studio, who is using it to save time and money. I said this was a 13 episode show, but I guess it's only 12. Episode nine is another focus episode, this time for Neiru. This is not quite as good as Rika's focus episode, but still pretty good. However, it also begins to spell the beginning of the end, as we begin to introduce more and more lore and backstory, all of which undermines the show. In episode ten, Acca and Ura-Acca are about to Lore Dump the shit out of the Retroactive Suicide Prevention Hot Girl Squad but instead they go do a focus episode for Momoe. Momoe deserves the focus episode, and the focus episode is good, but what's not good is how jarring it is that they do this instead of listening to Acca and Ura-Acca, despite the R.S.P.H.G.S. hearing them say they were responsible for all the suicides moments before (at least from the viewer's perspective. Fuck episode 11. Why do so many shows go to shit after trying to do this episode? Is it because evangelion did one well, and they're imitating evangelion? I'd guess yes. This episode is a loredump and a flashback. It's explained to the audience how genius scientists Acca and Ura-Acca created a sentient AI daughter for fun, and how that daughter then decided to kill Acca's new wife out of jealousy. Kinda fucked up the robot you programed to act like the ideal daughter ends up loving you romantically. Ura/Acca (I forget which and refuse to google) then throws the AI into a hole in their basement. From inside basement hole, the AI uploads to the internet and somehow magically enhances the likelihood Japanese adolescent girls kill themselves, and maybe also mind controls them, for the explicit purpose of getting the daughter of Acca's late wife to kill herself. Ura-Acca kills the AI but I guess she uploaded to the net. Meanwhile back in episode 10 but also now in 12, the girls have begun "clearing the game" which results in one of the AI's weird construct things killing their pet animal (which only existed for this purpose narratively). After this happens, each of the girls is psychologically damaged, and begins to drift apart from the group. We don't see what happens to Neiru yet, but Ai meets herself from another world and then beats imaginary Sawaki, and revives Koito, with her own alternate self taking the fall instead of chameleon pet dude. The show ends, jarringly, with nothing really resolved, and it remaining unclear if the saved girls actually come back. The special, which I have dubbed episode 13, is half a recap. This is now worse than two Hitlers. The second half is essentially the 13th episode they couldn't fit in due to having a recap episode earlier. In it, its revealed that Neiru has been an AI the whole time. This is Shyamalan level people. I'm so furious my writing voice has become entirely informal. The show ends with every character dynamic unresolved, the four dead people back (but not), and AI Neiru missing. I know this is part two, but we're going back to promise and payoff for a bit. We were promised we'd get back the R.S.P.H.G.S.' four friends, or at least there was a chance. However, when we get them back, they A) don't remember the R.S.P.H.G.S. and B) are actually just them from a parallel world. Even ignoring questions like "what happened to the world they came from" this is still incredibly stupid. Paying a price for what you sought is pretty standard narrative fare, but A) having to fight would have been enough, and B) they paid the price to not get them in ANY meaningful way. It's possible the ends are all so loose to facilitate a second season (one I likely won't watch), but if this is supposed to be a satisfying ending, it missed every mark. I was just left feeling nothing. Not empty, just nothing. 8-ish good episodes of setup washed down a drain. This is for two reasons. 1) The show replaced character development with lore bullshit. This will be the topic of part 3 2) The show didn't leave itself enough time for character development Let's examine the show's formula to see why. Most episodes function as follows. There is an A plot, taking place in the real world, relating to character dynamics, and a B plot, taking place in The Egg Dimension where one (or in one situation two) of the girls meets a girl who killed themselves in the past (or another dimension), and has to save them from both a hoard of monsters (called in the translation I watched Seeno Evils and Haters), as well as a boss monster which is a person who drove that girl to suicide. These stories are usually told parallel to one another despite them not happening at the same time. The A plots are usually strong, but I take some issues with the B plots. The A plots tend to progress forward, but the B plots are largely formulaic and stagnant. While some of them reveal character traits or work in concert with the A plot to establish a tone, they take up entirely too much screen time for how little they contribute to the story. They also feel very repetitive. When working with formulaic structures, you're really banking on the unique elements of each episode to pull you through. In this case it's a Monster of the Week and a Tragic Stranger of the Week. The monster of the week is sometimes compelling, but dragged down by poor design. Episode 12 also reveals that these aren't accurate representations of the people they represent, but rather one dimensional version of those characters created by the girls who killed themselves, but the implications of this are never explored. The dead girls are tragic strangers, which are what sell shows formulaic shows like Cowboy Bebop. However, a few things hold them back. One, many are one dimensional. Two, the tragedy of them is understated. Three, the moment when they disappear after being saved (we never learn what their fate is) never quite lands for me. You could take about half of these segments out, or make each one half as long. Or simply pack in twice the narrative content. If you did this, you'd have more time to spend with characters, and you could actually explore the backstories of the Main Four Dead Girls. We did not get this. __Part Three: Nobody gives a shit about your parallel reality bullshit__ Hopefully you can begin to see the point I've been approaching in a roundabout way. The show has good setup. The beginning of the show is interesting and engaging. Then, about half way through, they begin hinting at Lore Things. In the penultimate episode of the original twelve, we finally receive that lore dump, and it recontextualized everything. In the new context, there are no longer real suicides. The characters who killed themselves all had reduced character agency. This isn't the only bad change. Suddenly, instead of fighting to save her friend, Ai is some kind of Eros Warrior being honed to destroy Thanatos, the Freudian appeal of death. As we continue to learn more, things get worse. It was never possible to bring anybody back, only to snag copies from a parallel world. The person who was your friend is still dead, you just dragged in a new version of them. My headcanon is that this process destroys their original timeline, killing trillions of people. Neiru was an AI the whole time. This is never really hinted at, at least not meaningfully. The consequences of this are Ai getting mad and ignoring her calls (I don't really get why, it doesn't seem like what her character would do), and Neiru disappearing to go become friends with mass murder AI girl. We never learn if they were actually saving the Egg Women, or setting their souls free, or whatever else. The strongest element of this show, the R.S.P.H.G.S.' friendship, is arbitrarily left in tatters. The characters were suddenly thrown against an insurmountable challenge, paid a fake price, and received a fake reward. What would I do different? Instead of subverting every setup and giving us something worse than promised, simply give strong payoffs to your existing strong setups. No sudden loredump of AI women who control suicide, instead, focus on your strong characters, with strong motivations. Explore the tragedy of suicide more. Threads like Ai never really speaking to Koito about her issues could be further explored. You could explore the backstories of the barely touched Main Four Dead Girls. In the end, have them fight some kind of final boss, have them pay a less fake price, then give them what was promised. Of course you can subvert it more than this, twist it more than this, make it a little less vanilla. Find more interesting ways of doing things. But the attempt at doing this was an absolute dumpster fire, so they instead should have played it safe. Walk before you run. It's not wrong to give the audience what you told them you were going to give them. __One More Part: I Rate You__ This review has been brought to you largely unfiltered, unedited, unplanned, and unrefined. I had considered writing a review in a few different structures while watching the show, and when I finished it, I was immediately inspired to write one, and immediately did in a single sitting. I didn't take much time to process. The wounds of disappointment are still fresh, getting between me and a professional writing voice. There's a million things I wanted to touch on but didn't. Each part of this review could easily be four, five times the length that it is. It could also be more focused and a quarter as long. You didn't get the short version because I wanted to write something honest and impulsive. You didn't get the long version because I know I'm lucky if a single person reads this through, and without editing or revision (or talent) the chances anyone would read the Extended Edition Egg Show Review is near zero. Wonder Egg Priority is a disappointing show. Like most disappointing shows, it's only disappointing because it displayed the potential to be great. I'm well aware nobody who reads this will ever write an anime, but maybe some of you will write something. If you do, consider why WEP is disappointing, and avoid making the same mistakes. I'm giving this show a 7.4. It started as an 8.6 with the potential to go way up, but blundered its way down below my recommendation threshold. After TPN season 2 and this, I'm a little mad at Cloverworks. __A Note On Scoring:__ I score on the IGN scale, wherein 7 is the lowest score known to man. This is because if it was worse than that I'd just drop it. Anything on my list below there I watched when I was too young to distinguish good from bad. As another point of reference, my recommendation threshold is 8.4. On some people's lists, 7.6 would be high, but on mine it is quite low. __Edit:__ As time goes on, and I watch more shows, and think about what I've watched more, I tend to shift shows around a little bit. I'm now confident about moving Wonder Egg Priority down to a 6/10. I was too heavily favoring the strong, early parts of my show. Below a certain point on my list, there aren't a ton of shows which exist as points of reference, so scoring isn't as precise as the shows with higher scores, but I'm pretty comfortable putting WEP at this point right now. Again, for some, 6/10 would mean "pretty good, not great, worth watching", but to me it's an absolutely dumpster tier score.
~~~All of my reviews contain **spoilers** for the reviewed material. This is your only warning.~~~ --------- img880(https://i.imgur.com/u6x0ImN.jpeg)
Six months that now feel like a decade ago, the first episode of Wonder Egg Priority premiered on Nippon TV. No one, least of all myself, really knew what to expect. Most pre-release scuttlebutt came from the odd title and charming character designs. (Courtesy of Saki Takahashi, and still excellent.) Some smaller amount came from its intriguing staff list and its status as an original project from CloverWorks. I don’t think anyone, really, expected the bizarre technicolor magical girl psychodrama we were given. Many people ran to the series with an outstretched hand, myself included. When I wrote about that first episode not long after its premiere, the horizon was endless before us. Wonder Egg Priority could have been anything, and as long as you had the patience for a little bit of overt artiness, you could join the ride. And many people did! I made quite a few friends and acquaintances over the course of watching this series, some of whom are quite possibly now reading this article. A sizable amount of them now dislike, or at least are no longer fond of the series. Asking “what happened?” is the easy, but in my view incorrect, thing to do. And for this series, which meant–and still means–so much to me personally, I do not want to take the easy way out. I have been workshopping different versions of my notes since the original twelve-episode run of the series concluded. But I wanted to wait until its finale–unlucky number 13, delayed after a truly awful production fiasco–aired to make any last calls. As I’m writing this opening trio of paragraphs, I sit in a limbo, aware of the sharply divisive reactions the ending has brought on but not having seen it myself. What will I think of it? It almost doesn’t matter, self-defeating as that may sound. Wonder Egg Priority seems tragically destined to exist as a footnote in popcultural memory. img880(https://i.imgur.com/PMryMKp.jpg) But enough of that. Let’s start with the very first note I wrote, when the series had just ended its original run, over a month ago.
> The world is a vampire. Those in power prey on the marginalized, who often feel helpless to escape their situation. If they do, it is often by opting out of existence entirely, either directly via suicide or indirectly via other self-destructive behaviors.That thought out in the world, it is natural to ask what can save us. Wonder Egg Priority does not answer that question, and indeed I think the great contributor to the finale’s negative reputation is that it doesn’t actually try to. A fact I think many are finding frustrating and alienating. img880(https://i.imgur.com/cLIAbsC.jpg) The natural human impulse to seek an end to a story finds no recourse here. Wonder Egg draws on a long lineage; from Perfect Blue to Revolutionary Girl Utena, from Puella Magi Madoka Magica to Flip Flappers. But the key distinction to be made is that Wonder Egg Priority does not draw a conclusion in the same way that these works do. Utena, most dramatically among these, famously advocates rejection of and escape from oppressive systems entirely. What is Wonder Egg‘s contribution here? Well, from this point of view, nothing. Wonder Egg Priority ends where it began, the only major change made being who protagonist Ai Ohto is seeking to find again. Instead, it captures a strange, extremely specific feeling. The series’ final minutes billow and dissolve in the air like a dream the night after a tragedy. Was anything in Wonder Egg Priority “real” to begin with? It’s a fair question to ask, and if the answer one comes up with is “no” they might well feel cheated. img880(https://i.imgur.com/VK7yigk.jpg) But perhaps we should back up a bit. Let us remind ourselves of the actual facts of the series, its characters and narratives. As you know, Wonder Egg Priority is the story of Ai, a heterochromiac hikikomori. Before the series begins, her only friend Koito Nagase throws herself from her school’s rooftop, adding Wonder Egg Priority to a long list of anime from the past twenty-five years that fixate on suicide. Ai is given a chance by a pair of mysterious, magical benefactors to bring her friend back to life. The only catch? She has to purge monsters from the strange mental elseworlds of the recently-suicided, in a bizarre funhouse mirror of a typical modern magical girl setup. It’s quite the premise, bearing a passing but notable resemblance to the aforementioned Madoka Magica, but otherwise escaping easy description. Eventually, she is joined by three other young girls, who form what becomes her new friend group; the playful and blunt Rikka, a former idol, the stern and serious Neiru, the young nominal head of a corporation, and the androgynous Momoe, whose gender nonconformance forms a plot point all its own. img880(https://i.imgur.com/Joq2ykT.jpg) Thematically, the topic of suicide is made mystical and ascribed a sinister, sapient character, named The Temptation of Death here. All else leads back to this, and understanding that is key to understanding the bulk of Wonder Egg Priority. The truth the main run of the show wishes to shine a spotlight on is a very simple one; people, particularly young women, are cast into idealized shapes by the world we live in. If they do not conform to them, they are punished and ostracized. Their eventual death by their own hand is seen as a tragic inevitability, rather than a preventable, active action on the part of the ostracizers. Those who survive eventually become the oppressors themselves, and the cycle repeats. (This, roughly, is what happened to the character of Frill. She is an oppressed-turned-oppressor.) img880(https://i.imgur.com/hQuWnLh.jpg) So all this in mind, what do we make of the show’s ending? Ai and her friends, in a literal sense, solve very little. Frill, implied to be responsible for the Temptation of Death phenomenon, is not stopped. Acca and Ur-Acca, the maintainers of the entire eggs-and-elseworlds system, are not openly rebelled against, and Ai ends up back on their doorstep at the end of the show. (One might even indeed read certain things as implying that this has happened many times, and the main run of Wonder Egg Priority is just a single one of these iterations.) Even the less supernatural driving questions, such as why Koito killed herself, and whether Sawaki, Ai and Koito’s teacher, is a sexual predator, are not directly answered. Everything remains obscure. One might, not unreasonably, demand to know what the point of all this was. After all, the middle of the show seems to criticize these systems so sharply. What is the point of offering no solution, or even any obvious catharsis? Well, rarely do I reach for the author(s) in cases like this. But Director Shin Wakabayashi offers this thought, and I find it illuminating: img880(https://i.imgur.com/rRSS8dV.png) On the surface it’s a curious notion, given the actual events depicted. But if considered in the proper light, it makes sense. When Ai finds the garden in which she meets Acca and Ur-Acca in the first episode, she is distraught and directionless. When she returns in the finale, it is after much time has passed, and despite surface appearances, it is on her own terms. Note, specifically, the lack of the Acca-possessed beetle in her second arrival to the garden. Whether or not she will succeed “this time” is not terribly relevant. She has returned to the unconquered mountain to try again. In her life, it is all she can be asked to do. The same is true of all of us in ours. Evaluating whether Wonder Egg Priority “works”. Whether or not it “earns” its right to hash through all this difficult material and provide no definitive answers, and so on, is difficult. The series, especially its ending, is challenging and highly unconventional. I do not mean to suggest anything as pedestrian as those disappointed by the ending simply “not understanding it”, but I do think it deserves time and patience that it is not necessarily being given. img880(https://i.imgur.com/67h7fDD.jpg) To go back to my opening remarks, I have never more in my brief career as a critic wanted to be wrong about the afterlife of an anime. Nothing would make me happier than five, ten, twenty years from now learning of some director, writer, or animator citing Wonder Egg Priority as an influence. But even if that never comes to pass, those to whom this series would speak will find it, I am confident of that much. Even if we take Wakabayashi’s tweet as the series’ sole artistic aim, it well succeeded. Ai, Rika, Neiru, and Momoe will live forever in a certain corner of my mind for the rest of my life. As is true of all truly impactful works of fiction. If that was all the team went for, well, mission accomplished. In these ephemeral, fleeting lives of ours, all that we can truly ask of each other is understanding. More than maybe any anime I’ve ever seen, Wonder Egg Priority understands that, if nothing else, on a deep level. In the end, it asks of us just two things; do your best, and take care of each other. And surely, I think, we can do that.
---------- ~~~**Notes & Disclaimers** Usage of Anilist's review feature does not constitute endorsement for Anilist as a platform, the Anilist community or any individual member thereof, or any of Anilist's policies or rules. All views expressed are solely my own opinions and conclusions and should not be taken to reflect the opinions of any other persons, groups, or organizations. All text is owned by me. Do not duplicate without permission. All images are owned by their original copyright holders.~~~
*spoilers for Wonder Egg Priority* Watching a critical darling turn sour over the course of its run never produces a good feeling. Instead of getting excited for a work that will satisfy you or blow your mind, you begin dreading it, perhaps even looking forward to it out of morbid curiosity instead. It’s a Hindenburg, a Titanic in slow-motion, as the cracks begin to show and the behind the scenes production troubles start coming to light. The show was on fire, and it was never gonna amount to what it promised. This is the story of Wonder Egg Priority and its decline in both quality and reception. Let's start with the good and promising aspects, first. One of the things WEP didn't get a lot of praise for, even back during the glory days of the first 7 episodes, is its OST. DÉ DÉ MOUSE combines a lot of trippy, artsy, and sometimes even distorted tracks with electronic music and even grindcore. These tracks are often dynamic, and even the more lighthearted tracks have a sinister, dreadful undercurrent to them. This in turn, fits both the lighthearted and frenzied sequences well, at least for the most part. Towards the end of the show, the placement of the tracks falters significantly at points, but for the first 10 episodes, it's used appropriately. Admittedly, the OST also does feel a bit overplayed by the end as well. Then there's the OP, "Sudachi no uta'' by Anemoneria. It's a tranquil, fragile melody that blossoms into a beautiful chorus by the seiyuus of the main 4 girls. It's easily one of the best OP themes of Winter 2021, and one of the standouts of the year. The same can't be said for the more forgettably produced ED, though. What immediately caught everyone's eye was the fact that this is a CloverWorks production that actually looked good. This is easily their best work to date, often boasting bombastic and impactful action sequences. The colors and character designs were also vibrant without feeling oversaturated. Shin Wakabayashi's direction is also fairly strong at points, both with the dynamic fight scenes, and when the story wants to punctuate some of the heavier moments with interesting shots. The best example would be episode 7, where we get to see Rika grappling with her hatred for her mother as well as her own suicidal tendencies. These sequences are visceral yet tastefully done. The art style is also rather solid, and works for some particularly fun facial expressions here and there. That doesn’t mean the visuals were amazing. Oftentimes, whenever any liquid is animated, it's horribly choppy, sometimes holding on a frame for over a second before any movement occurs. Environmental CG and textures are both about as bad as one would expect from the studio if they’ve ever seen the likes of Bunny Girl Senpai. Following episode 1, a lot of weird motion-blur backgrounds get used to sometimes jarring effect. By the end of the show, sometimes visceral moments are just shown off in the distance instead of being given the full, on-screen treatment. The show doesn’t look bad, but perhaps it doesn’t look quite as amazing as Twitter often painted it as when it started. Then we come to the characters. The best part about them just so happens to be the interactions between the 4 main girls: Ai, Rika, Momoe, and Neiru. Their chemistry tends to be rather rock-solid, and the show really captures what it’s like for teenage girls nowadays to just hang out, chat shit, text, etc. without coming off as out of touch pandering. The personalities of Ai and Rika can be quite endearing and audacious, respectively. Rika in particular, can be comically morbid, especially when the airs she puts up paint her as an exceedingly bad person compared to who she actually is. Unfortunately, this is where the tone of this review takes a dramatic turn. To explain why, let’s discuss what Wonder Egg Priority is actually about. The show is about girls who have to break eggs to then protect the girls that hatch out of them. They protect them from not only evil minion creatures, but the physical caricature and embodiment of whoever/whatever is responsible for or most associated with their suicide. The show uses this for visual metaphors often tangentially related to the girls’ traumas. One of the biggest problem with the show is that it sets up a bunch of bleak or hot topics for its character to winge over such as suicide and bullying, only to not follow-up on them very well and in some cases, ultimately just abandon them or treat them without the level of tact or grace required. As for the lack of exploration, there are two exceptions (one of which is bad) and two examples that really embody this. Let’s start with one of the rules before we get to the exceptions. First, there’s Momoe’s experiences as a trans girl, and just how the show handles trans representation and strife in general. Momoe is a trans girl but some one-off antagonists don’t consider her such and she beats them. Sounds fine and dandy, but then some weirdness comes into play. For one, every episode that involves her identity in a major capacity also involves rape and sexual assault of those she’s trying to protect. While the handling of those issues isn’t the worst thing in the world, it is a bit scuffed that those only ever come into play when Momoe is the focus. Additionally, after her introduction, Rika and Neiru, two of the other main girls, get suspicious and misgender her in an accusatory fashion, believing her to be a guy. This results in her eventually breaking down in tears when she leaves, although it never gets brought up again, and they never apologize. It’s as if nothing ever happened. There’s also the fact that these things only ever came up in episodes 4 and 10, meaning that for the rest of the show, it’s not even touched upon outside of the backstory of the person she rejected who killed herself. While it can be seen as a nice thing that the main girls just accept who she is and never seek to deny her the identity she has, it’s indicative of how the show treats its themes and subject matter that her identity and issues barely come up at all outside of the episodes primarily focusing on her and the concurrent rape and sexual assault stories she has to learn about. As for the exceptions, let’s go to something positive again for a moment. Rika’s story is probably the best of the 4 main girls. The idea that she’s grappling with cutting herself and perhaps committing suicide due to a combination of her neglectful drunkard of a mother, her search for her elusive dad with only clues of 5 possible men to go off of, and the guilt of being a former idol responsible for an obsessive fan’s suicide is interesting. In episode 3, we see the latter get explored via a reveal after Ai and the situation the two find themselves in make it so she can no longer put up airs about her “wallet” she’s trying to save. In episode 7, we explore the latter and how in two specific moments, she contemplates giving up on life. One time, she attempts to cut herself but can’t bring herself to do so. The next, she’s giving into a suicide cultist responsible for the death of the dead person she has to protect this episode (and we’ll get to that idea later). The execution of her friends’ intervention getting her to break out of that and moralize about life does feel a bit rushed and obvious, but there’s nonetheless adequate exploration for the most part. Next, there’s Ai’s feelings for her teacher, Mr. Sawaki. ugh For some god-forsaken reason, this is the plot point that gets by far the most focus. His teacher is in love with her mother, but she finds herself jealous about it. As it turns out, her dead friend, Koito, may have had a thing with her teacher according to speculation from her, so the teacher thinks she must hate him for that. She doesn’t, but hates the fact that he and her mom are dating because, no matter how many times she tries to deny it in front of her friends or suppress it when he invites her to check out his art of her at a gallery, she loves him. That’s why, in the TV finale, it turns out that in an alternate universe, her unrequited love for him is why she committed suicide...rather than because of the bullying she received for having heterochromia, which never comes up past episode 1. Several episodes in the back half of the show focus on this and it’s the final battle of the TV run where Ai has to protect her alt universe self, come to terms with the fact that if not for Koito’s weird attempts to befriend her before her own suicide following her (at this point in the series) unknown history with him, this would have gotten her killed as well and… Oh fuck, we still have to talk about parallel universes, which means it’s time to discuss how the overarching plot reveals itself to be a scrambled mess. Actually, there’s still Neiru’s deal with her sister who tried to kill her to take over but failed and offed herself, which outside of brief dialogue describing it and why that’s part of Neiru’s motivation, never comes up for anything major. Instead, in episode 9, we’re introduced to Neiru’s veggie friend, Kotobuki. It turns out that upon one of her death-defying experiments that went wrong, she learned that there are parallel universes. Therefore, even if they’re dead in this universe, there’s still a parallel version of them who isn’t and vice-versa. Also, Neiru is infinitely more emotional around her than she’s ever been throughout any point in the show, before or after. While you can justify it with her being close to this person, it’s a bit of a stretch when aside from that, the most emotive she’s been was when Rika kept being annoying in episode 3 and she was thoroughly unenthused. By the way, if all that wasn’t enough for everyone, then we get to the last 3 episodes. This is where the show completely falls apart. The show has reached its final quarter. Some of the girls have completed their tasks and now those they were trying to save have been revived. There was never any sense of progression after the first time where we learn doing this makes their statues a little bit warmer, but here we are. Then, out of nowhere, a girl with a fuckin insect face or whatever comes up, wrecks Momoe’s shit, kills a pet thing she and all the other girls each received to help them in the 2nd half, and fucks off while speaking of “Frill”. The same thing happens to Rika at the start of the next episode. We are 11 episodes into a 12 episode show, and the true final boss has been namedropped by two of her cronies. At the 11th hour, we’re given set-up for what could probably be a slightly shorter 2nd season. Then, we go to Acca and Ura-Acca, two shifty dudes who roped the girls into this whole plight. They and Neiru's assistant have been shown to be apparently evil and conspiratorial, except forget that first part of the sentence cuz the show clearly did. The Accas are about to explain the Frill’s backstory to AI. SO! Frill was an artificial lifeform created by these two back when they were human instead of humanoid sack things implanted with their brains. This happened all under extreme surveillance cuz clearly their government would let THAT happen when they’re creating a humanoid entity to pass the time and escape their stress. They made her smart and compassionate but also filled with flaws such as jealousy. After a while of spending time with her, they also make friends for Frill, and are eventually met by a beautiful scientist lady who starts living with them and eventually fathers a kid with Acca. Frill gets jealous so she kills her as she’s pregnant, by way of throwing a blow-dryer in the tub she was in. Somehow, the charred baby survives but the mom dies. Out of sheer rage, Acca throws her in a box in the basement. Eventually, the baby becomes a teenage girl who proclaims to Ura-Acca that once she’s an adult, she hopes to wed him just as her mother did Acca. He rejects this so the following night, she commits suicide, with the only clue to anything being a little popping sound she made that Frill used to make. Broken by this, he confronts and berates Frill, who has become a sort of supercomputer AI at this point, and Frill still cannot understand what she did wrong or why she’s been locked up for so many years. The two start looking up girls’ suicide rates and concocts this whole plan to defeat Thanatos as well as Frill via warriors of Eros because they can’t just kill Frill or whatever. Was that a lot to take in? Surely it was You can also sense how despite being a potentially fascinating and horrifying backstory for Frill, it kinda ultimately made no sense. Keep in mind that this was all dumped in the 11th episode...out of 12. This isn’t a game-changing reveal in the middle of the 2nd cour so we can transition into endgame where the girls must beat Frill and her posse while finishing up all of their character arcs and whatnot. This utter logistical nightmare comes at arguably the worst possible time to do so when there’s no guarantee for a 2nd season. The TV finale hardly does anything with this information anyway. It isn’t even implied that Ai told anyone about it since when Momoe unceremoniously leaves the show by declaring she wishes she never got into this traumatizing mess, neither her nor anyone’s reactions to Ai calling everyone here seem to reference this information or imply that it was told to them. They’re just regrouping to discuss the OP girls that fucked them up, and Ai will have to deal with one at the end of the episode. Neiru doesn’t even encounter one at any point. This begs the question: what was the point of all this?! Why add all this out of left field nightmare bullshit instead of actually beginning to tie up any loose threads?! Wonder Egg Priority is a mess. Audiovisually, it’s pretty and intriguing. Narratively and thematically, it’s sloppy. It doesn’t have enough focus on its characters’ traumas or arc to have them not feel incredibly start-stop compared to the likes of Ping Pong or SSSS.Dynazenon which has several character arcs running and interacting concurrently. Its handling of suicide, self-loathing, trans acceptance, etc. are almost minimal given how barely explored most of these concepts are. It does have nice character chemistry, and it demonstrates how having an actual support group of friends is a genuine way to help combat suicide. Still, despite its interesting audiovisuals, M-rated Balan Wonderworld over here just reveals itself to be shallow and incredibly slap-dash, barely doing anything with the concepts it wishes to touch upon, and that’s before the last 4 episodes cement that while adding mountains of inane shit onto everything. It’s frustrating to see a show become undone like this while keeping everyone on-edge. No wonder people were desperate when CloverWorks announced a double-length finale special that would air 3 months after the show’s conclusion. Continued in Part 2: https://anilist.co/review/12330
>#####___This review contains spoilers.___ ~~~
I want to preface this write-up with a mere acknowledgement of the production problems that poisoned _Wonder Egg Priority's_ progress. On account of these, the second half is comparable to quickly-blended mush straight from [Kitchen Nightmares](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitchen_Nightmares), which, I can only presume, was not intentional. However, I believe very little would have changed had the production troubles been non-existent. The most glaring issues within WEP stem from the horrifying and eyebrow-raising writing and the extreme superficiality and ignorance it exhibits at every corner.
The show revolves around the main characters: [Ai](https://anilist.co/character/199892/Ai-Ooto), [Rika](https://anilist.co/character/199890/Rika-Kawai), [Neiru](https://anilist.co/character/199893/Neiru-Aonuma) and [Momoe](https://anilist.co/character/199891/Momoe-Sawaki), battling the traumas of suicide victims in a dream world in order to bring their deceased friends back to life. While many will not concur with me, I view the concept itself as one of the many problems that infest this series. Besides being the foundation for the entire narrative, I believe it is supposed to represent the process of overcoming traumatic events with the help of others and be a reminder that taking your own life is never the answer. However, it is not chock-full of maturity, empathy and understanding, which are vital when one desires to delve into such subjects. Quite shockingly, it comes off as the complete opposite of that. It is immensely childish, unempathetic and dehumanising.
When one of the protagonists cracks an Egg, an unusual item that contains the soul of a teenager who killed themselves, inside the dream world, the person emerges from the object. From that point onward, they have to be protected from the monsters that symbolise both the source of their trauma and people who did not help them or chose to ignore the abuse altogether. If the protagonist who shattered the egg succeeds in defending the other person, they will get one step closer to reviving their lost friend. What I found problematic about this concept is how it presents suicide victims. One can obtain an Egg when they insert coins into a slot machine located in a beautiful garden that belongs to [Acca](https://anilist.co/character/204118/Acca) and [Ura-Acca](https://anilist.co/character/204117/UraAcca), dubious personages who control the system. Do you see the issue? In a way, the protagonists that use this device buy a person's soul with money and then utilise it to fuel their own goals. We can even see them purchasing a few eggs at once, hoarding them in order to speed up the revival process, which spells out how much they genuinely care about those the Eggs contain. The show sees these dead teenagers as either a __currency__ (those who emerged from the Eggs) or an __award__ (the protagonists' friends). If you acquire a sufficient amount of said currency (i.e. you crack just enough eggs), you will be able to get your reward. It sounds dehumanising, and truth be told, it is. It gives the impression that the show does not treat people who decided to take their own lives as human beings, despite the fact that suicide is its central theme and most of its cast experienced it in some form, directly or indirectly. They are more akin to plot devices necessary to push the narrative forward. They, their stories and the hardships they underwent are not important. The action takes priority over humanity.
To add salt to injury, WEP often refers to this frightening and revolting scheme as a __game__. The protagonists are the heroes in shining armour, wielding magical weapons. The abusers take the form of Saturday morning cartoon villains the heroes must bring down, and the entire process of struggling against traumas is portrayed as a quest they must clear to claim their reward. This practice makes it seem like all of it is mere child's play and reduces people to more objects or goals, which is degrading as hell.
~~~img600(https://i.imgur.com/72XcaVi.png)~~~ ##~~~【 It is all a bloody game. 】~~~If the show examined the difficult issues it features, I would be willing to overlook the foulness of this concept. However, that is never the case, as these topics are here solely for the sake of it.
One could go as far as to say that the show mentions and showcases them for brownie points. If that were not the case, they would be explored in a more or less precise matter. Nevertheless, the reality is grim. They merely appear on the screen for a couple of minutes and swiftly disappear without any lingering effect. WEP throws these topics aside and forgets about them instantly, unconcerned with their depiction. Bullying? Abuse? Sexual Assaults? None of these sensitive matters is deemed worthy of an examination. Truth be told, it felt like every time one of these appeared on the screen, they fulfilled the role of an igniter—something that would fill the protagonist with rage and thus motivate them to defeat the hideous abuser in a spectacular manner like a true hero of the story. So, what we get instead of a mature attempt at tackling heavy subjects are shock value, hollow sensations and a saviour complex. To top it off, it becomes progressively worse with each episode. By far, the most offensive example of this is the 10th episode. In it, we meet [a transgender boy](https://anilist.co/character/213443/Kaoru-Kurita) who committed suicide after [his kendo trainer](https://anilist.co/character/213454/Kendoubu-Komon) assaulted and impregnated him. How does WEP deal with this character? It ghoulishly showcases the assault and spends the rest of the dream showcasing the monstrous abuser's bouts of rage and rants justifying his actions, and at the end, he is swiftly disposed of. The evil-doer may be gone, but the victim is left to rot in unimportance. The boy could be a fantastic way of exploring the struggles trans people must face and shed some light on the subject. Be that as it may, the show chose to ignore this opportunity and went with an emotion-deprived fight scene, shocking details, loud screaming and silly heroism. That is the nature of this narrative, and you can spot it in every dream. I loathe this willy-nilly, juvenile and inconsiderate approach with every fibre of my being.
Yet, I am barely scraping the surface.
WEP perpetuates the damaging notion that adults are untrustworthy and evil. Almost every grown-up that appears within the show ends up being someone whom the teen characters should not see as an ally. In the 4th episode, we meet [a girl whom her dad's boss sexually assaulted](https://anilist.co/character/206595/Miwa). Her mother tells her not only to put up with it but to embrace it;
"She said being groped just shows how cute I am."
What a cartoonish, goofy nonsense. Of course, there are parents who would sacrifice their child's well-being for a stable source of income, surrendering their morality and dignity. However, in this case, it is presented in such an over-the-top, superficial way that I cannot put up with it. Additionally, this scene screams "Do not seek help from adults—they will put you down in lieu", which is an immensely dangerous sentiment. Surely, depiction does not equal endorsement. However, the show constantly does that, and it pains me to see such a disturbing notion implied in an anime. In the case of [Mr Sawaki](https://anilist.co/character/204921/Shuichiro-Sawaki), it goes one step further. Countless scenes paint him as a creepy and manipulative individual responsible for the death of one of his students, and he is continually antagonised. So, is he the bad guy? Turns out that he is not, and the show is merely presenting him in such a way for cheap shock value and melodrama. Why should the show commit to making him an intriguing character who is not merely the "creepy teacher" archetype? Why should it characterise its characters with actual care and finesse? Why should the characters make sense? "Scrap everything! Make him appear to be a creep so that the 'adults are bad' agenda sticks! Hell yeah!" it thought to itself. With this in mind, it is more than apparent that the show cannot put its foot down and be consistent about its ideas.
As for being inconsistent, the pacing of the show takes the cake in that regard; it is that awful. The episodes either blaze through the content at lightning speed or drag out for no apparent reason. It is at its worst in the second half of WEP as the story overwhelms the viewer with a staggering amount of new developments, concepts and exposition dumps. For instance, we learn about the prime antagonist, [Frill](https://anilist.co/character/214874/Frill), at the end of the season. In a span of two episodes, the anime attempts to shed light on the character and introduce vital ideas, yet at this point, it all falls on deaf ears. The same applies to the awkwardly introduced parallel worlds, a concept that goes from being something briefly mentioned to becoming the most vital plot element. Still, we do not know anything about them and how they operate. Everything in this series feels hamfisted, implemented for the sake of it. Not even one part of the narrative has the necessary time to prosper, and they end up being undercooked. Chewing on content like that can only lead to abdominal pains, and it is hard to stomach.
That brings me to another point: WEP, somehow, manages to be convoluted, incomprehensive, all over the place and on the nose all at once. As the final credits rolled, I realised that everything I witnessed amounted to nothing, made little to no sense and was never explained. Every single attempt at expanding or explaining the narrative ends up being one of these adjectives. A great example of the first three is, yet again, Frill and everything connected to her. The words "How? Why? What?" keep popping inside your head the second you reach the last quarter of the show, and you get the bare minimum answers. On the other hand, Seeno Evils (See no evil = ignoring the abuse), Ai's name (Ohto Ai = Odd eye; heterochromia), Wonder Killers (Wonder = a person/a life, Killer = led to their suicide) embody the strange directness that sometimes takes place within the series. Every ounce of nuance is thrown out of the window. Things that should not be vague remain uncertain till the very end. Information that ought not to be said out loud, the show instantly reveals.
The series also becomes somewhat edgy in the last quarter. Scenes showcasing the gruesome mutilation of the protagonists' pendant animals and the appearance of horrifying, butterfly-faced servants of Frill come off as plainly out of place and awkward. They exemplify how much the show loves to use shock value to evoke an emotional response rather than earn it through honest, well-thought-out character moments.
Apropos of awkwardness, this anime has a bizarre perception of women and its primary theme. In WEP's eyes, every woman is emotional to an extreme extent. It is grossly stereotypical. I find it ridiculous to see lines such as:
"I'm a woman, so I get swept away by my emotions"
"Women are impulsive and easily influenced by others' voices"
in a series that attempts to be thoughtful. Its idea of the causes of suicide might be even more offensive. It concludes that men's suicides come from their goal-oriented mindset, while women's are emotion-driven. Words alone are not able to describe how irritating it is to see such lines in any medium. I have no clue how it is even possible to have such a narrow-minded and ignorant view, yet here we are.
~~~img600(https://i.imgur.com/EhwzhpD.png)~~~ ##~~~【 Yeah, maybe in some fantasy world. Not reality. 】~~~It is even more bizarre when you look at the characters. Most of the cast consists of girls, and the causes of suicide are mostly abuse-related; can you call that emotion-driven? No, I do not think so. It is revolting, but I digress.
While the suicide victims are mostly neglected, the protagonists are in the constant limelight. Ai, the first character we meet and the one we spend the most time with, is, somehow, the least fleshed out. With her cheerful and warm personality, she quickly sells the show to the viewer, though she does not have a lot to offer as a part of the cast. She longs to bring her friend [Koito](https://anilist.co/character/204115/Koito-Nagase) back to life. But, as we soon find out, their relationship is not believable. Much like the viewers, Ai knows very little about Koito. We barely see them interact in the flashbacks, outside of a few scenes that appear repeatedly like a broken record. That is why I fail to see their relationship as anything other than a formality. Ai's character is further undermined by the presence of Mr Sawaki. She sees him as her enemy, and she does not want him to date her mother, eventually, she realises that she is in love with him. Besides being excellent fuel for the parallel worlds-related nonsense that ensues later, this whole ordeal carries little to no weight, and it irks me how much time it takes up, stealing it from other, more significant matters. For example, Ai's bullying never appears past the first episode, and she returns to the school at the end of the 6th episode, even though nothing pushes her to do so. She is all over the place and shallow like a paddle, in spite of the fact she is the poster child of this series.
Neiru is another protagonist whose character stays mostly hollow throughout the show's progression. She is a genius brought forth by artificial insemination, which makes her an odd person. [Her sister](https://anilist.co/character/260352) stabbed her and committed suicide. Neiru wants to revive her in order to forget her existence, which seems very counterproductive and confusing, but it is WEP—nothing here makes sense. She is more like an alien from a sci-fi series than a human teen, and her behaviour does not help. In the 9th episode, Neiru invites the other girls to her corporation. She does that because she wants them to watch her unplug [her friend's](https://anilist.co/character/211651/Kotobuki-Awano) life support. When they react negatively to her actions, she tells them outright that she did not
"...ask you to take a field trip here."
Her attitude constantly jumps back and forth between cold, robot-like responses and more realistic ones. How am I supposed to take this seriously? Why I am expected to care about her when she does not feel like a human being? Does she even have a personality?
On the other hand, both Rika and Momoe, the other protagonists, have something to offer character-wise, though the quality of these personalities is as bad as the rest of the show.
Rika is a character I disliked from the very beginning. Her attitude, mannerisms and the lines she utters are full of this arrogance-filled, irritation-inducing energy. Notwithstanding, they are a mere cover-up for her crushing guilt, troubling circumstances and habit of self-harm. When [her fan](https://anilist.co/character/205835/Chiemi) started shoplifting to give her presents, she called her a "fatty" and told her that being seen with her in public would be embarrassing. As a result, the fan starved herself to death, and Rika, filled with blame, started cutting herself. Her drunkard mother and the absence of her father further sent Rika down the path of self-loathing. This is a great foundation for a complex character that the viewers ought to relate to, understand and endorse. However, the show never truly manages to make her into such a respectable, well-written character. It, in a way, presents her as a person unworthy of our support. When she suffers, she makes sure everyone is watching. Yet, when another character wants to vent out, she quickly makes sure they do not control the conversation. When Momoe starts talking about her relationship with [Haruka](https://anilist.co/character/206597/Haruka), Rika exclaims:
"Let's stop this gloomy talk!"
and everyone forgets about Momoe's existence. I do understand that she is supposed to be this arrogant, unlikeable, yet deeply troubled brat. However, the show's attempts at humanising her leave much to be desired, which is a shame for there is so much room for greatness here. However, Rika does not click as a character; something is merely off about her. I am meant to sympathise with her, but I cannot do that. The show wants me to root for her, but I am unable to find a reason to. I am expected to grasp and empathise with her struggles, yet I do not want to.
Momoe is the character that suffers the most from the show's abysmal handling of topics it does not understand. Even though she is meant to represent trans people, the show never states her identity outright. It is kept vague from the beginning to the end for no reason. WEP chooses to hint at it through some odd symbolism, which leads to even more confusion. Why is it doing this when there is nothing to gain from this goofy ambiguity? I have no clue, but that is not how you treat your characters. Every scene where she is misgendered is played out like a juvenile joke, and the characters that do that never correct their mistake. However, this character has its flaws. In the 5th episode, when the girls are at a bowling alley and cannot play, she says that:
"...we might kill ourselves without it."
This single line embodies everything that is wrong with this anime. The ignorance, the narrow-mindedness... you name it. It portrays suicidal people as manipulative individuals who would be willing to kill themselves if the other person did not do as they pleased. Surely, people who suffer from depression and have suicidal thoughts use jokes as a call for help. Been there, done that. However, here it does not come off as a joke, but rather a snarky remark and a request, which is sickening beyond belief.
I have to give the characters credit where credit is due. While their relationships are inorganic and artificial, their interactions are mostly charming. They genuinely sound like teenagers, at least for the most part, and I remarkably value their conversations through phone messages. It is a pity that those moments are rare, but once they appear, you are able to appreciate them ever so slightly.
~~~img600(https://i.imgur.com/WCWEbwU.png)~~~ ##~~~【 Suicide victims are treated like currency. 】~~~While most of the show's components reek and taste like horrific gunk, two elements manage to shine bright like a robust lightbulb in a room engulfed in darkness; the visuals and the soundtrack.
The former is merely fantastic all-around, with plenty of fluidity and expressiveness seeping through every moment that demands their presence. As a result, the fight scenes, which are virtually imprinted in the show's DNA, always succeed in delivering a vivid and kinetic showcase of talent and passion. Despite the fact that they are devoid of anything resembling an emotional impact, and their outcome is of diminutive value, you cannot help but gush over them whenever they appear on the screen, as their immense energy is highly contagious. When a fight is not taking place, we are able to wholly appreciate the phenomenal colour pallet, which is rich in confidently warm hues that make the more mundane moments welcoming and pleasant and the stylish character designs that make the people who don them look fuller of life than they are in actuality. Naturally, the level of quality varies throughout the show. In many scenes, most notably towards the end, the visuals are either unremarkable or painfully awkward. For instance, a supposedly emotional bit is played in the background with minuscule movements instead of appearing on the entire screen. However, the quality decrease did not make my perception of the visuals sour. I genuinely treasure them, and it is a shame that they inhabit a series such as WEP, as they deserve a more elegant environment.
Even though it did not wow me to the same degree as the previous component, the soundtrack is unique and impressive in its own way. It is zappy and dynamic, which works wonders during the dream sequences where the characters must evade the plethora of enemies. Surprisingly, it also manages to be an ideal fit for both the slower and more lighthearted moments and the serious ones. It nails the tone, more or less, perfectly on numerous occasions. There are a few instances when it feels pushy, but they are not severe enough to hinder the soundtrack as a whole.
In sum, _Wonder Egg Priority_ is the textbook definition of superficiality and shallowness. It proudly sticks its chest out, convinced that its content is mature and complex, yet that is not the case. It should shiver in embarrassment instead, as it earns your trust merely to betray you. Ignorance, lack of understanding of delicate subjects, and lazily approaching every idea that popped into its head are the defining characteristics of [CloverWorks'](https://anilist.co/studio/6222/CloverWorks) mess of a show. Despite its impressive presentation, it suffers from a swarm of problems, and at this point, I merely desire to forget its existence.
This has to be the only anime that has ever had to make me watch it twice to get a complete understanding of it... nothing has ever done that until now. But first of all, I'd like to start this review off with a positive note to this series. This series started off with a BANG, a tremendous one at that which combines surreal and abstract ideas that work really well when transitioning from the real world to the "Egg world". With some brilliant fight scenes and battles as well as some good twists and turns scattered throughout, Wonder Egg was honestly shaping out to be one of the best anime of the Winter season. Hell, people were calling it the anime of the year and the year had just started then. However... all of these good flashy fights and interesting ideas that Wonder Egg pushed around left me and many others questioning... how was this going to tie up loose ends? We got a good introduction to the characters and their progress in the Egg world, but by the time we got to Episode 8 or 9, we were questioning how this then 12 episode anime was going to wrap up and it seemed to be skewed in this weird direction where it was building up to something huge, but my question was then how were they going to do that in 3-4 episodes? On my first watch... I had no idea what to make of the last third of Wonder Egg, Episodes 9 and 10 went as normal to me with nothing really sticking out. But at the end of Episode 10 and throughout Episode 11, I was left with more questions than answers with Episode 12 doing nothing to help whatsoever, seemed like it was introducing new ideas with not enough room to flow or time to simmer. I was disappointed by this so-called ending and as such, on my first watch, I gave this anime a 4 to begin with. But I kept thinking that I was missing something in Wonder Egg, as though I had missed out on one important detail that sort of brought the last third of Wonder Egg together. So I decided to wait 3 months until the Special episode that was then announced to rewatch the entirety of what I had just watched in that one season to see if I had missed any details and while I was at it, watch the Special episode to see if that tied loose ends. And needless to say, the second watch did actually help because I had found out that Episode 9 actually had given us details as to what would follow suit through Kotobuki, one of Neiru’s friends who was researching death. And it was then when I realised what the real problem with Wonder Egg was. Wonder Egg Priority sets itself up pretty nicely in the first two-thirds of the anime, giving us the introductions to the four main girls we have here; __Ai Ohto__, a girl with different coloured eyes who misses out on school because of her friend Koito’s death. __Neiru Aonuma__, the more enigmatic one of the bunch who is trying to get over receiving a scar from her sister but is trying to revive her only for her own sake. __Rika Kawai__, an ex-junior idol trying to get over the grief of losing one of her biggest fans, her emotions don’t necessarily ring true to grief but she’s masking it over her ego just like with all her problems. And __Momoe Sawaki__, who is trying their best to appear as a girl in society while others pointing out their masculine features, a transgender person and the anime presents this pretty well. All 4 of these girls have been through their fair share of struggles and the anime in the first two-thirds was actually treating their struggles and hardships and them being together as a group with tackling the Egg world as a sort of therapy to better grasp or let go of what it holding them back, every star was aligned. The only premise in the plot that this anime had was that the girls needed to save their friend, sister, fan or loved one by taking on the Egg world, defeating the Wonder Killer, Seeno Evils, and Haters to free their Egg victim that was in the Wonder Egg from their trauma. So yeah, the first two-thirds of what the anime has to deliver is much of the same somewhat but I very much enjoyed the battles and aspects of surrealism they decided to take for the Egg world for the first 7 episodes. The pacing was pretty nice all things considered and the characters, while not all too deep are charming and cute. But then Episode 8 comes out of nowhere with a recap for some reason which kills the momentum of the pacing and tells us what we already know from the previous 7 episodes. I mean, I suppose it’s good as a sort of refresher after those 7 episodes but I wouldn’t really understand why a recap would even be in a 12 episode anime in the first place. And then there was a mixed last third which tries to introduce a new part of the plot with newer elements and features to try and tie everything together and build up to the greater evil at work, but ultimately ends up confusing and baffling most of the viewers as this part of the series is the one with the most amount of information and it’s jam-packed and condensed into 5 episodes so it really makes it hard to piece everything together either way and also the part where the story tries to deviate from the original 7 episodes and almost crashes and burns because of it. It’s what I’d consider to be too much to take in and here where I think the pacing goes a bit too fast as well which doesn’t really help with taking in the information that’s necessary for this part of the story. Essentially, Episode 9 explains that there is the existence of parallel worlds, goes into a discussion about a group known as the Japan Plati of which Acca and Ura-Acca were and still are a part of due to Neiru’s secretary being in contact with both of them as well as the hint of a new character simply known as the “temptation of death” or Thanatos as referred to by the Accas to begin with. And our first encounter with this “temptation'' comes in Episode 10 in the form of Hyphen and later Dot in Episode 11, weird amalgamations of humans and insects that impose pure fear into the minds and hearts of Rika and Momoe. They are what you would call the “minions'' of Thanatos, which in Episode 11, we now find out that the Accas were responsible for. Frill was a girl that the Accas decided to treat as a normal human child to make them forget that Frill was actually an AI. Ultimately, things went out of control as the attention that was once on Frill was now directed onto Acca’s new wife and child, so Frill disposes of both characters by murdering them in cold blood. By outside means or by a lone hairdryer being thrown into a tub. She would haunt the Accas up until Ura-Acca attempts to dispose of Frill himself? To no avail, it seems as she had now found herself with Dot, Hyphen, and “Kirara long name” in the Egg world and she now has control of the parallel worlds to tempt the girls there to their death? Do you hear how unorthodox this whole plot point sounds in comparison to the rest of the anime up until now? You could argue that this was the real plot all along and what we were really building up to, but Frill had only just been mentioned in Episode 9 and introduced in Episode 11… quick reminder that this anime is only 13 episodes, meaning that if Frill really was the big bad and contributes to the real meat and bones of the plot, where was she or rather why wasn’t she referred to earlier in the anime to make for a much more satisfying reveal? Again, 7 episodes were made to introduce and get us used to our main characters with Episode 8 being the refresher, and the two before Episode 11 build up to her introduction by bringing in these new ideas. Essentially, what this means for Wonder Egg was that the whole plot in and of itself was too ambitious to be in 12 episodes. Don’t get me wrong, it showed a lot of promise in what it could do in the first two-thirds with a solid foundation, neat characters, great premise, all the pieces were in their places. However, with the addition of everything that had been shown in the second half, what this boils down to is that Wonder Egg Priority was heading into a direction and build up to the main reason why they’re even in the Egg worlds (aside from what we thought was saving their friends) that was far too big for the staff to handle and as a result, the “once” 12 episode project was something that the writer bit off more than they could chew with and thus it had to be scaled down immensely, leaving us with a scuffed and subpar last third of the anime. Episode 12 as a whole was… an OK episode, standard stuff for the most part except for the fact that almost nothing about any of the parallel world stuff gets explained, it just… exists I guess. It was hinted at, sure, but nothing was explained about how the Accas could utilise it. I guess including an explanation would bore the viewers but I don’t care about that excuse because I just wanted to have things be explained and not left cryptic for us to either find ourselves or to not be questioned at all, but whatever I guess. I was also still a bit unsure about Mr. Sawaki's true intentions in that episode. Were they from the parallel Sawaki explicitly or from both Sawakis? I would have wanted to lean towards the latter because of Sawaki’s behaviour towards Ai and Koito, but then the Special episode came out… and really screwed things up. First of all, this is where the parallel worlds thing really comes into full play as the trials in the Egg world have now led to the revival of Koito, Rika’s fan and Momoe’s crush… but the problem is that saving them comes at the cost of replacing them with a parallel world version of those friends that don’t have any memory of the gang which… comes as a bit of gut-punch considering everything the gang had to do to “resurrect” them and feels like they changed the plot here for the sake of making things convenient rather than cohesive and welded together well. That’s not really a gripe I have with this special though, they are these three things in particular; 1. Neiru fights in the Egg world for the last time to bring back her little sister and she succeeds considering Airu is now present in the real world, however, Neiru now fights all 3 of the minions and comes face to face with Frill but instead of invoking fear, she instead entices Neiru to become a human… and Neiru accepts on Frill’s offer. What am I missing here? Is this some level of understanding coming from 2 artificially “born” AI? Because if not, this would be COMPLETELY out of Neiru’s personality or demeanour to just get greeted by a stranger she doesn’t know at this point other than a few notes from Kotobuki about her, and then just no questions asked, accepts her offer. That completely misses the point of Neiru’s character to not be as trusting to just anyone as we see with her and Ai from Episode 2, and if it doesn’t, why is the anime either way too cryptic when it has no right to be or way too easy to understand when it comes to putting things together? It can’t stick to one type of storytelling. 2. Kotobuki’s reappearance comes as a complete surprise out of left field… how the hell did she even get back as a parallel world version of herself? Who did that? She has no reason to be there other than to just say “hi” to Ai and Rika and nothing else. Nothing gets explained in this last third of the season and it’s just frustrating that it does nothing to touch upon anything that would need explanation. It kind of ties into what I said in the first point, nothing is consistent here. 3. Ai’s determination to carry on visiting the Egg world seems… weird to me and just out of the blue. Almost as if it was rushed, and maybe because it is. What was the point of being frustrated and sad at the part where you couldn’t see Neiru again, forcing you to change schools and everything only to just go back to see the Accas? Once again, no explanation. Was there something I missed? Because I am damn sure that I feel like I got everything. I feel like this anime just throws me through loops and makes me bend over backwards, making me believe I completely miss the point on something. These 3 points are the main reasons why I feel Wonder Egg’s Special episode really didn’t sit right with me. Honestly, the anime was better off ending at 12 because there it would at least have a less painful way to wrap things up. But now, I feel as though this story is now so open-ended that it’s opening up to the possibility of a cour 2, and honestly, I feel as though this anime has already done enough. The question is though, if they do happen to continue this and I’m sort of scared as to how... would they be able to tie up the loose ends from the first season in the second or will they still leave things as broken and messy in terms of the story as they have and just end up making things worse for it? Enough with the speculation though, I will briefly say that the OP for Wonder Egg is actually beautiful to listen to. The ED is nice, bouncy, and melodic which tbh, doesn’t fit with the endings of some episodes which makes it sound kind of odd. The tone shift is honestly that drastic between the end of Episode 10 and 11 and the ED. The OST in and of itself is not too bad either, it’s there at least. I wouldn’t see myself listening to it but it’s nice. And the art direction is spectacular, it’s a shame though how the art staff worked half to death on it though because that just makes enjoying what I see all the more worse tbh. The art is really good but I don’t like to think about the artists and their crunch. In conclusion… honestly, don’t get it twisted, I want to like this anime but the problems with it are enough to make me uninterested in ever touching it again. Wonder Egg Priority had so much potential as an anime with a neat concept, pleasant characters, and solid theming but carried with it too much ambition, crunched and hospitalised staff thanks to Aniplex and Cloverworks and writing that had hit a corner way too fast, introduced ideas that were unorthodox in the realm of the already established plot and never had time to simmer and settle in thanks to only 5 episodes being left with too much time being focused on the foundation of the plot. As a result, Wonder Egg Priority (episodes 1 to 12 specifically) gets a low 6 because I felt as though even though the last third of the story really does hinder the rest of the anime greatly, I still enjoyed what was there of the first two thirds. The Special episode however gets a high 3 mainly because I really do not see a reason for this special even being here except for maybe wrapping up one or two things that the story may have missed out on in 12 but not remedying anything else it either created itself or what the anime had failed on. I felt frustrated with how this anime was handled as a whole too after Episode 9 and the Special being half recap, half scuffed ending further amplified my frustration, thus the 3 for the Special. It had no business being there whatsoever.
Wonder Egg Priority te cativa no começo pela diversidade dos desigh nas 4 protagonistas, além de uma animação bonita e incrivelmente forte nas cores, o anime é bem bonito, mas para por aqui mesmo, pois a história começa com um conceito interessante mas que a medida que vai se mostrando mais sobre o que quer contar, derrapa ladeira abaixo apresentando elementos que não conversam direito com a história, o final não é um fim porque a história é deixada em aberta em um ponto em que tem que fazer um especial para terminar a história, ainda não vi mas acho difícil concertar as cagadas que o rumo do enredo foi tomando. ~~~img220(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0blHnaa6p74/YDRSUhVCfwI/AAAAAAAALBE/yvSIS6Vf8a8Em_hMPVxQlQen714Q5IlwwCLcBGAsYHQ/w680/wonder%2BEgg1.jpg) ~~~ A animação até consegue abordar de maneira delicada alguns temas complicados enquanto em outros faz de uma maneira bem ruim, como em relação a Kotobuki que é algo bastante pesado é a obra mau toca direito no assunto sendo que um dos motivos desse universo girar é sobre o ato de tirar a própria vida, nisso o anime pecou, mas os piores problemas nem estão nisso e sim em como são apresentado os problemas reais bastante pesados enquanto não consegue relaciona-los bem nas batalhas, que sempre segue uma mesma formula, primeiro apresenta o problema, tem o questionamento, e as personagens ficam com raiva e tiram inspiração do nada, terminando a batalha como se fosse um problema fácil de se resolver, todas as lutas da Ai são assim. ~~~img220(https://64.media.tumblr.com/7e8bc423614d804acb7aa9cc2ee8d2eb/62162c6d8796286e-f9/s540x810/63bf7ea7bfa6fe30c7c7ca647bbe686db635714d.gif) ~~~ Ai Ohto como protagonista não é ruim, está longe de ser uma personagem inovadora pois é o clássico tipo de personagem que é bastante retraído por sofrer bullying além de tudo que aconteceu com a Koito, esse tipo de personagens depende muito da forma como são trabalhados, podem ser muito bons mas aqui esse não é o caso por causa do roteiro, existe uma inconsistência na personagem que incomoda bastante, ela em um momento é retraída e em outros adquire uma convicção do nada, isso acontece em constante repetição (critica da formula de batalha que citei antes), só passa a ter uma certa constância depois de conhecer as outras três garotas e fazer amizade com elas. Um exemplo da inconsistência da Ai é quando é apresentada a Rika se mostrando alguém bem incomoda e depois no meio da luta quando a personagem volta da petrificação, a Ai age com confiança e como se as duas fossem amigas por toda a vida derrotando o desafio, tudo ocorrendo do nada. ~~~img220(https://theafictionado.files.wordpress.com/2021/12/wegg-74.png) ~~~ Um conceito apresentado e mau executado é o que pode se resumir esse anime, a apresentação do ovo e do mundo refletindo as personagens, tudo isso se encaminhado com tropeços mas indo bem até do nada resolverem enfiar conceitos de ficção cientifica, ter mundos paralelos é simplesmente jogado mas a Frill e tudo relacionado a ela é um desastre, além de ser muito do nada, não casa direito com tudo que tinha antes da obra, parece que o roteiro foi feito assim “Apresentei meus conceitos e não consegue trabalhar tão bem, pera ai vou inventar algo pra história ficar mais dark e conseguir ir pra um possível final”, foi isso, não sabiam onde ir e inventaram algo tão desnecessário, é injusto fazer essa comparação mas acabarei fazendo, Madoka com quase a mesma quantidade de episódios consegue apresentar seus conceitos desde o começo e ter uma revelação bombástica que conversa com tudo que foi apresentado, enquanto Wonder Egg falha miseravelmente. ~~~img220(https://i.redd.it/0hiwqcdv4ef61.png) ~~~ Mesmo que tenha um episódio especial, acho muito difícil concertar os erros que a história tomou, pelo spoilerzinho que eu levei ficou foi é pior, serio pra onde isso vai em um episódio? Tudo em relação as dimensões de sonhos e seus conceitos extraordinários tem relação com tecnologia, então as pessoas vão simplesmente voltar? E a Frill vai entrar nesse meio? Como isso vai conversar com as outras personagens principais? Não importa a resolução que tenha, não vejo que vai conseguir ser algo bom. Fico triste com isso, pois parecia uma obra promissora mas acabou se perdendo. ~~~img220(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2c/9f/7a/2c9f7a131a9fc543916e39fdfbaa11f1.gif) ~~~
Wonder Egg Priority. That's a weird title if I ever heard one. When this anime was first announced, there was literally no information on it except for it being about a girl and her friends getting eggs from a gachapon machine. Nobody knew what it was going to be...and nobody expected it to turn out the way it did either. Needless to say, Wonder Egg made a huge splash for its luscious animation, dark, heavy story that was willing to push boundaries, and star very flawed but relatable characters that didn't quite fit into the archetypal anime molds that we're so used to. This is especially notable considering this is the product of a small group of animators, a new director, a creator who mostly had experience working on live-action stuff, and a new studio that only just formed a few short years ago. It wouldn't be a stretch to call this one of the most ambitious anime of winter 2021, and for good reason. That being said, as you can tell by my score, it's...not great, and this is actually due in part to a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff in regards to the staff and animation team behind this project. So let's see if we can make an omelet out of these eggs, shall we? The story begins with a young girl, Ai Ohto, reeling from her best friend's suicide. Having been previously bullied because of her heterochromia, losing a friend in such a gruesome way has made her shut herself at home, so she refuses to go to school. One night while out on a walk, she buries a dead firefly...which reanimates and leads her to a strange place where she is told to get an egg from a capsule machine. Later, she wakes up in a strange dream world that looks a lot like her school, where monsters known as Seeno Evils run rampant. The eggs she's told to break contain the spirits of young girls who committed suicide due to their traumas, and Ai, along with three other girls—Neiru, Rika, and Momoe—have to not only protect the girls from Seeno Evils, but defeat the manifestations of their traumas, Wonder Killers, in order to save the people they hold dear. Thinking this'll bring her friend back, Ai takes on the challenge, but she and the other girls have no idea what they just got themselves wrapped up in. Not gonna lie, the animation is absolutely luscious. Packed with movement and immaculate detail in nearly every frame, and all of it is always used for a specific purpose, from the flowers and their symbolism to the dynamic character animation. Everything is just brimming with life, from the fantastic use of color to even little things like the way characters carry themselves really show just how much effort the producers put into this. It's practically at the level of KyoAni's standards of animation...although, it wasn't without cost. Apparently, the animation team assigned to WEP was fairly small, so they didn't have a lot of the resources other companies did. Because of this, the production process behind the show was really, really tough. Like, animators being sent to the hospital because of needing to meet deadlines and biting off way more than they can chew tough. I'm not even kidding. Japan's animation industry isn't perfect, as people work long hours for startlingly low salaries, often times to the point of being stuck at work for literal days without end, glued to their desks, which resulted in one animator being sent to the hospital twice due to overwork. There's a reason the Japanese made up their own word, karoushi, meaning death by overwork. I mean, I love when animators really do their best to make a show look as good as possible, but it should never be at the expense of their physical and mental health. I don't have much to say about the soundtrack. The background music is nice, and the opening and ending songs are great too, even if the latter is deliberately unfitting, being a cutesy, peppy J-pop song in a dark urban fantasy anime. The characters are where things start to get tricky. For one, a good portion of the main cast are very well developed and have a lot of depth to them. They all have their flaws, strengths, weaknesses, and layered personalities that make them stand above the typical anime archetypes we're so used to seeing. Rika in particular stands out for the better, as although she's mainly on the side of good, she's an insecure teenager and former teen idol who starts off as a mooching little bitch, freely admits to fat-shaming a former fan into starving herself to death (and continues to fat shame her even as a statue), shoulders a lot of guilt because of what her actions caused, and pretty much acts like any teenager in her situation would. That being said, other characters aren't so lucky. Neiru starts off as an aloof girl, but some aspects of her character stretch my willing suspension of disbelief, like the fact that she, a 14-year-old, is the president of a big company. More is revealed about her character later on that...don't make a whole lot of sense. Plus, Momoe's situation is really vague. Just what is her deal? Is she transgender? Does she not like constantly being mistaken for a boy, or girls confessing their love to her? If she doesn't want to be mistaken for a boy, why does she wear a suit and keep her hair short? The anime doesn't really explain what Momoe's issues are all that well. But I can deal with a lot of this. The story for the first half of the series was intriguing, I liked the mystery aspect, and the idea of these teenage girls becoming friends and helping each other through their issues was definitely very appealing to me. But then everything after episode seven happened. The series started to get really shaky in the eventual reveals that came later, and the final episode...dear God. Derailing is a really big word, but that's exactly what Wonder Egg Priority does in episodes 11 and 12, and I'm not going to lie, Wonder Egg really shit the bed. HARD. No, seriously, I have never seen a series go from so good to just so incredibly BAD in such a short amount of time, especially in the finale, which need I mention, was delayed by two months because the animators were overworked. Aside from the animation and the first half of the story, I honestly can't bring myself to say anything good about the last half of it, from all the piss-poor writing decisions it makes, to the really important plotlines it randomly introduces and then just completely forgets about or straight up ignores in the very next episode ~!(Kind of like how A Wrinkle In Time established this big force of evil that the main kids have to deal with, but then completely forget about it and go about their merry lives at the very end)!~, making the characters act way out of character for no reason at all, and losing all of its nuance and subtlety. This show would have been amazing if the piss-poor execution in the latter half didn't completely shit the bed and spit on everything the series previously established. Seriously, I could write a better ending to this series that would actually wrap up all of its plotlines, or at the very least present them in ways that are not only cohesive, but not nearly as ruthlessly mean-spirited as the actual show would turn out to be later. It's especially bad when the creators are given time to make their final episode one hour long, but not only do they spend it on a SECOND recap of the series that serves no purpose, but could have used that time to actually address and wrap up its different plot threads but didn't! God, I really wanted to like Wonder Egg Priority. I really did. It's really sad that the anime turned out the way it did, because had it not been plagued with production troubles, or even had better writers or planning, this anime could have been a masterpiece. It seemed like it was really going to be something different and ambitious. It certainly tried, but in the end, it just fell off a cliff and didn't stick the landing. Wonder Egg Priority, you deserve better. But with the way it is now, I can't bring myself to recommend this anime in any conceivable way.
~~~(Note: This review covers the entire 12-episode show and the _My Priority_ finale special.)~~~
~~~_Ai scores a “Wonder Egg” from a gachapon machine at a deserted arcade. But now when Ai falls
asleep a girl emerges from her Wonder Egg, the worlds of dreams and reality begin to collide. And it’s
all connected._~~~
I watched a current show for once! I was enthusiastically recommended this by a friend, who also
suggested watching the Japanese version with subs because the 14-year-old main character is voiced by
an actual teenage girl.
The wonder eggs of the title look like normal eggs, but when the bearers fall asleep, they’re
transported to another world where they have to protect the girls that emerge from the eggs from
supernatural manifestations of their trauma. But they’re not doing it out of the goodness of their
hearts: they figure that if they can protect enough egg-girls, they’ll be able to rescue someone they
care about deeply.
Oh hey, didn't see you there, today instead of making a formal review, i'm gonna make you a delicious sandwich. A compliment sandwich. Wonder Egg Priority is such a clusterfuck of a show, so much so that a regular review wouldn't do it justice. So reader, sit down and wait while I prepare this compliment sandwich for you. Yummy STORY Good Thing 1-The Story Is Actually Pretty Unique. WEP has such a fascinating concept that feels so much like my cup of tea, this grimdark magical girl anime where the girls fight in an alternate school world to save the ones they love is so interesting and such a great story could be born to become this decade’s Madoka Magica. Bad Thing 1-The Story Is An Absolute Train Wreck By The End Yea, despite its promising beginning the ending was an absolute mess, Cloverworks does it again by having anime with horrible endings from DiTF to TPN.There were so many things that get set up and the way it's handled in the end is just off. The final episode (of the tv series-not the special)just has so many things that not only don't make sense but contradict the world building and aren't even explained at all.It feels like when a child starts to make a nice drawing, but when they get halfway through, they get bored and wanna do something else, so they just spill buckets of paint on the canvas and call it a day. There was a flashback episode that I really liked but it didn't fit in the actual show like at all.It felt like an episode from a different anime, and not only that but the show just absolutely lost me when it started to touch on "alternate universes", there is still just so much that still never got explained and at that point you’re like “oh well”. Good Thing 2-It Touches On Some Very Serious Topics I will appreciate its attempt ,emphasis on “attempt” on touching on topics that most anime today don’t.But Goddamn its alot,such as suicide, bullying, sexual harrasment, sexual assault, self harm, gender dysphoria,whole nine yards and then some.So much and the content is so heavy handed that it could easily pass down Armstrong family for generations. Despite it being a hard challenge, i think it is possible to have these numerous topics touched on,I mean if Satoshi Kon can do it, i feel like others could as well, but the downside to this is…. Bad Thing 2-The Topics Touched On In This Are Handled So So So Poorly That It Almost Feels Offensive -I’ve said this before, and i will say it again. Teenage fanfiction authors are killing it at Cloverworks it seems. There is this really bad sense of immaturity when it comes to how the show addresses the issues and since its portrayed in a way that is just so unrealistic and insensitive, I feel like I wouldn't be surprised if the writers all had a bunch of tumblr accounts. Even the dialogue just shows how tone deaf the writer is, sometimes one of the girls will pull up a picture or recall an old memory of the person who has taken their own life and then Ai would just come out nowhere and be like “HEY, IS THAT THE GIRL WHO KILLED HERSELF??” And it is so blunt that it feels like a punchline. And the fact that the writers even had the balls to make something so thought provoking as suicide a plot point with no actual depth to it is top tier balldropping at its finest. The way they touch on the topic feels a bit ham-fisted, because they don't address anything about suicide like the victim's mindset or the long term effects it creates.The whole point of the show is figuring out why Koito and others decided to do what they did, so its treated like a murder mystery, but instead of murder its suicide .I have a conspiracy theory on their true intentions with this topic, but i'll save it for later. Good Thing 3- I Like Its Whimsical Vibe I really love the vibe WEP tries to go for, it really tries to be upbeat despite the depressing nature,and when some really disturbing visuals pop up, it gives you that false sense of happiness and reality just melts. It's really cool, not gonna lie.And you have no idea how disappointed I was to see this vision basically get flushed down the toilet with all the other bullcrap. Bad Thing 3-Subtlety? Never Heard of Her. Yea, I touched on the poor writing earlier,but the writers would not know subtly if it bludgeoned them to death. It almost feels like the audience watching are prepubescent and dumb. Some of the villians designs and the dialogue coming from them are so on the nose it takes me back to grade eight again. Even going to the name of the weird 3d villain people. When they revealed that they are called “haters” I actually bursted out laughing so much that my dog had to check in on me. This may just be a “lol english translation” moment, because they are actually called “anti” which would be a more subtle name, but for some reason the english sub. They are called “Haters’ lmao. And whats even better is when the characters always say “We gotta beat the haters”-and they say it constantly- I always die laughing, even in serious moments, because its just so stupid. ART N ANIMATION Good Thing 1- The Animation Looks Phenomenal I’ve only ever said this for Mob Psycho s2, but the animation in WEP is not only great, it is “consistently great”.It feels like a KyoAni show, there are so many things moving, a lot of great character acting, gorgeous fight scenes, and effects,the direction,the backgrounds,its orgasmic at times. Cloverworks has come a long way from Bunny Girl Senpai to be honest. I don't know what pact with Satan was made to get so many talented animators together for this,but credit where credit is due. Bad Thing 1-The Things that Are Moving Make Everything So Theatrical This probably goes back to the writing, but despite how well the animation looks,the reason behind the things or characters moving can be a bit over dramatic at times. One example I can think is a scene where Ai jumps out of the bathtub,still wet,and runs to the school, It looks good,but like, it feels so hammed up and cheesy like im watching a highschool play.Get it?Ham and Cheese? Good Thing 2-The Girls Are Real Cute The designs are nice on the eyes.I like how Ai basically looks like Coraline Jones, which is neat,I love Coraline.And for the most part some of the designs for the humans either look nice or just look awkward(like with the vegetable girl). Bad Thing 2-Some of the Designs Are Just Too Much Yea the villain designs are just so cacophonous that it feels like a mess.I get their intention, but I have seen something like pulled off way better in the Persona games. But with WEP, there is just so much color and shapes that don't fit together that when the girls are fighting, i'm like”WTF are they even fighting”? MUZAK Good Thing 1-The Music Is Sick As Hell I love the soundtrack. There are electronic tracks, but there are some other experimental pieces here and there, and some sad songs that sound nice.I like how the OP sounds like that song from Lilo and Stitch I feel like some of the music sounds like Youtube outro music, but I still jam out to it in my free time.And the fuking dubstep tracks are sick ass helll my dude.I can just feel the Skrillex running through my neurons. Bad Thing 2-The Music Feels So Out Of Place. Yea, sometimes the dubstep and the youtube outro music get played at times that honestly don't even need music.And as a result, a majority of the time,the abrasive music goes so hard and basically ruins the scene lol. I was still jamming out and shaking my groove thing to the music,but it's kind of a misstep to have me jamming out and dancing to the music during a scene where~! one of the characters is contemplating taking the life support off of a girl in a vegitative state. “Waddup dudes im about to kill this girl who's basically brain dead, be sure to like,comment,subscribe, and click that muthafucking notification bell” !~ Kay,my ingredients are a bit out of order for this part but. CHARACTERS Good Thing 1-The Characters Have Some Nice Chemistry If WEP cut out all the drama,suicide,and fantasy it would be a decent SOL show. The characters are pretty cute together, hanging out, talking gossip, texting each other. They have some wonderful chemistry radiating off of each other even if some of them are garbage human beings. Good Thing 2-The Characters Have Distinct Personalities I think their personalities bounce off each other really well too.Outside of some cringe dialogue,I can see a group like this hanging out in an art class,Ai’s whimsy,Momoe’s calmness, Neiru’s bluntness, and Rika’s uhhhhhhh Rikaness.They interact really well and I enjoy it a lot.And the weird dynamic they have with them collecting the eggs at different times is really nice, And I do appreciate how self aware they become of their own personalities.But outside of that…. Bad Thing 1- The show never seems to focus up on the characters. WEP has a lot of complicated character dynamics that change constantly. So much so, you don't really get the grasp on who you're supposed to like or hate. For example Ai’s whole situation with her teacher dude, the show hints at there being some connection between him and her friend who committed suicide, but the show also kinda hints at him as some antagonist who might be interested in Ai, but looking at this situation from someone who is not a teenage girl, he is just some normal guy basically. At times, Ai legitimately perceives of him as a villain(who is put on the same level as adults who beat and sexually assault children),and other times she dislikes her mom for getting together with him, she starts to get a little mad at her friend Koito for having feelings for him, and even actually jumps out of her bathtub to run to him at school. Its real confusing. Bad Thing 2-And it is due to these mixed signals, that the main character comes off as insufferable at times. Getting mad at her mom and bonding with Rika over hating her mom for doing nothing, it's like “Life Is Strange” tier. And what's even weird, is that Ai’s disdain doesn't really go anywhere afterwards. And with the other victims that the quartet fight to protect, I didn’t really understand what they were going for with each of them, especially the vegetable girl, who I didn't give half a shit for to be honest. There are some girls whose reason for suicide is understandably grim, then there are others that feel so....idk clumsy.For example,these two girls ended up killing themselves because their favorite pop star did too.But they're just treated as comic relief mostly.If the show doubled down on its "psa nature" the show could have made the pop star the one being saved and make the crazy stangirls the evil monster. That way not only can you have an empowering moment on girls saving a guy, but you can also have some commentary on the toxicity of fanculture.It's that simple, idk why the writers didn't think about it, at least revise your story or something to add some level of competence to your heavy ass topics. Jeez. And even if the show does touches on these topics,it then just starts to make their suicide the actual mystery at the end and that takes out all the depth the show had. And despite praising their personalities, underneath the surface of Neiru and Momoe, there really is nothing to them, Neiru’s backstory loses steam really quickly because of her being basically a science experiment and a girlboss. Momoe’s character basically only touches on her gender identity. Which is fine because she had the most decent arc of the four,but still,there isn't much to the- Oh wait i feel like i'm missing someone. Oh yea.Fuck me dude….Rika Bad Thing 3- __RIKA KAWAII IS AN AWFUL HUMAN BEING AND ONE OF THE WORST ANIME CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME...__ ~!Rika Kawaii.Holy Shit dude. Ayanokoji from CotE has nothing on dis bitch.She is a legitimately vile person.I dont give a crap about how she does not have a father,because her life situation does not excuse her awful behavior.She is super manipulative and clingy, borrowing from people and being super invasive on other people’s lives. She also takes her anger out on her friends when they call her out on her bullshit.Not to mention that one time she actually tried to convince Neiru to not save her sister(who killed herself) and even wanted to stop trying to save the person she lost because they were“selfish enough to commit suicide”.That is fucking rich coming from the person who hurt the feelings of a girl who looked up to her,so much that she fucking starved herself to death. It is basically her damn fault the girl was dead but her coming to the conclusion that they shouldnt be saved out of FUCKING NOWHERE, just shows how awful she is. OH OH and im not done,dude, in the show, her mom is seen as a bad person for being drunk alot and going out with multiple guys.Which is understandable,but the show doesnt make the case that she is a bad guardian at all.Yeah she drinks, but she still cares for her, she gives her money,she runs a bar to support her, and even made her a cake. Meanwhile fucking Rika Kawaii outwardly talks about how she hates her mom and thinks she is a bad person because she wont let Rika see her dada, but the show states VERY CLEARLY that Rika’s mom is not preventing her from seeing her dad, she just doesnt know who her real birth dad is. Also, I seriously dont get why Rika cuts herself, over something shallow as the situation she is in.I wanna say maybe she has some type of mental illness to make her act as such, but the show basically doesnt hint at it at all and its only flimsy justification for her self harm is that “she is a teenager, and teenagers are wild amirite?” It just feels demeaning to people who actually deal with self harm. Rika’s suicidal tendencies comes from something so mild that it isn't even a problem and the show doesn't explore her mental state at all because she gets like 1 episode max of character development. It especially doesn't help when the self harm depicted has the subtlety of a rock. It was 13 reasons why levels of demeaning. She is always talking about how she doesnt want to be like her mom, but to be honest she acts arguably worse than her. !~ MY THOUGHTS ABOUT RIKKA MONTHS LATER(skip this part if you want) Looking back on it now, I feel like my previous statement could be taken out of context since I didnt word it right, and looking back on Rikka and how she is depicted kinda shows how grossly destructive WEP handles its themes.~!When I said, " I dont get why Rika cuts herself". I am not saying that people who self-harm need a define reason to. I am aware that mental illness is something that is very different for a lot of people in real life, but with WEP, it jumbles up Rikka's character,I feel like the show is trying to make a connection to her fan's demise as why she does self harm, but there are scenes of her cutting herself that happen right after her dealing with her mom, or her friends and they feel so disconnected to the rest.Thats why I felt like her reflecting at the batting cages on how she is young and doesnt understand the world was what the writer intended when they shed light on her self harm.But then i start to realize, the topics about mental illness in WEP do not seem well intended at all. I think its message on friendship is a good one, but they seem to twist and screw the perception of what mental illness is truly like to get that theme across. I lowkey feel like WEP's incorporates themes of mental illness for the sake of having a grim tone, yet it flaunts itself as an important show that appeals to younger people and shed lights on these issues. But the problem is that its so damn tasteless. Not to mention the gratuitous depiction of it with its sledgehammer subtlety. Not just with depression but with its other topics, there is a graphic scene that showed the aftermath of suicide, an onscreen showing of a trans character getting sexually assaulted, and the worst offender of this is with Rikka. I feel like her showing her scars is enough, but when the show starts to gratuitously show her self harm in multiple scenes, and even a scene where a monster cuts open her arm where her self harm scars were and also has another person verbally convincing her to give in to her suffering, was just disgusting, it made me cringe, and i watch a lot of violent things. Its fine to have these romanticizations or graphic depictions of mental illness if the show has a very dark, adult, and nihilistic tone. But WEP is literally a show about magical girls who become friends and defeat monsters ,it cant have its cake and eat it too.!~ And even if she did have a mental illness, her coping with it by insulting others ,forming bad opinions ,growing toxic relationships based off misunderstandings and being just absolutely rude is not a good way to depict her.i am sorry.I know people like her character, but her personality ,even outside of her mental illness, is just very vile and horrid. And im just gonna leave it at that. I dont like Rikka Kawaii, not one bit. Phew! Let me calm down for a bit. There,Now My Sandwich is done, BUT no sandwich is complete without a side dish -*sigh*The WONDER EGG SPECIAL Good Thing 1-There is basically nothing good about this special like at all. Firstly,half the episode is basically a recap,and this special is 46 minutes. So this show basically has two recap episodes.I totally wanted that.Yay Bad Thing 1-Just Everything Else Bruh, this special was so bad,its not even trash, its toxic waste. As in a toxic waste of time.i’m not gonna go into detail here, but I do have a review for the special as well on my review page, but just know, this has to be the worst ending to an anime I have seen. Ever.Point.Blank.PEEEERIOD. Well, I hope you like your meal.Lord knows I worked hard to prepare it.Over months of thinking about who what when where and why this show exists. There is so much about it that is just really bad.The amateurish tumblr writing.the awful characters and other stuff that outstanding visuals could not save no matter how many sakugabooru clips of this show there are.Overall though, I realized something.I...actually had a lot of fun watching this show.I was never bored or anything.Im a sucker for cool looking animation,so thats a given,and the concept at first had me hooked. But afterwards the writing just go to such awful levels that I was floored by how the show doesn't give a shit when it comes to storytelling. Other than that, I was just unintentionally laughing at all the sensitive issues that get handled so poorly.I don't even want to call this show enjoyable trash, because I could feel the artistic vision,it's just that artistic vision died at the end when Ai’s fancy colored pen stabs the artist’s eyes out. The ball is constantly dropping after the first two episodes. I haven't seen such a drastic case of an anime with an amazing concept and handled in the worst way possible. It was …….a weird time….and not in a good way….I will say that. Overall-5 Teenagers amirite?~!!~
Trauma and depression are some causes of someone committing suicide. Sometimes, understanding other people's feelings can be the hardest thing. Often, humans also tend and are insensitive to ignore the conditions that other people experience. This issue is the main topic of Wonder Egg Priority. The series has indeed become one of the anime that captivates the eye. Anime fans most anticipate it in early 2021. The original anime from the CloverWorks studio was released on January 13, 2021. With a portion of 12 episodes and 1 special episode, the anime, which takes the psychology and drama genre, will invite the audience to see the struggles of the heroes—teenage girls to combat suicidal ideation.
What is the connection of eggs with suicide and depression? At the story's beginning, Wonder Egg Priority focuses on Ai Ooto. She has heterochromia, which makes her eye color different from a cat. Because of her strange eye color, she was bullied by her friends at school and became a loner. She then meets Koito, the only girl who wants to be her friend. But their happiness did not last long because Koito committed suicide in front of Ai. Losing her figure of a good friend, she again closed herself off from the world and even decided to stop going to school.
One day, Ai finds a mysterious place. She was directed to buy a gacha egg. The egg gives Ai something that Ai wants, namely friends. After buying eggs and going home, Ai finds herself in a dream world. She is required to crack the gacha eggs that she bought. The egg contains another girl, and Ai must protect them from the Wonder Killer, the most significant trauma of the girl in the egg. If she manages to kill Wonder Killer before the allotted time runs out, she can resurrect her friend, Koito, to life again.
Wonder Egg Priority does have a confusing storyline in the early half. However, everything becomes more connected when the audience has watched until the middle. Taking the theme of adolescent psychology, the anime creates a moral message. Its storyline looks attractive with a touch of fantasy in the hyperrealism style. The eggs protected by Ai and her friends are nothing but representations of teenagers who commit suicide for various reasons, such as harsh treatment from those closest to them, bullying, and sexual harassment. The dominant figure of Wonder Killer as a monster also illustrates the trauma and source of depression that the girls have to face once again. In-depth, the anime also invites the audience not to ignore the people around them and appreciate life more.
Despite its exciting storytelling, the anime still has a lot of unanswered signatures, even after watching the entire episode. The ending of Wonder Egg Priority is ambiguous because most of the audience's curiosity about several things doesn't seem to get a more detailed explanation.
Ai Ooto is told to become increasingly isolated and more traumatized after Koito's death. She believes that Koito's death was caused by a lack of care for her best friend. However, after several times protecting other girls in the dream world, Ai also slowly understands the various reasons these girls commit suicide. The emergence of a sense of wanting to protect also makes Ai's character grow as the story progresses. She seems to be more candid and cheerful from what she was talking about and likes to shut herself up.
Not alone, Ai ends up making friends with three other girls who happen to also buy eggs with their motivations, from the quiet Neiru who wants to resurrect her sister, the cheerful Rika who wants to resurrect one of her fans, to Momoe who wants to resurrect her best friend. These three girls also have their dilemmas and become close because they have almost the same fate, overshadowed by guilt.
Wonder Egg Priority could be one of the best anime made by CloverWorks in terms of design. Unlike other psychology genre anime, the show in terms of graphic design is made with a bright depiction with lots of bright colors applied. As a result, many viewers were fooled into thinking that the anime originally had a slice of life genre.
Not unique coloring, the designs of each character are also made iconic and represent their respective traits with just one look. Ai's character, for example, often wears a yellow hoodie and shorts, which is perfect for her cheerful personality. Neiru, who has exotic skin and often wears skirts, always looks elegant and intelligent. Rika, who wears jeans, a jacket, and has blonde hair, explains her slightly rebellious and cheerful character. There is also Momoe, who often looks like a man, so that her gender often invites many people to ask questions.
Not only do designs spoil the eye, but the anime also provides exciting battle scenes complete with neat and dynamic animations. The design and animation of Wonder Egg Priority are considered one of the best of the anime released in 2021.
Anemoneria's song Sudachi no Uta might sound a little more unusual and soothing, considering the opening theme is filled with uplifting songs. However, the presence of the song as the opening of each episode feels more like relaxation before watching the audience watch. Some anime fans may also be familiar with the song. The song was composed in 1965 by Shiro Murano and Saburo Iwakawa. The song is also often sung at graduation ceremonies at school. Besides Wonder Egg Priority, the song is also the ending theme for the 2011 anime Nichijou.
Following the opening song, which has a calming and calm tone, the ending song, entitled Life is Cider, also provides a pleasant finishing touch for the audience of Wonder Egg Priority. This song, sung by Anemoneria, has a suitable and vibrant beat to fill an anime where the main characters are a group of teenage girls.
Wonder Egg Priority presents the story of Ai and her friends who struggle to save other girls from the trauma that makes them commit suicide. Although the storyline is added a slight fantasy element, the problem of teenagers who become the main topic has been conveyed very well by the director and screenwriter.
Shin Wakabayashi, the director, has worked chiefly on key animation in anime throughout his career, such as Darling in the Franxx, Toradora!, and Owarimonogatari. Meanwhile, Shinji Nojima, the screenwriter, is also well-known as one of the screenwriters who has written many TV drama scripts in Japan, such as the dramas Born To Be A Flower, Love Shuffle, and Our House. Combining their experiences into work, both succeeded in making Wonder Egg Priority an anime with meaning, indirectly awakening the audience to appreciate life more.
The presence of Wonder Egg Priority does have a different impression on each of its audiences. Even so, the anime teaches many valuable lessons, from appreciating life to understanding everyone's feelings. The anime is very well made. The storyline is also unique, complete with songs and indulgent animation designs.
Wonder Egg Priority’s first episode is one of the most intimate experiences I have seen in anime and one that impressed me since the first time watching it — I think I have seen it four times by now. It is yet another one of those anime that has a name that can be seen as cute but is actually a psychological horror that, despite being very abstract in some of its ideas, still has very real themes. I like how there is a clear distinction between what happens in the “real” world and the dream world — at least in the beginning, since as time goes on more science fiction and fantastical elements are introduced in the “real” world, which goes well with the show’s structure of slowly blending dream and reality. Most of the time the fantastical elements are kept in the dream world and this means that these characters are real people out there, that these traumas exist in our world. It focuses a lot in details such as beginning with a very personal event that isolates the characters instead of going for action or prologues that are desperately trying to catch your attention; or in aspects such as the very realistic, nearly rotoscopic character animation, all coming together to create the necessary atmosphere for the show to tell the intimate story it wants to tell. However, when Wonder Egg wants to do action, it does action, better than most shows out there. It is no secret that the production schedule for Wonder Egg was a mess, needing the last episode to be released separately from the rest of the show, and this episode was even marketed as being one hour long, only to prove itself to be one recap episode and one episode of new content, this being the origin of many of the anime’s criticisms. After all, it was pure ill intention of whoever on CloverWorks decided to spread an information that was literally false. Now, considering all of this, the fact that Wonder Egg’s production values manage to be as high as they are throughout the show is even more impressive. From the character animation, the order of events going back and forth in time during most of the episodes and the very limited cast of characters, it is clear that Wonder Egg’s priorities are different. I’d even say some of the worst moments of the anime is when it is trying too hard to be anime. Take for example the title drop in episode six, It is a bit forced and is there only so a title drop can exist. The characters always say their one-liners when finishing a fight, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. For a moment I even thought that the screaming of a catchphrase being used to solve issues was a simplification of the issues and thematically inconsistent with the rest of the show, but looking back on it now, it doesn’t bother me as much, since the priority was never the mechanics of the fights, but the literalization of metaphors. I’m also not going to pretend as if I have seen any of his other works, but the writer for this show is a Japanese TV writer, not an anime writer, which might justify some of the different sensibilities it has. The show’s premise is quite simple and visceral. Ooto Ai is a 14 years old girl whose only friend killed herself, making Ai isolate herself and become even more introverted than she already was. One day, an entity that takes the form of an insect convinces her to buy an egg, saying that if she breaks this egg during her dreams and helps save other people, she might get her friend back. All of this honestly sounds like an RPGMaker horror game above everything else and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out it was inspired by or initially designed to be one. As time goes on, Ai meets other girls that are also buying eggs under the same premise of saving someone they knew that killed themselves — in case it is not clear yet, traumas are the central theme of this story. The structure of breaking the events into more manageable chunks by isolating them through the eggs makes it fairly easy to insert other themes and comment on them briefly, calling attention to the fact these issues exist while also keeping the character’s original goals. Obviously, these girls are also affected positively and negatively by everything they witness and this makes them bond together more strongly. Despite all the rubbing of themes in your face, the show can definitely be subtle when it wants too. Some things are only left in the subtext for a while, for example in episode three where we meet Rika, we get some dialogue that we believe might relate to her trauma, the show then reveals to us that she used to self-mutilate, and it stops right there. We don’t have to see it happening or having a flashback or direct monologue about her past like any other show with less sensitive writing would do. Whoever made this decision knew there would be enough time later to flesh out her situation in a more natural way. A fictional character does not need to be completely transparent since their first appearance. If you do it correctly, the audience will be engaged enough to keep going, there is no need to halt the whole story to explore a single person before getting the gears turning again. Rika is a character that some people might find annoying. She is so nonchalant that she barely seems to be affected by her situation and the stories she encounters in her egg-breaking endeavors, frequently teasing the other girls and making some comments you wouldn’t really make in a conversation between friends and also talks ill of the person she is trying to save. I was immediately drawn to her character because it is all clearly a facade. Rika is in fact by far the most self-conscious among the four main characters and the one who better understands their dynamics, and everytime someone says anything that gets close to who she really is instead of who she is pretending to be, her reaction is to lash out and then flee. In episode seven she says that now she is the serious Rika, meaning that she either intentionally created this facade or at the very least realized that she had built it. Rika’s arc here is not about learning to appreciate her mother, breaking up completely from her or finally meeting her father, because neither of these would be consistent with the themes and pacing previously established. It is about trying to come to terms with herself and making a decision that will harm her less in the future. The anime does not present us with clear alternatives that will immediately and definitively solve the issue, that would be too artificial. Wonder Egg might be realistic in certain aspects of its worldbuilding and completely fantastical in others, but the themes are always kept well-grounded. At no point does the show seem interested in something as formulaic as “do X to solve Y”, what it wants to do is remind us of how complex the world and our emotions are. Of course I’m only talking about a single character here, I’m not mentioning everything she goes through and she is not even the protagonist despite being the character that affected me the most, but for the sake of not turning this into a summary of her character, let’s move on to something else. I don’t remember seeing anyone complaining about the structure of jumping back and forth in time as I watched the show and honestly it is very effective, but I can also see how it would be confusing for some people. After all this still follows the monster-of-the-week trope to some extent, but since the priority was never with the mechanics of the fights but instead with however many themes and real issues we can get out of them, then the structure helps prevent it from getting too repetitive. I wouldn’t want every episode to follow the straight path of characters interacting, getting into a dream, meeting the trauma and the monster, defeating the monster and then taking a step towards self-betterment in exactly that order and pacing everytime. This is important, by the way: taking a step towards self-betterment, not solving the issue as a whole. These girls killed themselves, they lost to trauma, but can still get some level of comfort through their interactions with the main characters. They are not in a situation where they can go back in what they did, so it is great that the anime does not put finality in everything, that would diminish too much of the situation and increase the focus on simply the monster being defeated. Even though the exploration of these issues is sometimes not as complex, the fact that Wonder Egg even comments on them is already something. Most anime can’t treat stuff like sexuality as anything else more than either comedy or something extremely degenerated, while Wonder Egg manages to comment — although briefly — on the discovery of sexuality of teenage characters without being uncomfortable about it. The story recognizes that these things exist and some of the issues that might sprawl out from it while also not needing an all-out speech about any of them. I have a decent experience with amateur writers online and more than once have I stumbled about them saying stuff like that they only add enough minorities — primarily LGBT+ characters — “enough to please that audience”, only to them not understand why their “representation” is being criticized as superficial, stereotypical or problematic. Gladly Wonder Egg is self conscious enough about these and other things. Creative writing is always, on some level, about the human condition, and there is more than one human condition. It would be downright implausible to comment on these themes without recognizing the existence of “the other” at least once, or without having the notion that different people deal differently and to varying levels of success with their issues, while also not judging these characters as weak or anything similar in the process. One of the things that bothered me for a while was the inevitable plot twist that was clearly going to show up at some point. When at the end of episode 8 two characters accidentally spy on Acca and Ura-Acca having a conversation that begins to unravel said plot twist, I got a bit anxious thinking the show was going downhill. Well, a lot of people clearly think that the show did go downhill, but, honestly, I found the ending at least adequate. No, I will not pretend that details such as Neiru’s true identity have remotely close to the same level of development or impact that other previously established details have, but I also don’t think that anything that happens in the end completely breaks the show — more on this soon. Thankfully, the way the anime deals with this plot twist is by immediately having the characters question Acca and Ura-Acca, receiving a simple answer for it, and then the scene diverges to show the girls’ excitement with Momoe’s date. This is a fairly simple writing technique called “shining a light” on something to indicate where the audience should focus their attention and by extension what is the priority of the scene. Despite introducing the plotline about a pseudo-conspiracy, Wonder Egg is not trying to comment on anything such as authoritarian government or censorship, so introducing this while immediately turning our attention to something else means that the characters are above the plot in priority. Perhaps the true Wonder Egg was the friends we made along the way — again, I’m not going to pretend as if everything that happens from this onward is as great as what happened before, but I also clearly did not get nearly as frustrated as most people seem to have with the direction the show takes. At the ending of the same episode, the anime goes back and gives you another conspiracy even bigger than the last one before you even understand the implications of the first one. This is where I think a lot of the criticisms people were making began, because I will admit that most of the time it does seem like we are getting the introduction of the main villain to be defeated. If the promise that this is the conflict we are building to really interest you, then I perfectly understand the dissatisfaction with the ending. I would argue that the show always gave us some reasons that this was not the point, but again, it is not perfect and I might just be wishful thinking. Liking where the anime goes does not mean I have to find every single step of the way there to be absolutely perfect or anything. This is one of the cases where I find it hard to fault the show too much, since Wonder Egg is already trying to do a dozen more things than most of the copy-pasted seasonal shows ever do, so I will always give it the benefit of the doubt. However, in retrospect, we are watching a history about two guys that stopped being human and created a magical egg that is capable of summoning teenagers in the dreams of other teenagers that might or might not be from different parallel universes and that somehow saving these girls enough times is going to bring back another dead teenager from another timeline to ours, so I’m not even sure why we expected the show to have answers for all its science-fiction and fantastical elements to begin with. Wait, maybe by introducing the creation of a girl that was artificially created to be perfect, with all her characteristics controlled exactly how adults want them to be, they actually created something that not only does not exist in the human world but also negatively affects girls that are not created artificially because they are, you know, human beings? Perhaps the idealized and romanticized view of the perfect kid that some people have is a social issue that generates dissociation in the people who are not capable of meeting that standard. Perhaps the show is trying to say something when everything goes wrong when two scientists begin to play with not only life, but also with a figure such as this, that also puts the literally artificial girl in opposition to the actual real girls as a looming presence that cannot be directly defeated. Wait, you’re telling me writers think before they write? Occasionally, I have seen some people criticizing the anime as being “yet another story about bullying”, and this is where I want to directly address a criticism. First, because bullying is one of the themes that the story deals with, not the only one. Second, because if you think that everyone knows that bullying is bad, or how bad it is, then I don’t believe we are living on the same planet. I do understand what this criticism is trying to say, it is when you see a story telling you that absolute control over a society is bad and your reaction is “I wouldn’t know it if you hadn’t told me!”, or something similar. What is being criticized here is that this is a common theme and seeing it too often can get overused and outdated, but we also have to remind ourselves that the fact we got sensitized to certain issues through exposure to them in works of media does not mean that everyone has gone through that. There is no such thing as excess of calling attention to a real world issue in an industry — in a story? Sure, it can get repetitive and not go anywhere, if the author seems incapable of turning it into anything and just keeps going around and around and ending in the same spot, but not in an industry. Even if I can get bored of seeing a theme or scene that I have already seen be executed similarly or even better in the past, I will still take the time to remind myself that some people haven’t. Since this anime is about traumas and essentially a call to compassion, then if I had left it primarily dissatisfied with the repetition of a theme, then at that point I would look back and feel like I lost the point — the empathy it is trying to evoke. We don’t want to face issues all the time, it is a perfectly common reaction to shy your eyes away from something scary or sad, but fiction is always a good place to bring attention to these things, and Wonder Egg is here to remind us that these people exist, that adolescence is a confusing and troubling moment of our lives, that there are victims and aggressors, and that not all of them are helped or punished for what they did. When in the ending Ai goes back to where she began, I interpret that as the show telling us that what happened here can’t simply be forgotten. The damage is done and the connections they formed along the way are going to follow these girls even as they move forward in life. There is no simple and definitive answer such as “we dealt with none of our problems and all the issues still exist” or one of “we dealt with all of our problems and every single issue has been resolved”, because as I said previously, that would simply be implausible. The message of Wonder Egg may be bittersweet, but it is still optimistic. Having said all of this, does this mean everyone is wrong for not liking the ending? Of course not. Just to make something clear, I didn’t even register the last scene as being a bait for a sequel until someone pointed it out to me, which proves my perception of fiction is not perfect, no one’s is. There are other issues I didn’t comment on, for example such as the lack of Momoe in the last episode — I don’t think the show needs to explain to us why she was angry at the other girls before but later was singing at the karaoke with Rika and Ai, that is very clearly just a case of her reacting to a traumatizing event and lashing out, like human beings tend to do —, but I still felt like there was no reason to exclude her. If you ask me why what happened to Neiru happened to her, I would have no answer to give you. Still. I seem to be one of the people that were the most satisfied with the conclusion. It was a decent ending to a great show, not nearly as impressive as the beginning, but also not nearly as horrible as to be close enough to ruin and devalue everything that came before it. But then again, that is just my take on it.