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.
Sigh... After a promising start I'm really disappointed in where this series headed. It pains me to give this series a low score because you can see the love and passion of the animators who poured their heart into it. I have a few issues as a whole. Let's address the biggest one right off the bat.
I want to be very clear my issues lie with the higher ups and not the employees who poured their heart and soul into the series. There must be a change within the industry in regards to such work environments. While I get that shit happens this is such a frustrating turn of events for us viewers. Delaying the "final episode" by 3 months sucks plain and simple. Cloverworks was working on 3 series this past winter. If you don't have the manpower then you need to delay the series until the next season. It's as simple as that. Next up is...
Episodes 1-7 were fantastic. It was mysterious but also an interesting premise that dealt with serious topics. Then episodes 9-13 happened and they just feel so forced and out of place. After the unplanned episode 8 recap the direction of the show changed so drastically that I honestly felt like I'm watching a Trigger series. Fortunately Trigger is able to get away with that style because the series itself is usually so zany and out there that it works. With WEP... not so much. When dealing with serious subject matters like what WEP was tackling sometimes less is more. Going out of your way to make a "final boss" bad guy doesn't always fit. The writing needed more time to really come together and deliver a cohesive and logical conclusion which brings me to my next point.
13 (11 and a half) episodes was far too little time to deliver this story. This show really should have been a 2 cour (20-24 episodes). I don't think that was a smart decision to introduce all these new elements with only 5 episodes to wrap things up. We needed more time with these new characters and plotlines being introduced and NOT hey here's the bad guy (in the final few episodes) now let's quickly wrap things up. The final episode (ep 13 special) felt like the scenes were spliced together instead of flowing as a coherent conclusion. I can't help but wonder if they left it open-ended with all these loose ends in hopes that they will be able to get another season? With my criticisms out of the way let's end on a positive note.
There was a drop in quality after the unplanned recap episode but this was still a gorgeous show. The animators did an excellent job given the circumstances so it's important to give credit where credit is due. The OP/ED are super catchy and the OST felt appropriate.
The highlight of the series for me was the main characters. They do suffer in the end because of the writing/story but I loved the interactions between the main cast. Ai and Rika were my favorites and they had some super adorable scenes/lines.
My enjoyment of the series really tanked post recap (episode 8). My advice for those who are interested in watching the series is to stay away OR watch the first 7 episodes and leave it at that. Great visuals, audio, and a lovable main cast help capture your attention at the start but it does not make up for the production issues, bad writing, and rushed ending. These three issues are why Wonder Egg came out of the frying pan half-cooked.
Thank you to everyone who reads this review. Once again if you have any constructive criticism please feel free to let me know. I'm not the greatest writer but after watching the finale I wanted to vent my frustrations as I really did love the first half of this series.
EDIT: Coming back to drop the score a bit more because I'm still upset about the ending. Do note that my score is based off of my own personal ranking system. On the traditonal 1-10 scale it is roughly the equivalent of a 5-5.5 (just above average).
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