Please remember to finish WEP before opening any of the spoiler tags!!
This series got off to a fantastic start, one that blends various bizarre and philosophical themes that flow seamlessly from the "Egg world" to the actual world. In all honesty, Wonder Egg was building up to be one of the greatest anime of the Winter season, with some excellent combat sequences and battles in addition to some decent twists and turns strewn throughout. Although the year hadn't yet begun, many were already referring to it as the anime of the year.
Something I really like about WEP is that it discusses sensitive issues- primarily suicide, self-harm, and the struggle to discover(?) and understand one’s own gender identity and sexual orientation.
We had a wonderful introduction to the characters and their development in the Egg world, but by Episode 8 or 9, we began to wonder how this 12-episode anime would conclude because it looked to be skewed in a strange direction and was leading up to something significant. I was left wondering how Wonder Egg was going to tie up loose ends after all of these exciting, colorful battles and novel concepts.
Then there's the second half of the show, in which the writers came up with a convoluted plot to address another issue. I feel that the anime started to lose its sense of direction here- The issue is that they utilized episode 8 only to summarize the first half (instead of using this episode to spend more time developing their premise) and didn't have enough episodes to finish the narrative they'd just begun. The writers started that narrative so late, despite it feeling like an illogical thing to do.
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Episode 9 discusses the existence of parallel worlds and the Japan Plati, of which Acca and Ura-Acca are the founders of. There is also a hint of a new character simply known as the "temptation of death" or Thanatos, as the Accas initially referred to him. Our first interactions with this "temptation" occur in episodes 10 and 11, when Rika and Momoe must deal with the strange human-insect hybrids Hyphen and Dot. They are what you may call Thanatos' "minions," which we now know that the Accas were responsible for.In order to forget the fact that Frill was an AI, the Accas chose to treat her like any other human child. After things spiraled out of control and the focus shifted from Frill to Acca's new wife and kid, Frill disposes of both characters by killing them in cold blood, either by external methods or by dropping a single hairdryer into a bathtub. She appeared to follow the Accas until Ura-Acca might attempt to get rid of Frill on his own. Dot, Hyphen, and "Kirara long name" had now joined her in the Egg world, and she now controlled the parallel universes, tempting the females there to die. This entire story element seems strange in relation to the other episodes of the anime.
Unrelated to the previous bit, but I’m not quite sure I appreciate the theme of not trusting adults- No matter the age of the individual, other perspectives and the support that others can provide are incredibly valuable. It isn't a wise decision to avoid reaching out and discussing things with people who may disagree with you.
Each of the main characters has their own challenges that they are trying to overcome. I wish that maybe there would have been an increased focus on some of the side stories, such as
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Rika finding out who her dad is.All four of these girls have experienced hardships, and the anime's first two-thirds dealt with their trials and tribulations as well as their coming together as a group to take on the Egg world as a sort of group therapy to better understand or let go of what was holding them back. Everything came together perfectly. The sole basis of the narrative of this anime was that the ladies had to liberate their Egg victim who was trapped within the Wonder Egg from their trauma by battling the Egg world and conquering the Wonder Killer, Seeno Evils, and Haters.
Ai Ohto
I really like Ai’s design and appreciate how she was written, particularly because of how much she reminds me of a friend of mine.
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I am still unsure why they felt the need to include such a complicated concept as a parallel universe in order to support the idea that Ai must save herself.Neiru Aonuma
Neiru is brilliant, beautiful, and intriguing. She is incredibly sensitive, even if she doesn't express it.
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I really like how the choice was made to talk about artificial people as well as the decision of whether or not to hit that button, which presents and will continue to address various ethical questions.Rika Kawai
Overall, I really like Rika, primarily because of her blunt personality- she’s an honest individual who will say what she’s thinking. At the same time, I highly dislike how her character was written to be fatphobic. I appreciate that she was trying to fix her mistake with Chieme, but I feel that there could have been a different way to approach the same topic without, in my opinion, compromising the likeability of a character altogether. Her feelings don't necessarily correspond to sadness, but she is disguising them to protect her ego, just like she does with all of her other issues.
Momoe Sawaki
Momoe is a cute tomboy who's very kind and supportive. Despite her best efforts, she is still mistaken for a guy in society and is continually asked out by girls. Momoe realizes how flawed the world is and works to alter it, fighting every fight for good reasons.
Regardless of being put in a really awkward situation with Haruka, Momoe still wants to get her back, which demonstrates how understanding she is. She wants to demonstrate to her friend that they can still be friends and that doing something irreparable is not worth the potential price of their friendship.
Momoe speaks up for other women's rights without having to experience certain traumas and understands and supports the lgbtq+ community without feeling compelled to be a member of it.
I really appreciate the use of color in nearly every design. Although the animation and color schemes seen in WEP are becoming increasingly popular these days, they still seem unique and they maintain high quality throughout the entirety of the show. I really appreciate the fluid movements of each of the characters.
Listening to the Wonder Egg opening credits is lovely- really cute and dreamy- I like it a lot.
The ED is pleasant, upbeat, and melodious, which, to be honest, doesn't match the ends of certain episodes and makes it seem a little strange, which I dislike along with how.. average it feels.
Overall, I really liked the show- I’m dissatisfied with the ending but would watch the show again. With clever ideas, endearing characters, and strong theming, Wonder Egg Priority had a lot of potential as an anime. However, it also carried an excessive amount of ambition, not to mention overworked and hospitalized staff due to Aniplex and Cloverworks. It also introduced ideas that were unconventional in the context of the previously established plot and never had time to resolve because there were only five episodes left and too much time was spent on the foundation of the plot.
The changes the anime took at the conclusion were too hasty, creating a connection that was quite scattered in order to make the narrative seem cohesive.
There were no actual solutions, but at least we as the audience have some ideas to consider. And despite that, I thought that it was really enjoyable.