Anime Review: Wonder Egg Priority

Originally, this was a show that flew under my radar during the 2021 Winter Anime season. It wasn’t until I saw the community blowing up about it that I decided to give Wonder Egg Priority a try. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised at how deep of a show it was… until 12 episodes went by the show was left without a conclusion. It was announced that we would have to wait until June to see how the series wrapped up. Well, June is here and the final episode was released. Now that it has, I can look back and see if this show was really worth my time.

Let’s Jam!

The Story

Ai Ohto is a shut-in due to a tragic event that happened to her. Her best friend, and the other person who really thought her heterochromia was pretty, Koito, committed suicide. One day, Ai is walking home and spots a dead bug on the road. For whatever reason, she felt compelled to give it a grave. Soon after, it returns to life (was it really dead to begin with?) and speaks to her, telling her to go to a certain place where they sell special eggs.

Once an egg is purchased, you will be transported to an alternate dimension where the egg will hatch. Protect what’s inside until the very end and you will clear the “mission.” Do this enough times and your innermost desire will come true. For Ai, it would be her friend Koito coming back to life. As weird and contrived as this seems, it opens up for some pretty deep moments… especially when Ai meets Rika, Neiru, and Momo. Each one has their own reasons for partaking in these missions and to see them get hurt and struggle just for their wish to be granted is a pretty painful experience. Then, there is all of the drama in the real world as well that they have to contend with.

Whether it is Ai not wanting to go to school, Rika’s issues with her mother, Momo struggling with her own identity, or Neiru’s… well… going into her story would spoil quite a few things… let’s just say she has some regrets when it comes to her sister as well as a colleague.

Then the ending finally came after months of waiting. We were treated to a 46-minute special which was disguised as a recap episode until there were about 21 minutes left in the show. Then, the true final episode began. While I won’t spoil how the show ended, I will say that I, personally, had no idea what the point was making us wait all this time just to present us with what they did. Sure, it did tie up some things and gave us the harsh reality that sometimes it’s best not to wish for the things you desire most as they may not be as you would like them… but it didn’t conclude any of the other aspects that they built up in the back half of the series.

There was no major final battle that was built up, a really, REALLY brief explanation as to what those things were in episode 12 that killed all of their pets, still more mystery behind Acca and Ura-Acca and the “organization” that they are a part of. There was just so much that was missing that the ending felt extremely flat.

The Characters

Ai Ohto

In short, Ai is an emotion. She can be happy, sad, excited, depressed, caring, cold, and everything in between at a moment’s notice. The way her facial expressions are drawn is absolutely immaculate and they truly drive home each one of those emotions whenever Ai expresses them. Between losing her friend Koio, her mom’s budding relationship with her teacher who also had ties to Koito, going through the trials, her newfound friendships with Rika, Momo, and Neiru, and everything else in between, Ai experienced a LOT. This is why she had such a diverse personality because she was put into a lot of different situations that called upon a myriad of different emotions. There were many layers to Ai which made her such an endearing character… so much so that you found yourself sharing those same emotions with her!

Rika Kawai

Her last name is one “i” away from reflecting how she thinks of herself. Rika is an idol and thinks of herself as one of the cutest girls in the world; however, despite that, she’s not egotistical… much. In fact, she’s just a brash tomboy who doesn’t really have much of a problem being outspoken or outgoing. Of course, underneath all of that lies some personal issues as well… such as with her mother or Chiemi, a fan who she treated poorly and deeply regretted once she ended up dying. Even though Rika doesn’t like to show her true emotions, she does care about righting the wrongs she has done.

I, honestly, loved Rika. I can’t really decide if I like her or Ai as my favorite in the show. I love Ai for her diverseness but Rika is just way too much fun to watch whenever she’s on-screen. She commands the spotlight and doesn’t care one bit that she’s stealing it. But you also don’t mind that she’s stealing it because she’s such a giant ball of fun!

Momoe Sawaki

Momoe (or Momo) is someone who is popular with girls because they all think she’s a boy based on her looks. Despite her popularity, she is the direct opposite of Rika where she is very timid, shy, and a bit afraid to meet new people. It’s hard for her to open up but Ai’s infectious personality makes her realize that there are people out there that she can put her trust in and be friends with. Ai, Rika, and Neiru just treat her as one of their own and that is something that brings her some level of comfort. Momo is just as courageous as the rest of them as she, too, has something worth fighting for… a girl that liked her who died. She wants to bring her back to life so that the two of them can enjoy a relationship with one another.

For some reason… I just didn’t connect with Momo as a character. It’s not like I didn’t get what she was about but… there was just something missing. I couldn’t find myself caring about her as I did with Ai or Rika. The character lacked a certain hook to completely sell me on it. Most of the time, she kind of felt like a third (or even fourth) wheel amongst the group. She’s not a bad character… I just didn’t get the full appeal of her.

Neiru Aonuma

She’s a quiet girl who seems a bit cold and uncaring. She doesn’t really like opening up and talking to many people. In fact, she was pretty reluctant about becoming friends with Ai. Eventually, she does come around even though she’s still not completely sold on the idea of having friends. Neiru is fighting to save her sister. She also has another side to her life that goes into some pretty deep spoilers for the show so I’ll let you discover that on your own.

I will say; however, that it is a bit far-fetched that a 14-year-old girl would be put in the position that she was… even with the plot point that explains how someone of her age could be. Then, when you connect the dots between Neiru’s particular life and everything else in the story, it just seems a bit… odd.

As a character, Neiru was interesting. I’ll give them that. Had she been older, then maybe things could have been a bit more believable but since everyone else had to be 14, I guess she did, too?

Acca and Ura-Acca

I’ll touch on them briefly because going into their backstory would REALLY blow the spoiler lid off this thing! Simply put, they are two people who watch over the eggs. They do offer advice from time to time to our four main characters but, outside of that, they seem pretty useless… until you really get to know them. I will say there are no frills about their characters at first but there will be as time goes on.

Art, Animation, and Sound

Cloverworks did an exceptional job with the artwork in this show. Not only were the characters extremely well designed and animated but the usage of color throughout the entire series from the characters themselves to the parallel world, to the fights, and everything in between was masterfully done. Some moments are bright and colorful, others bloody and gory, some even dark and depressing. Every little detail was paid to each scene and almost every color on the spectrum was utilized in some way, shape, or form.

The animation was also pretty nicely done, too. Some of the times where CG was used, as with any time there were massive amounts of See No Evils on the screen, didn’t look out of place. It blended in nicely with the rest of the animation. Characters moved in believable ways, fight scenes looked amazing, and just little nuances, such as Ai’s facial expressions all drew you in and made 20 minutes fly by.

 

The soundtrack was also pretty diverse as well. It was cute in the cute moments, daring in the dramatic moments, somber in the sad moments, and really helped draw you in. Unlike a lot of shows where songs aren’t that memorable, this soundtrack is definitely worth a listen to. While I may not know every song on there due to lack of repetition, I can recall how perfectly the music felt with each and every scene and can recall some of it. That’s better than most shows and when you watch a ton of them each season like I do, recalling any portion of music from an anime’s OST means that it’s probably pretty good and worth picking up!

Overall Thoughts

Wonder Egg Priority is a fantastic show that simply couldn’t finish the job. It spent so much time taking you on a fantastic ride and then it just fell flat on its face. While the ending did serve to wrap certain aspects up, a lot of things were left unfinished.

Despite that, I can say that while the ending will drop the score a bit it shouldn’t take away that the other 12 episodes in the show were incredible. It was definitely a standout of the Winter 2021 season and while I don’t think it will win Anime of the Year, I’m more than sure that it will be a contender. If not Anime of the Year, then Ai should definitely be up for a few awards.

Now that all 13 episodes are out, I can safely say that if you were waiting to marathon it, it’s a good choice to go ahead and do so. The show will hold your attention and draw you into its world, make you feel and get attached to its characters, and take you on a bit of a wild ride.

I don’t think you can go wrong with Wonder Egg Priority… if you’re willing to overlook the faults of its ending.