Anime Review: Wonder Egg Priority Episode 1

Wonder Egg Priority

Studio: Cloverworks

Genre: Psychological, Fantasy

Streaming: Amazon

Wonder Egg Priority has probably had the least amount of promo material of anime releasing this season compared to the big series like Attack on Titan. Still, the premise for the series as vague as it was piqued my interest, as well as that this is one of the few anime originals airing this season. Cloverworks has done pretty well with anime released this season so far so is Wonder Egg Priority going to live up to the caliber of their other work? Yes, by far. From the one episode released so far, Wonder Egg Priority is a psychological drama at its heart, but with fantastical and horror elements that work very well with the dark themes. These themes include such things as bullying, loneliness, and suicide – not light content by far but the anime does a great job of tackling them in a thoughtful and realistic manner.

The anime follows teenager Ai, as she struggles through everyday life before getting caught up in a weird other-world after receiving a mystery egg. After breaking the egg she’s thrust into a strange world much like her own but frequented by scary monsters, clearly metaphors for real-life threats. It’s both eerie and terrifying, but with a strong emotional heart that really makes you feel and want to root for the characters. We only meet two characters properly in this first episode though presumably more will be introduced over time and the focus on Ai as the lead is a wise mood, as it really enables us to get into her mindset and understand her troubles.

This first episode really gave me vibes of Ikuhara’s anime – other surreal psychological series such as Mawaru Penguindrum and Yuri Kuma Arashi. The use of visual metaphor throughout and symbolism was very interesting and for sure it’s a series that is interesting to analyse on a repeat watch-through. Ultimately, this series so far seems to be about the relationships between people and the struggles that come with that. Ai herself is a protagonist who we see isolating herself at the beginning of the episode, but by the end, we know more about the reasons for this and are rooting for her when she finally manages to reach out to help another. There’s a surprisingly effective note of horror running through the episode too, with the way the creatures are depicted in a very unsettling cartoony animation style, compared to the more realistic designs of the characters and the world around them. Throughout there’s also a beautiful use of sound and music which helps to convey the emotions of the characters.

Overall, the first episode of Wonder Egg Priority starts off very strong and is an incredibly memorable and thought-provoking beginning as well as showcasing a great character study with the main protagonist. I’m very intrigued as to where the series will go but I’m very excited to see what else it has to offer. If it carries on in this vein, then it might even be the best of the season for me.