Anime Review of Wonder Egg Priority
I’ve always wanted to do an anime review of Wonder Egg Priority and now that this anime is celebrating its one-year anniversary, this is the perfect time! Wonder Egg Priority is a thirteen episode series defined as a psychological horror / drama. And there’s some real emphasis on the psychological aspect of that.
It follows four girls coaxed into purchasing “Wonder Eggs” from a capsule machine, at the behest of two mannequin-esque men. This egg will grant you whatever you wish. And the first one’s free! … But nothing costs more than a free gift.
“Nothing costs more than a free gift.”
These eggs hatch while the girls are dreaming, turning into the the spirits of young girls who’ve committed suicide. And these ghost girls don’t come alone. The trauma that caused them to commit suicide follows them, manifesting as something monstrous. Our protagonists are tasked with protecting these dead girls by defeating their traumas, using ridiculously oversized magical girl weapons.
The premise is utterly surreal. But it works. It’s the mash up of Persona 5 and Madoka Magica that you didn’t know you wanted.
But Wonder Egg Priority paves new ground by dissecting the unique, and often isolating, suffering that comes from being an adolescent girl. The cause of that suffering is often shown to be the adults around the egg-born victims. Adults who either were the outright perpetrator or silent enablers, and how that power dynamic lead so many girls to suicide.
While you don’t need to be a girl to understand, or have experienced, the things that these girls go through… it is spoken through a very gendered lens. But after watching some utterly garbage female representation, Wonder Egg Priority was deeply refreshing.
Cinematic
Wonder Egg Priority provides gorgeous visuals and action sequences, blended together with bright colors and dazzling music, despite the bleak subject matter. The animation is at moments dream-like and sometimes hyper-realistic. This back and forth between dream and reality is intentional and often seamless, sometimes leaving you questioning which is which.
Characters
The characters are where Wonder Egg Priority truly shines. We follow four girls, each of which have endured deep trauma that have lead them to their own flirtations with self-destruction. They each have someone in their life that has committed suicide, who they’re desperate to have back.
Each character is unique and likely relatable to someone. Ai, a shut-in who was relentlessly bullied. Rika, a girl suffering through deep negligence at home. Momoe, who struggles with her gender identity. And Neiru, an emotionally detached girl who wants to feel human.
Each of them deal with their trauma in their own ways. From hiding away from the world to lashing out at those who love them.
Over the course of the series, their friendships with each other help heal some of the trauma they’ve been carrying and they develop healthier methods of coping with their own (ongoing) struggles. They also meet the Four Temperament Ensemble trope, which is neat.
Story
So, here’s where Wonder Egg Priority becomes a little… infamous. The first half of the series is impeccable! It’s so easy to devour the first half of the series in one sitting. Which I did.
Wonder Egg Priority is more character-driven than plot-driven… for at least the first six episodes. And it works perfectly, melding character and action. And then it hits its (SPOILER) sci-fi moment (/SPOILER). By episode 7/8, Wonder Egg Priority starts its suicide spiral. Tasteless pun intended.
Until the last quarter of the anime, Wonder Egg Priority has laid so many interesting moments of world-building, so many mysteries. I was invested, despite the sudden-left turn, believing fully that the development team would make it work.
But it’s clear that this is a series that was meant for two seasons but was hastily reduced to one. An issue they attempted to solve with an extra-long episode tacked onto the end, which wasted half its time with a 20 minute long run down of previous events.
The ending is all over the place. It’s universally regarded as terrible. There wasn’t enough buildup for it to make sense, and it fizzles into what can only be described as a lackluster pile of strings. Some of them are tied up, sure. But most aren’t.
Unfortunately, it’s unlikely that Wonder Egg Priority will get a second season, though it’s left us with so many questions.
But what’s far, far worse is that the strong message of the first few episodes (learning to deal with trauma and loss) was completely abandoned. (SPOILERSPOILERSPOILER) Wonder Egg Priority spends so much time contemplating the pain young girls go through because of the failure (or sadism) of adults in their life… only to end with two adult men trying to kill a young girl. And then manipulating the four protagonists through deeply traumatizing trials as a last-ditch attempt to kill this girl, when their own efforts fail. Way to kill your own socially relevant message with some random, vaguely incestuous nonsense. (/SPOILERSPOILERSPOILER)
Final Thoughts
Despite the extremely questionable last few episodes, Wonder Egg Priority is still worth the 320 minutes~ it takes to finish. It’s a great ride with a rough conclusion, but that doesn’t mean the journey wasn’t worth it.
Anime Review of Wonder Egg Priority Rating:
4/5
(trigger warning: sexual assault, references to self-harm, images of healed self-harm scars, multiple references to suicide, references to grooming and underaged relationships.)
Movies n TV
Returning to the Soothing World of Evil with “The Demon of Death”
“The Demon of Death” is the season 3 premiere of the supernatural drama Evil, created by Michelle King and Robert King.
“The Demon of Death” is the season 3 premiere of the supernatural drama Evil, created by Michelle King and Robert King. The central cast includes Katja Herbers, Mike Colter, Aasif Mandvi, Michael Emerson, Christine Lahti, and Andrea Martin. As of this review, it’s available through Netflix and Paramount+ and its add-ons.
The assessors investigate the weight of a soul. Father Frank Ignatius (Wallace Shawn) agrees to participate in this test despite his growing disillusionment. David (Mike Colter) and Kristen (Katja Herbers) deal with the ramifications of their confessions. Kristen’s girls go on the warpath with Leland (Michael Emerson). Andy (Patrick Brammall) signs his death warrant.
What I Like about “The Demon of Death”
As season 2 ended with a cliffhanger, “The Demon of Death” picks back up with an interesting addition. The episode provides a more obvious stopping point that Season 2 should have taken advantage of. It dumbfounds me because this addition makes for a more interesting and darker cliffhanger. The added context would have made the cliffhanger more palatable. However, it’s a nice twist for the episode.
Dr. Boggs (Kurt Fuller) and Sister Andrea (Andrea Martin) make an interesting pair that adds complexity to both. We even explore some of Sister Andrea’s character flaws, best displayed by her interaction with Kristen in the next scene. Few wise sage characters that display flaws, making this addition appreciated.
Father Ignatius’ introduction adds layers of interest for a character who will play a recurring role, tying into Monsignor Korecki directly. The yet-to-be-explored relationship between Father Ignatius and Monsignor Korecki (Boris McGiver) evokes an interest.
While “The Demon of Death” isn’t a haunting episode, but explores the mysteries and terror of death through science to provide an interesting environment for an episode. It introduces a new character that adds to the cast.
Tired Tropes and Triggers
There’s not much to report here that particularly crosses the line and what teeters on the line holds a dark comedic tone.
Perhaps Sister Andrea’s flaw might rub some the wrong way, as it deals with her overwhelming faith. However, it’s a minor point at the moment. Again, I lean on liking some complexity for the wise sage archetype.
What I Dislike about “The Demon of Death”
“The Demon of Death” still plays it safe with its supernatural elements, but that does seem to be Evil’s standard. At this point of the series, it seems a strange restraint. However, the new normal remains functionally paranormal.
While the premiere starts with an interesting procedural plot, it doesn’t direct the season like prior premieres. This episode doesn’t deliver a massive refocus as season 2’s premiere, but that’s because its conclusion doesn’t deliver as focused of a direction. Regardless, “The Demon of Death” is still an episode that slips away despite its premiere status.
Ben (Aasif Mandvi) seems needlessly hostile as they investigate a soul’s potential weight. The study delivers a thorough scientific process, which makes his resistance linger on the “angry atheist” archetype.
The demon shown on screen certainly isn’t the demon of death the title suggests. While the plot revolves around the mystery of death, there is a demon with a more carnal domain. As future episodes dive into their respective demons, it does seem to be an inaccurate title. However, the demon of the episode will get further focus in a different episode.
Final Thoughts
“The Demon of Death” doesn’t stand out as a premiere but provides an interesting procedural episode. As Father Ignatius will become another key character in the series, giving him an entire episode to introduce him is a nice strategy. While it’s not a haunting episode, it still provides a level of camp with interesting characters to pull it off.
(3 / 5)
Released in 2010, Rare Exports asks an important holiday question. One that no one else has dared to ask.
What if Santa was a ten-story-tall monster buried under the ice for centuries?
The story
Rare Exports is the story of a little boy named Pietari. After doing what is frankly too much research for a little boy, he realizes that Santa is not the jolly old elf we all think of. He is, in fact, a monster who eats bad children. And it turns out that Santa was trapped in the ice near Pietari’s little town. All this would be well and good if a Russian mining team weren’t in the process of cutting him out of the ice. So it’s up to Pietari to convince everyone of the dark, horrific truth.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
What worked
Some movies need to make sense. Some don’t. Rare Exports is one of the latter.
Why were the Russians digging in the snow to find Santa? What was the plan there? What happened to Pietari’s mom? And who did they sell the elves to? Do the elves need air or water to live?
We don’t get answers to any of those questions. And frankly, we don’t need them to enjoy Rare Exports.
This is a wild story about a little boy who discovers that Santa is a mythical monster with a bunch of scrawny old men with big white beards to do his evil bidding and eats bad children who haven’t been beaten by their parents enough. What sort of explanation would help this story in any way?
I mean, we could pick apart why it’s suddenly legal to sell people, or at least mythical creatures that look like naked old men, or why this all happened right next to the only little kid who had the exact knowledge needed. But in the end, wouldn’t that be like asking how Santa gets into people’s homes when they don’t have fireplaces? Doesn’t that objective reasoning just piss on the Christmas magic?
What didn’t work
While Rare Exports was fun, there were parts that I did not appreciate. For one thing, there wasn’t a single woman or person of any color in this film. Literally not one. Not an extra, not in the background. This little Finnish town is populated entirely by white men. And yes, it is Finland and there isn’t a hugely diverse population. But it’s also 2010. People move. Also, women exist.
On the subject of seeing too many white men, we also saw too much of the white men. Specifically, we saw far too many old white male actors entirely nude. There was just no reason for this. These men were portraying elves. They didn’t have to be naked. If they were naked, they didn’t have to have, um, yule logs. Maybe elves are like Ken dolls. There were so many options that didn’t include so much old man wang.
Finally, I wish we’d seen Santa Claus. Not to spoil the ending, but he never actually emerges to attack anyone. And that feels like a cop-out. If we’re going to be teased the whole movie with this depiction of monster Santa, we should at least get to see monster Santa.
Though, after what they did with the elves, maybe it’s a blessing we didn’t see him.
In the end, Rare Exports was well worth watching. It was hilarious, creepy and bloody. And while it wasn’t perfect, it was a delightful holiday horror comedy.
(4 / 5)
Released in 2016, Christmas Crime Story is about a disastrous robbery on Christmas Eve, and all the many lives impacted by the selfish decisions of one person.
And then, suddenly, it isn’t. But we’ll get to that part.
The story
Christmas Crime Story is the tale of a Christmas Eve holdup gone wrong. We see the story from several points of view, starting with Chris, the detective first on the scene.
Chris is having a hard Christmas Eve. So, on his lunch break, he visits his mom at her diner. It appears that they have a contentious relationship. But nothing is solved in this quick visit.
Chris goes on to pull over a man speeding. When the man, named David, pulls over, Chris discovers something in the trunk. That something must have been pretty damn incriminating, because rather than open the trunk, David shoots him dead.
We then switch to David’s pov for the night. Then his girlfriend’s pov. Then, the man his girlfriend has been cheating on him with. And on and on we go, until we see how all of these different stories and people come together for a dark, sordid Christmas Eve.
What worked
The first thing I want to say about Christmas Crime Story is that it’s heartwarming. Like, to a fault, which we will be talking about.
The ending is very sweet, in a Christmasy sort of way. Families come together, people are filled with joy, and all is right in the world for almost everyone. Except for Lena, who deserves to have a bad Christmas, everyone gets a happy ending.
That brings me to my next point. The characters, mostly, are all deeply sympathetic. Even when David or James are killing people, you feel bad for them.
You don’t agree with what they’re doing, but you do feel bad.
You have to feel sympathetic for the man whose girlfriend hired a killer to merk him. Or the woman whose daughter has cancer. Or the guy who just can’t find work, even though he’s trying to make good decisions. You want things to work out for them. You want them to be okay. Even when they do terrible things.
Finally, I always love stories told from so many different points of view. It’s always fun to see a story unfold in a nonlinear way, but in a way that makes more and more sense as we get more points of view. It’s a hard thing to pull off, and I think Christmas Crime Story did it very well.
What didn’t work
Unfortunately, all of the sympathetic characters and clever storytelling methods in the world won’t save a story that doesn’t work. And Christmas Crime Story just does not work.
Let’s begin with the ending. The big twist near the end of the movie. I won’t spoil it, but you will for sure know it if you’ve seen the film. Or, if you waste your time watching the film.
As a rule, twists work when they make sense. Not when it feels like the writers threw up their hands and said, “Okay, but what if everything we just did for the last hour and fifteen minutes didn’t happen, and instead…”
This wasn’t clever. It wasn’t fun. It felt like the writers didn’t know how to end their movie and just decided to cheat.
Finally, I mentioned earlier that Christmas Crime Story was heartwarming. And yes, that is nice.
But is it maybe a little too heartwarming?
I mean, we have an adorable angel of a child with cancer. Her parents don’t have enough money for her treatment. We have two poor guys who are in love with a black-hearted woman. And we have a detective so sweet and kind that he makes you rethink ACAB. And, he’s about to get married to his pregnant girlfriend. And they’re naming the baby after his mom. And his name is literally Chris DeJesus. His mom’s name is Maggie DeJesus. I tried to think of a sillier less subtle name to use as a joke, and I literally couldn’t think of one.
They could have at least named him De La Cruz. That would be more subtle, and I still would have complained.
In the end, Christmas Crime Story just missed the mark. It came very close to being a good movie. But it focused too much on how it wanted you to feel, rather than telling a satisfying story that made sense. Much like that third glass of eggnog, it’s fun in the moment and regretful after. If you’re looking for a satisfying Christmas horror, I’d suggest looking elsewhere.
(2 / 5)
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Jennifer Weigel
June 28, 2022 at 10:22 am
Great review. I shall definitely add this to my watch list. This is why I wanted to watch the film Hatching. It also touches on some of the difficulties of being an adolescent girl, growing up, and the expectations that come with it. I am sorry the ending was rushed and didn’t continue on the same trajectory as it started after it seemed the show wouldn’t make it to a second season, that is truly unfortunate and a step backwards from where they started.