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Wonder Egg Priority is a show I started watching on a whim, the shows OP showed up in my YouTube recommendations and thought "Well the animation looks good, I guess I'll give it a watch."

Wonder Egg Priority is an incredibly interesting show with relevant themes that some may find overbearing or pretentious. I personally don't have issues with that though as what matters most to me is how loyal the show is to them and how they are explored. While I love this show, even I can tell that production issues plagued it's second half, resulting in a somewhat weaker product. That's not to say ... that Wonder Egg Priority is a bad show, I think still think it's fantastic actually, but it's likely not for everyone.

Story 7/10

It's difficult to talk about this shows story, as I believe it's best you go in not knowing too much. With that being said, the story builds a fantastic overarching mystery along with smaller archs that keep you just as intrigued. It should be noted that Wonder Egg Priority deals with heavy subject matter, but it deals with them respectively and in a way that the viewer can understand. One of Wonder Egg's main features is it's commentary on the systemic issues woman face today, saddling them with unrealistic expectations. If I had to describe it in a single sentence, I'd say that Wonder Egg is ultimately a coming of age story, showing that growing up can be so often depicted as something you should afraid of, but that mindset could be more harmful than anything else.

While the story starts off strong, after the recap in episode 8, the pacing takes a noticeable dip. Things move a little fast for my liking, and while the content itself is still fine, I feel as though the execution could have been a little better. This is an unfortunate result of the shows aforementioned production issues, but I'll elaborate more later.

If you're concerned about the shows content, you can find a list of trigger warnings on the website Does The Dog Die.

Art: 8/10

Chances are if you know one thing about this show, it's the animation you've seen on gif sets or YouTube videos. For the first nine or so episodes, Wonder Egg Priority's animation is sublime. It's rare that a show looks so good in stills and in motion, but Wonder Egg utilizes a number of animation techniques to make the show a joy to look at with both obvious stylistic choices and small details. Fights are short but extremely well paced and animated, momentum is built a carried over very well. The show's staff is fairly small, tight knit, and talented resulting in a fittingly vibrant colour palette that is willing to step back when the story calls for it.

However, the animation slowly declines right before the finish line. Episode 10 had a load of outsourced work, and while they did a fantastic job you can see cracks begin to form. For the two remaining episodes (which had to get their English releases delayed I might add.) the animation has a few rough patches. I still think it's an overall strength, but some scenes in the final episode just look kind of off.

The animation at it's best is an easy 10 though.

Sound: 8/10

Wonder Egg Priority's music is good. It manages to build the mood of each scene very well without being too in your face. The shows OP is a song titled "Sudachi no Uta" which is commonly sung during graduations, which I feel fits great with the overall themes of WEP. Also worth noting that the shows Sound Director Akiko Fujita worked on one of my favourite music videos of all time, Shelter.

Character: 10/10

The main cast of Wonder Egg Priority consists of four girls, Ai Ohto, Rika Kawai, Neiru Aonuma, and Momoe Sawaki. Each of them are distinct, three dimensional, and relatable in their own ways. The ways that each of them bounce of each other in their interactions make even the shows slowing scenes great to watch, watching them develop and cope with their past trauma and current issues is one of the highlights to the show. It's easy to relate or identify with at least one character in some form or fashion. I absolutely adore how they grow throughout the series, especially Ai. Her development and growing maturity throughout the show are an easy highlight.

The show's supporting cast is also strong, there's a sort of character of the week element in WEP, but each of the weekly characters have unique designs and personalities that make them stand out.

There are also a number of side characters that are developed in interesting ways. Shuichiro Sawaki for example is developed and framed very nicely through visual symbolism, atmosphere, and foreshadowing. Intriguing characters all around.

Enjoyment 10/10

Wonder Egg Priority is the first time I've come into a new show and watched the episodes as they came out week by week. Usually I watch shows that have already been completed, and when I have tried to watch with release I lose interest. Wonder Egg however, kept my attention the whole way.


Overall: 10/10

Wonder Egg Priority is the type of show that doesn't come along often. Wonder Egg's themes are extremely relevant to our world today, and I feel as though it says so much more than a simple "Suicide bad." message. If you are comfortable with the subject matter and don't mind the cracks in it's shell near the end, Wonder Egg is a brilliant watch.

With that being said , I don't think saying "end" at the moment is accurate, Wonder Egg's initial twelve episodes are done, but the story is not over. Since they had to burn an episode on a clip show due to the production schedule falling to pieces, there will be a special episode airing in June 2021 to continue the story. This is why I'm not treating the story as if it's finished, there's still some story to tell and arcs to wrap up.

So, if you're thinking about watching Wonder Egg Priority keep a few things in mind.

The subject matter can make some uncomfortable, but it is dealt with in a respectful and mature way. I will say this again, trigger warnings can be found on Does the Dog Die.

The symbolism can come off as in your face at times, and if that annoys you this will likely hurt your experience.

The series isn't complete, and you will need to wait until the end of June for the conclusion.

I really like this show, and while I've given it a 10, the cracks from the production fatigue are apparent. It's still a very good show that I'll remember fondly, but it's unfortunate a dedicated production crew making a passion project had to deal with the worst of these issues.

Shelter is the official music video for Porter Robinson and Madeons song of the same name. It's six minutes long and tells a nice contained story that resonates with the themes of the song it was made for both visually and in terms of narrative.

Story 8/10

Shelter is six minutes long and a music video foremost, so it's story doesn't get too much time to develop. With that being said, it's very well told and it's themes resonate very well with the song. I'll go more into detail about that in the sound section, but the story is nice told in the contained six minutes.

Art 10/10

Shelter ... is animated beautifully. There's a wide variety of shots and surreal imagery that add to the overall feel of the video. The colours also range from bright and vibrant to a little more dark and dreary, the variety is joyful to look at.

Sound 10/10

Shelter the song is fantastic, although you may not like it if EDM isn't your thing. Shelter also features a little bit of sound design and voice acting which is also strong.The music and video resonate beautifully thematically and visually. The colour palette shifts depending on the pace of the song, and the story's mood shifts during the slower bridge and the more upbeat chorus. Shelter is a song about family, and the large part parents play in the lives of their children. The day will come when your children need to go out on your own, but you must have faith that everything you've built for them, will stay with them long after you're gone.

Character 7/10

There are two characters in this music video. They're well designed and they get about as much development you can expect in a six minute music video.

Enjoyment 10/10

Shelter resonates with me on a personal level in so many ways. As someone who deeply values family, it's an extremely heartwarming story that I can tell came from the heart of Robinson and Madeon. They tour a lot, and so they've had to be far from their families, but even then they continue to be huge parts of their lives. It's comforting knowing that, even though you may grow further from your parents as you grow older, everything you've built together will remain special, and will help guide you into the future.

Overall 10/10

I love music videos that tell a story that resonates with the song thematically, and Shelter is no exception. It's varied art, strong story telling, and fantastic track all blend together beautifully.

Weathering With You is director Makoto Shinkai's followup to the smash hit film Your Name. When I went to see it I went in with the mindset that I wouldn't compare it to Your Name, as that would be unfair. But, without giving away too much, it's very difficult to separate the two when there are so many similarities in the way the story is structured. There's a lot to unpack here, so I'll split things off into sections.

Story 7/10

Runaway Hodaka Morishima runs away to Tokyo and quickly finds that life on his own is much harder than what he thought it'd be. Fortunately, he ... finds a job at a small publisher which allows him to get hit feet under him. Unbeknownst to him, a chance meaning with one Hina Amano will change his life forever. This type of story is something I've seen before, it's paced well and I never really felt bored while watching it. There are a couple side plots in the movie too, but I feel like they're either ignored or underdeveloped which is very unfortunate, because I was sort of digging them. Anyways, my main gripe with the main story mostly pops up in the ending. I won't give away much as not to ruin the experience, but it felt like it wrapped up a bit too quickly. The epilogue didn't have a big impact on me either, as it didn't really feel like a triumphant ending as much as a "Oh I guess it's over." I've found that, with the exception of Your Name, Makoto Shinkai has struggled to put together solid conclusions to otherwise solid movies, and that unfortunately continues here.

Art 9/10

C'mon it's CoMix Wave Films, you could expect nothing less from them. The animation in this movie is beautiful and they know it, there are a lot of scenes that just sort of pan back to show you the visuals and they all left be in absolute awe. You can also see the care taken in the animation in the rain drops, in previous films from this production company the rain was animated softly and as a beautiful thing. In Weathering With You, you can see that it's depicted as something much more aggressive and sporadic and it works beautifully. The only real problem I have with the art is the character designs, as they're fairly forgettable. Other than that, the animation is flawless.

Sound 10/10

Radwimps returns for this films soundtrack and they once again bring their unique style and compliment the film with it beautifully. Oh and another thing to note, I watched the English dub of this film. The dub is strong, there are some talented VAs on the cast with Alison Brie and Lee Pace. Voice directors Stephanie Sheh and Michael Sinterniklaas also return, and I feel as though they're two of the best in the business. Funnily enough, I feel like the two leads are the weakest links on the cast, but even then I think they do fine.

Character 5/10

Oh boy.

There aren't too many important characters in this film, off the top of my head I'd say there's maybe six. Of that six I was really only interested in two of them, Natsumi and Suga, while the rest of the cast left a fair bit to be desired. Hina and Hodaka are the leads and they fail to leave much of a lasting impression. Hina should be an interesting character, but she doesn't get nearly enough screen time and even borders on being a plot device as the movie goes on. Hodaka is a pretty generic main character, and his development isn't gradual. You could probably draw a fine line between "Early movie Hodaka" and "Late movie Hodaka". This was the most disappointing part of the movie for me, as the characters in a lot of Shinkai's previous films were well defined and likable, but I just don't see very much of that here.

Enjoyment 7/10

It was a good experience, despite the short comings it's a well crafted movie and you should give it a watch. Makoto Shinkai has come a long way since his earlier works, and I'm excited to see what he puts together next.

Overall 8/10

“High Score Girl: Extra Stage” is the sequel to the TV Anime “High Score Girl”. It chronicles the life of gamer Yaguchi Haruo growing up as a teenager in the mid to early 90s.

Story: 7/10

The story in itself isn’t anything too special in these three episodes. It wraps up the loose ends that were left behind by the initial 12 episodes. This includes Yaguchi’s final duel with Hidaka and the ever increasing strictness in Ono’s home life. It can get pretty cheesy at times but there’s some charm to it that will keep you interested.

Art: 8/10

One of the first things people probably see about this ... show is the strange art style. It uses CGI bodies with hand drawn heads and faces. It’s a strange combo but I didn’t find that it hurt the show. It actually started to grow on me if anything. I think the biggest positive I can give to the art is Ono’s expressions all throughout. She doesn’t have any dialog outside of non-verbal noises so her body language is all you have to go on. The studio has done a fantastic job at getting her emotions across as she’s very expressive.

Sound: 8/10

The intro and outro are superb. As for the the score during the show itself, they do a solid job at helping to build the atmosphere or mood of a specific scene. I never really felt like it chewed the scenery which is a good thing.

Character: 9/10

One of the biggest strengths of this show has always been the characters and that fact holds true here. Everyone in the show is lovable and memorable so I enjoy watching them interact with each other. I even enjoyed a couple of the new characters introduced within this OVA such as Ono’s sister.

Enjoyment: 10/10

What can I say? I’m a total sucker for all these video game references. The best part is that it never really comes across as if it’s forced or cringy, it does it’s own thing and I really enjoy it for that.

Overall: 9/10

“High Score Girl: Extra Stage” is an enjoyable affair that you’re sure to enjoy if you like slice of life. I especially recommend it if you have an affinity for retro video games as I do.

War is usually a tough topic to touch upon, but the topic has spawned some very strong works. 'In This Corner of the World" is no different, and I've gotta say it's probably one of the best you could get.

Story: 7/10

The story itself is fairly standard. It follows newly wedded Suzu Urano moving in with her spouses family and living through the tail end of the World War 2 years. The concept isn't anything too special but it gets the job done and that's all that really matters.

Art: 8/10

The films art style is a tad unorthodox, but it still remains visually appealing. You'll be treated ... to some nice backgrounds and the animation is good enough to get the mood of a scene across.

Sound: 9/10

Part of sound design is knowing when to have quiet moments and this films handles them very well. There isn't a whole lot of music in the film but it works in the films favour.The combination of the strong sound design and knowing when to be quiet really builds a strong atmosphere so you know how to feel through the film. I watched the dub of this film so I can't really comment on the Japanese voice acting, but the English voices left a little to be desired. They weren't bad but sometimes they just felt stilted.

Character: 10/10

The strongest part of this film for me was easily the characters. Suzu in particular really interests me and the way she changes over the year that the film takes place is quite astonishing to watch. The rest of the cast also manages to remain memorable, relatable, and most importantly: real.

Enjoyment: 10/10

I enjoyed this film a lot. I'm not usually one for the slow pace that this film sports, but when done correctly they can be some of my favourites. I'm happy to say that this film passed this with flying colours. The characters and their interactions kept me interested pretty much all throughout and I'm glad that the run time clocks in at such a great length as I just didn't want it to end. However I feel like the biggest thing that this move does it just how real it feels. When the war is going on it doesn't feel like it's rubbing you in the face. You know it's present but you aren't constantly thinking about it. I really like this because it makes the movie seem even more real. These aren't the people fighting the war, they're people who are caught in the middle just trying to live through a tough situation.

Overall: 10/10

"In This Corner of the World" is a masterpiece that I enjoyed from beginning to end. I urge you to give it a watch. It's on Netflix so if you have it that's your place to be.