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Apr 30, 2023
This quick review should be spoiler free.
I'll be trying to describe who I think can like this show and who should move to something else.
I'll start by saying that I read the manga until the last chapter at this date (54) and love it. So I know the story pretty well. And until now, what I can say about this anime adaptation is that Production IG completely nailed it. Animation, photography, sound, voices, music, direction: all is stellar and allows the anime to be an improved experience for mangas readers. The choices they made in the writing also give a great pace to the
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story by cutting some fat without losing anything meaningful.
I also appreciated that they didn't cut the most controversial topics of the manga in the anime. Indeed, I believe these parts of the story are necessary to remember that it is taking place in a time where the modern societies have essentially broken down, and the world of humans is essentially rule-less and amoral. The story never endorse these topics, or against them, in any way, they can just happen and actually do. The underlying message is on the contrary that some morals, rules and education are necessary for societies to work out well.
So who will like it?
To me, people who like character-driven stories, with multiple layers of interpretation, complex storyline and serious topics should like this show. Particularly if you like post-apocalyptic contexts and mysterious stories. If you dislike violence and suffering on screen like me, know that in this show, they are very much toned down and difficult scenes and topics are usually presented with restrain if not grace. We're not into violence porn here at all, and the general mood is usually more cheerful than anything since the main characters are pretty lively. People who like good production, particularly good animation and photography, will have a treat and the ones who like great characters should be satisfied with a large group of endearing, well embodied ones.
Who will dislike it?
The obvious first population is the ones who have difficulties handling some controversial topics, particularly sexuality. There's nothing close to pornography in this show but sexuality is presented generally without any kind of moral judgement in one way or another and that is obviously difficult to handle for some.
If you're looking for great fights and general action-driven stories, this should be a bit of a let down. There are actions scenes (and pretty goods ones, this is Production IG after all) but they're not close to be the meat of the show and some were even cut down compared to the manga. A good part of the show has some slice of life feeling.
If you like straightforward stories, with a more or less linear storyline, this is not for you. The show has at least two intertwined storylines, with an unclear timeline and many clues to understand the whole picture are spread far and wide in the story, making it a track game to fully understand.
If you like clearly cut genre, this won't fit. You have action, slice of life, some horror, underlying romance, science-fiction, mystery, all packed in one show. You need to go with the flow or you'll be disappointed.
For me, this will become the textbook of how to properly adapt a manga. The later was great, the anime is even better. Definitely the best show this year.
Great job, Production IG.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 19, 2022
I came to read this novel after watching the first episodes of the anime, as I was curious about the initial setup and thought that the novel could be richer. I was interested because it was depicting in a slightly roundabout way how a couple has to reinvent its relationship after the initial passion, and how that was possibly a difficult process with a lot in introspection and painfully revisiting past errors.
And in fact, that first 4 volumes do that job pretty well and allow us to dig deeper and deeper within the complicated relationship of Yume and Mizuto. Apart from some scenes that
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could have been skipped, there are very strong and well written moments. The whole series are particularly good during the scenes between the two main characters, where we can really have an insight of their thought processes, the difficulties they have to cope with their history together and the new situation. Unfortunately, this positive trend is definitely going downward with the 5th volume.
One of the reason is the Isana Higashira character, which is essentially a plot device to introduce a painful love triangle and pseudo-comic situation. The sheer amount of chapters dedicated to the usually pretty empty discussions between Mizuto and her moves us too far away from the main couple, whose management of their relationship was my main interest in the books, and these chapters are so repetitive with pseudo-erotic comments and comedy that I ended skipping them altogether.
In the last three books, we're also introduced to a plentiful of new characters from the Student Council, none of them being memorable in any way, but who take an increasingly large share of the chapters, moving us even further away from Mizuto and Yume. Book 8 is so filled with their vanilla stories that we barely have anything left to witness the two main characters 'evolution. Mizuto's character in particular, suffers from this situation, showing very limited development in 4 volumes out of 8 and looking very often like a total jerk.
If you had the fact that the writer came back to all the usual tropes of school slice of life romance (cultural festival, sport festival, summer festival, at least we were spared Valentine and new year), it unfortunately seems to be one of the numerous examples of a light novel when the writer lost it along the way.
There are still good chapters in books 6 to 8 (5 was essentially uninteresting) but I don't really know what to do with the upcoming releases. Book 9 seems to introduce Yume's father though, so hopefully it could be the equivalent for Mizuto that book 4 was for Yume and this one was definitely the strongest.
So there's still hope that it ends as well as it started.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 6, 2021
Trying to write if Wonder Egg Priority is good or bad is a difficult exercise, because most of the reasons why some will love this show are the very ones why others will loathe it.
My take will be to try to give some hints that will hopefully help you to decide if you're likely to like it or not. No need to waste 6 hours of your life if you're not a good candidate for this kind of shows.
This review should essentially be spoiler-free.
I believe you might like this show if:
1/ You're fine with non-linear storytelling
Wonder Egg Priority doesn't tell a story in a straightforward
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way. The plot inside a given episode will move from dream to reality and back, will not always present events in a chronological order, may show you how things really happened or how things were perceived by the involved character instead. There are always some hints to allow viewers to sort out this apparent mess, but it takes some thinking and possibly additional visions of the episode. This is made even more complicated because some topics that seemed very central in one episode can be basically forgotten after that, their resolution being only suggested by some hints two or three episodes down the line. It is a very sophisticated writing but it will put off a lot of people who don't want to turn a detective to enjoy an anime show, which is perfectly understandable.
2/ You're fine with having loose ends and unresolved topics
The show tends not to explain anything. A lot of events occur and there are here and there hints to understand why they took place, but it is very rarely strong evidence and almost always subject to interpretation. This can be frustrating to some but it also gives a powerful sense of reality and insecurity, as the watcher is almost as lost as the characters.
3/ You're fine with going with the flow
The writers obviously decided to play with the habits of anime viewers to categorize characters, behaviours and anime styles. They take a nasty pleasure to bait viewers with apparent evident behaviour or character type, just to fool them in the next episode. The fact is the show is completely unpredictable, always going where nobody will expect it to go, changing the mood, even the style along the way. Going in with a particular expectation will almost certainly be a frustrating experience, as the show will never be what you want it to be, it has its own path. You can only enjoy it, I believe, if you're willing to let go and accept wherever it'll bring you.
4/ You're fine with difficult subjects
Wonder Egg Priority brushes over many difficult topics, suicide of course, which is one of the main ones, but also all of the underlying reasons that may bring young people to this extent: rape, bullying, harassment, despair, and in a more general way how badly our societies tend to deal with females. It does so in a very modest way, never entering into graphic horror, but concentrating on the characters that endured the trauma. That's a very powerful and also very touching way of giving the possibility to talk, for people who, most of all, lacked the chance to be listened to when they were living. It does make the show sometimes very impactful and can be quite shocking. It is usually well balanced with lighter moments, but might still put off very sensitive viewers. How accurate this depiction of traumas may be is difficult to fathom. I can just say that all commentators I read, who claimed to have experienced some of the traumas described in the show, said it was very good at it, while none said the contrary. It seems to me a good indication that the writer did his homework properly.
5/ You're fine with multiple layers of symbolism
The show uses a lot of symbolism all along the way to convey some meanings. Each scene has obviously been given some thoughts on how to be framed and directed to be meaningful, and, although there is an obvious first layer that most people will find easy to decipher, there are many others that are a lot less obvious (check for instance the use of flower language described in various articles on the Atelier Emily blog). These lower layers give hints on interpreting what's going on or what some character said, usually illustrating the mood of the character or warning that what he/she says may not be the truth. You need to question whatever is shown, whatever is said, and not take anything at face value.
6/ You're fine with flawed characters
Characters in Wonder Egg Priority are essentially traumatized ones, and as such, they're usually not frank with themselves, let alone with others. They may not actually lie but have just incorrect views on many subjects, because they are biaised, because they are not knowledgeable enough, because they can't face some truth. In short, they are very real. They are at best unreliable storytellers and everything any of the characters say must be questionned and evaluated with the little information we have. This led to some controversies about specific sentences in some episodes, coming from the fact that too many viewers are taking them at face value. Most if not all characters can also be frivolous, unfair, real cowards. They're not heroes.
Wonder Egg Priority is a show like none other, for good or bad. Some viewers will see references to some other animes but that's because they concentrate on one episode or one aspect of the show. I find some similarities with Paranoïa Agent by Kon Satoshi, but that's probably just the non-linear storytelling, both shows are quite different in most other aspects. The truth is that it combines many elements coming from many sources in a very unique way. As such, it takes some radical stands, and I hope that the above hints will help you to decide if you should give it a try.
As for me, this is definitely my prefered show ever. I liked how I've been constantly surprised, moved, sometimes shocked, without ever relying to cheap tricks. I liked how the girls feel real and indeed 14-years old. I liked how all the difficult subjects are presented very delicately, without moral or judgement, but also without shying away from the painful truth. I liked how the edition and direction show a lot of attention to details. I liked how the animation so exquisitely renders teenagers movements and attitudes. I liked the usage of music and the direction of the voice actors. I liked the whole ambition of the project.
But I guess I'm right in the middle of the target audience for this show.
Hope it helps.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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