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If my last post did on the subject did not make it abundantly clear, my incredibly high hopes for “Wonder Egg Priority,” a show whose first few episodes were some of the most promising in recent memory, were dashed in almost record time. The mid-episodes of the series made it seem like it was taking a much slower pace, which would have been fine if it was a full two cours like its pacing might have implied.

However, this turned out to not be the case. By the end of episode 10, I was getting pretty worried, as it felt like the show had all but run out of time to produce a satisfying ending. The next two episodes, while having an idea of where they wanted to take the series, felt slap-dashed in the worst way possible, like watching a clip of car go from full speed and in control to slamming on the breaks and beginning a front end summersault across the highway.

Seeing this series progress pretty much exactly like those horse drawing memes was pretty sad to watch, especially when you consider the fact that “Wonder Egg Priority” was an anime original, and thus they had full control over the direction of the series. Now, given how incredibly messed up modern anime productions are in terms of workload, and that Cloverworks was also responsible for the incredibly poorly handled second season of “The Promised Neverland,” I cannot, in good conscious, put much of the blame of Shinji Nojima.

However, the reality is that, the show just did not turn out as great as it probably could have. What had the potential to be anime of the year is ended up being an above average series with some great animation and a solid score to boot. With all of that being said, It was announced shortly after the airing of episode 12 that the show would receive a special that would serve as the series end. So, did the “Wonder Egg Priority” special do anything for the series?

Meh? It feels really shitty that the first 20+ minutes of this 45 minute final episode was a recap of the series, especially when you consider that one, the was only 12 episodes to begin with, and two, it already had a recap episode right before the lead up to the final four episodes. Again, I want to clarify that I am not necessarily blaming Nojima, only that this decision makes absolutely no sense. There is simply no reason for it.

The special also did not feel like it ended the series. I do not want to give anything away for those who have not seen it, considering it only came out less than a week ago. Still, it would be hard to argue that what we got could even be considered an ending. It felt more so like the studio giving up on trying to tell a story.

Ok, I guess I’ll try some positivity. While it was still far from being satisfying in any way, the series did at least dole out some answers for the million questions its ending raised. However, I can say that there was a not insignificant amount of development in both Neiru’s and Frill’s backstory. In addition, though nothing appears to be confirmed, its ending did leave room open for other potential specials to come and fill in more of these holes. How likely that is given Cloverworks’ current trajectory is up for debate, but theoretically still possible.

The quality in other areas also stayed relatively stable. The animation stayed of a higher quality, though there was not a ton of action going on in the episode to begin with. The soundtrack, it must be said again, is absolutely superb. Producer De De Mouse’s music for this series is up there when it comes to anime soundtracks, as he takes the chaotic nature of “Wonder Egg Priority’s” plot and distills it into sound.

I am definitely not going to pretend like I am happy with how it turned out, nor am I going to ignore the moral failings of the production. This special, much like the main series, was just ok. Honestly, I do not know if I am even any better off having seen it, but now that its over, I feel ready to move on.

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How do you feel about “Wonder Egg Priority” and its special? Let me know in the comments below.

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