Wonder Egg Priority

Wonder Egg Priority (Japanese: ワンダーエッグ・プライオリティ, Hepburn: Wandā Eggu Puraioriti) is a Japanese anime television series created and written by Shinji Nojima, and directed by Shin Wakabayashi. Animated by CloverWorks, it is a co-production of Aniplex, Nippon Television, and D.N. Dream Partners, which aired on Nippon TV and other channels from January to March 2021. Additionally, a special episode was released in June of that year. The series centers on Ai Ohto, a teenage hikikomori who stops attending school following her friend’s suicide. After discovering a 'Wonder Egg,' she enters a dream world where she and three other girls—each mourning a lost friend—fight grotesque "Wonder Killers", manifestations of trauma linked to suicides. Their goal: resurrect their friends by protecting victims in this surreal realm.

Wonder Egg Priority marked Nojima's first anime project, following his work on live-action dramas. Seeking to reach younger audiences and explore stories impractical for live-action, he conceived it as a coming-of-age tale blending live-action realism with anime fantasy. Nippon TV producer-recommended debut TV anime director Wakabayashi assembled a team of mostly inexperienced young animators to realize this vision.

Initially praised by Western critics for its production quality, narrative complexity, and sensitive treatment of difficult themes, Wonder Egg Priority garnered more polarized reviews after its finale. The eleventh episode's focus on a new character's backstory and the special episode's conclusion drew particular criticism. Industry observers noted the production's struggles—an inexperienced team and tight schedule necessitated recruiting foreign hobbyist animators online to complete episodes, with some critics linking these challenges to the inconsistent reception.