The Story Behind Anime's Worst Ending Ever

[@AnimeSlushie]

This essay is so well put together, you did a fantastic job! It's real vindicating to see someone go in-depth on the reaction to Egg and how so many people missed the writer's whole deal, it drove us mad at the time lol Also thank you for the shoutouts! And sorry about our ASV takes leaking through, we really should have been polite and contained those to an ep with a warning up front 😅 - Phoenix

[@Shin_Kyo]

This video wouldn't be half as good as it turned out to be if not for your entire series on Wonder Egg and especially that follow up video which really helped me understand how ridiculous the contents of that interview actually were. Also, there's no need to apologize about your asv takes, I didn't mean to use those takes as an insult towards you, it was just meant to be a quick joke leading into the conclusion. I hope you continue to flame asv and especially ruby [whenever the opportunity arises] in your future episodes ^^

[@mega17]

Anime Slushie! Love you guys! Listened to the WEggP podcasts when they first aired. Loved every second of it. Super thankful for the citing of that delusional interview. Cheers to media literacy.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

Finish RWBY already you cowards. If the show is cancelled you might as well finish what you started considering your channel only exists because you decided to review RWBY. Your lack of views when you talk about other shows kinda indicates that. And the fact you dropped it for kinda hypocritical, virtue-signalling reasons annoys me. Rooster Teeth bad for exploiting workers but not anime studios? You still watch anime despite its well-known history of abusive labor conditions. Seems you also did it to look good during the Kdin Jenzen controversy but once again, you still review anime. Kdin isn't exactly a victim when they happily shilled RT until they got fired and were known for saying slurs themselves. It's also weird to drop the show now because of crunch and other abuses when you started with Volume 6 that was only a year after the negative Glassdoor reviews accusing RT of crunch and after employees were overworked on V5 because of Grey diverting funds and manpower to Gen:Lock. I sincerely doubt you didn't know. I'm mad mainly because I loved your reviews of the show and it was nice to find decent people critiquing this show when most discourse surrounding RWBY is full of bigoted shitstains. So forgive me for being mad you dropped the show for shoddy reasoning right before V9 came out and there was all that homophobic bullshit surrounding the Bumblebee kiss. I honestly think you were just mad about how Penny was handled and despite that reasoning still being a little silly it'd be more acceptable than the reasons you actually gave.

[@beatriceh.5666]

​@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 you realize they do this podcast for fun, right? they started because they had fun criticizing rwby, and they stopped because they stopped having fun criticizing rwby. beyond the controversies, beyond what you see as virtue-signaling... they didn't want to do it anymore. cube and feen have no obligation to you, me, or anyone else in that regard.

[@whereditallgo]

@@ChangedMyNameFinally69 This is a bizarre take and an even more bizarre place to drop it 🤨 We were pretty clear that we knew RT was a shit place to work from the start of our coverage, but the testimony from Kdin and the dozen or so other ex-employees was a massive step up from the glassdoor reviews. We were also quite open about Volume 8 draining our enthusiasm for the show, in particular what happened to Penny - we hardly hid that. It was a key reason we gave up on top of what we learnt about RT's working environment. Also yeah, the anime industry has appalling working conditions, but I'm not aware of any studio we've covered where the conditions were as deeply toxic as at Rooster Teeth. I'd also note that when we learnt a domestic abuser was a key crew member on an anime production we were going to cover (RWBY: Ice Queendom) we dropped it. I'd go on, but I've already said more than I'd like to a person who accused us of insincerity and 'virtue signalling.' I guess I'm sorry we weren't there to say Volume 9 was nonsense and homophobes suck, but honestly I don't think it needed saying that badly.

[@vivishii_]

I will NEVER forget the feeling I had while watching the first episode of Wonder Egg. It was so incredible, it looked amazing, it felt so unique. It left such an impression on me that I then made every single one of my friends watch it too, and we'd all watch the newest episode together every week after then. The stunned silence as we all watched the final episodes, and then the movie... It was just... It felt like trusting someone with a secret you'd never told anyone, and then waking up the next morning to it being plastered all over the school lockers like it's a shitty american high school movie.

[@linesmakeshapes]

What an excellent metaphor for that feeling. Omg. You put it so perfectly into words.

[@fool4343]

i feel kinda bitter about it. like the story has so much potential even if we leave frill in. what if she was a sort of patient zero? what if she initiated this weird dreamlike world where everyone can be saved (and what if it would be to naught because they all are already gone? or if their soul would be truly saved?) or maybe her dads would create the world to try and save her and the main girls would instead work to save her, thinking they were saving their lost friends? also also i wanna comment on the bit of the interview where its said "boys have more logical reasons to kill themselves, like bullying!" when its literally an emotional reason?? like?? bullying makes people feel bad?? what is the logic behind it exactly??

[@lunaivse7028]

I felt so empty by the end of it.. like they chose to bring the story in this direction, away from the wonder egg girls and more to frill's/the mc's constant trauma, but why, WHY end it like that. It was done so terribly, and it's even more crushing how their is no manga, nothing to complete it, even though it was barely reaching in to the 'real' story.

[@devonbotney2762]

It is both one of my favorite and least favorite anime. It feels like one of those shows you say "I fucking loved that anime but I don't recommend watching it" which is so confusing but makes sense in context

[@KadenFinity]

fr

[@thepaintingbanjo8894]

Wonder Egg Priority: hooks you with toilet paper in the first episode, then it shits the bed near the end

[@rubyy.7374]

I heard from an animator for the show that some animated sequences were being submitted only 24 hours before the airing of the final episode. Just thinking about that gives me anxiety. 😬

[@kiuxex4875]

To be fair, this isn't uncommon for anime.

[@てるお-m9u]

It is very rare that a new broadcast slot called "Special" is prepared and given the opportunity from the original production slot of 12 episodes. It is said that animators' schedules are usually set for a year or more in advance. It is important to keep in mind that the participation of the main animators for "Special," which was produced in only three months, is difficult, and the production system is quite unreasonable. What they can do is quite limited. The one-hour slot was allotted, but not all of it could be filled. I think the problem lies with the people who wanted to give them a "special" slot to finish the program in the first place. However, the creators do not make direct excuses. They cannot complain about being given the opportunity. They still made choices based on their priorities in the given situation and tried to create a closure to the story. I can only thank them for their great passion, but I cannot criticize them. Critics who do not take a serious look at what is being depicted often try to create a "bad guy" in the creator. But that is a mistake. If the second season had been popular enough to make a second season in the first place, I don't think it would have ended in this way. If this is the case, it means that we, the fans, did not have enough power after all.

[@TheRealSpaghettini]

one of the episodes had literally released a few hours late due to production problems

[@svoloch125]

The teacher being a good guy all along could have been a good twist and played straight if they actually went into the background of the character more. Like I don't know, make him a guy who has problem empathizing with and relating to people, and that's why he looks creepy / emotionless, which made him a bully when he was young and didn't understand any better and resulted in one of his victims minecrafting themself, so he went into teaching to redeem himself by trying to talk to bullied kids, but since he is kinda shit at the whole people thing he just came of as creepy kiddy chaser scaring them away and only exasperating the issue.

[@АлександрСыч-л3г]

Who the fuck call suicide "minecrafting" AGHAGAHGHAHAHAHAH

[@xdjc7066]

Exactly what i think

[@KhanMann66]

When you came up with a better background for the teach than the original author himself that speaks volumes of how shit of a writer he is.

[@thesleepyfable3902]

To me the problem wasn't that the story revealed the teacher to just be a normal man who happened to fancy Ai's mum or the reason why her friend committed suicide, because stories of this have happened in real life, but more the fantasy take. Why have Frill suddenly be an antagonist? Why have one of the girls be revealed to be a clone? There's no foreshadowing of this. It just happens and we have to accept it. The last few episodes perfectly show why fantasy has a reality problem in writing. We don't need to know everything. The teacher twist was done well because we're seeing it through Ai's perspective, making her an unreliable narrator. The final lesson and theme of the story should be like Orpheus' tragedy: You can't bring people back from the dead.

[@mega17]

So, you didn't watch the video to the end? Because the reason you cite is just a symptom of the writer's delusional sexism and sensationalism.

[@WiqidBritt]

In a vacuum I'm not upset with the idea that the teacher isn't a bad guy, sure he's maybe done some things that could be questionable, but the creepy framing of him could've been just because we're seeing him through Ai's lens and she's suspicious of him but doesn't actually know what happened. But then all of this other shit from the writer comes out, and the other shows he's made in the past kind of indicate that he's kind of a creep himself and it just feels gross.

[@TexasCat99]

The teacher "being a good guy"? That seemed to be based on what the teacher told Ai. We see that he's done questionable things. Hanging around her mom seemed creepy. Him explaining to her what happened to her friend, when there were no "witness" to her falling - yet its a MYSTERY? There were at least 4 students shown on the roof. Yet they didn't see her actually fall. The teacher didn't tell his fellow staff about her threats? So, take the position he lied to Ai about what happened, and it makes more sense.

[@TwilightWolf032]

I haven't watched the show, but I have watched a bunch of people describing the show in their essays. It feels like someone hijacked the entire production after episode 7, and that's why 8 is a recap, it must have been a symptom of the turmoil going on behind the scenes.

[@edarddragon]

the story really dididnt make any sense by the end

[@allahneaaoaooa4230]

As someone who has been through bullying, I can safely say that this program was something that helped me in that moment. The fear of people and other issues that were discussed were so close to me and showed me that I am not the only one going through this.

[@aeriszona]

I absolutely adore Wonder Egg Priority, but it was handled so badly towards the end that it hurts....

[@mega17]

Please watch the video to the end. It was mishandled from the beginning. Not just towards the end. Once you know what to look for, once you know what the sole writer said, everything episode 2+ is plain as day as dripping with disconnect of themes, framing, and writing. The writer is a sexist hack.

[@てるお-m9u]

@@mega17 If the attempt to portray girls "as girls" is prejudiced, then many other "character exaggerations" in other creations are created with prejudice. Are you outraged by every single one of them? In the WEP story, Frill was created as a result of Acca and Ura-Acca's idea of "creating a girl to be a girl," which is a disaster for Acca and Ura-Acca. If the two men's lines are based on Nojima's prejudice, then the narrative is dealing with that prejudice in a self-mocking way. In other words, the story does not portray the prejudice in a positive way, but in a negative way. To take one part of the story and attack the author for being sexist is just an attempt to provoke feelings of hatred that miss the point. It is merely an attempt to distract from the part of the story that should be watched by manipulating feelings toward the creator. That is not a fair attitude.

[@Hideyoshi1991]

@@てるお-m9u the writer just created shock value slop. Taking heavy topics like suicide and sexual abuse and treating them with the same care as kill la kill's girl gets stronger the more revealing her clothing is is going to piss a lot of people off for good reason.

[@cactusthecactus]

@@mega17 bro got annihilated 💀

[@bunabye27]

It's genuinely so upsetting to me to hear about the writer's sexism and use of trauma for shock factor, because this anime felt so special to me when I started watching it, as someone who went through abuse. I felt seen. I had never seen anyone talk about these topics so seriously and openly. ( Especially when anime like to casually brush off SA or use it as a joke a lot of times. ) Even the whole deal with the teacher made sense to me, because if you are a kid who experiences trauma, your judgement gets messed up, and it feels exactly how Ai did. Not knowing if you're just noticing things that aren't there or not. It's almost like he got close to making a heartfelt story about real world issues, before remembering he's only traumatizing his characters for shock factor, because in his words, only men commit logical suicide, and women only act on their emotions.

[@Rawriify]

I am SO glad the YT algorithm decided to serve me up this video!! I watched this as a simulcast, and when the Kaoru episode aired, I was downright repulsed. The weird comment about girls committing suicide because of emotion was bad enough, but I couldn't believe the writer would take an opportunity to include a trans character, only to use him as tragedy porn., which is pretty much what this show came down to. There's also some weirdness about gender there, like, Kaoru is a trans boy, but his suicide is treated as that of a girl within the show's rules... Anyways, great video about this show without downright insulting it. Great job!!

[@rivergoeson5607]

Also, the way they dealed with his gender was also just so rushed. Every other girl up until that point had enough time screen for us to understand what they went through, but there was so much shit going on his life at the same time that the trans reveal felt almost like a last minute decision - and this is coming from a trans person. It would be so cool if Kaoru's trauma was "split", with one girl having the S/A trauma and him keeping the gender questions. It would also make his conversation with Momoi feel a lot more rewarding and wholesome. But nahhhh...

[@OpheliaTerat]

I think they should've had a different character have the SA trauma and just have the reasoning for his suicide be a mix of gender dysphoria, insecurity, his parents and peers not supporting him, and discrimination. Maybe they should've also made him a trans girl instead since him being a boy breaks the show's rules. Also the comments on his Fandom wiki page are awful lmao

[@rivergoeson5607]

@@OpheliaTerat I don't think it "breaks" the shows rules, as much as the writer himself doesn't seem to care about these rules. Wonder Egg was amazing to me because it felt like these people cared about these topics. But the whole thing about "girls committing suicide just because they're emotional" kind of just showed their true colors. None of the problems they showed up until that point were "serious" to their eyes. Only silly, common things that a girl overreacted to and killed herself because. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't had any regard for Kaoru's gender at all, and just included this whole aspect of his character because they basically forgot about Momoi and had to do something for her.

[@KarolOfGutovo]

And him ending up in the "emotional girly suicide" afterlife is just...

[@ivello]

​@@OpheliaTeratI thought that him "breaking the show's rules" was kind of intentional, showing that the two guys didn't understand gender at all, but apparently the writer agrees with them so i probably gave him too much credit

[@kixi8033]

It sounded like the author was trying to say that a man killing himself because of bullying is logical but if a woman did it for the same reasons, she's emotional/illogical.

[@robertnomok9750]

Well its kinda is? If man gets bullied he has nothing to lose. No one will help him. Its either kill or die yourself. If girl gets bullied she can always just get a pity from some guy and use him to uplift herself. At wost she can become egirl and earn thousands selling feet pics. Women have an easy life. Just find enough simps and become their queen,

[@Crowevnc]

​@@robertnomok9750are you brain dead

[@Manakyn]

Just wanted to jump in and add a bit to the conversation. To me, personally, it sounded like he worded what he was trying to say either incredibly poorly or misinterpreted himself. One well known statistic is that women attempt sewer-slide at a much higher rate than men, but men succeed in sewer-slide at a much higher rate than women. If I try to give the author as much of the benefit-of-the-doubt that I am able to (poor wording, mistranslations, etc.), it is possible that men's "logical" sewer-slide could be from the interpretation that their much higher attempt-to-success ratio indicates they turn to sewer-slide in only the most severe cases. It's not a "bad" interpretation of the facts, and it is known that women are more likely to turn to sewer-slide using less deadly means (e.g., pills vs. a gun). Perhaps his statement is just very poorly phrased.

[@the_hipe_404_notfound]

@@Manakyn tbh even with that its still sound sexist , I think no amount of context can save this 😭🙏

[@Manakyn]

@@the_hipe_404_notfound I think that's fair. I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but it is definitely difficult to do so with his statements.

[@lemonZzzzs]

A girl's suicide starts off a story of a quirky shut-in girl in a series of weird, sometimes surreal occurrences, and an internet-connected mysterious artificial girl may be behind it? I liked this better when it was called Serial Experiments Lain. Great job on the video essay though. Really well organized and presented!

[@underthepale]

And even that series had issues... I still love it, though.

[@LKHooray]

It is so strange to me that writers can get so overlooked in anime. With what you pointed out, he tried to just focused his style into working instead of asking around or doing research himself. It's also so odd to more blame production, when how on earth do you think they are somehow remaking his written works into not good writing? I see far more anime having middle of the road writing that get brought up to a 10/10 because the art brings it up a level to really get people emotionally connected. This anime is that. The art and designs are amazing and as you said the staff at clover were just left to do as they please which made so much more of the weird writing get a pass like the comment about girls being overly emotional and boys being logical. If this was more boringly made, it would not have been as possible because the writing couldn't make up for it like in most anime really when they try to save on time and work. But instead you had a team that were just as in the dark as us thinking this anime deserved the effort, and sadly they were burnt for that. It's very sad, and I'm really getting sick of the over worked being blamed all the time in these cases. I truly hope the best for all the staff and studio!

[@Snormite]

There was a comment like that in the anime?

[@LKHooray]

@@Snormite ..... Ya dude? The guy shows it in the video it's not a mystery

[@katidoj]

my best friend killed herself when i was 16 and i've always felt responsible because i meddled in something that ended up being her last straw, and watching this show felt like an act of self-harm, but i kept doing it. this show felt so personal to me but watching it was so genuinely emotionally painful that i'd bring me to tears after almost every episode. it wasn't until the episode with the trans guy in it (as a trans guy myself with similar trauma) that i realized i was using this show as a way to emotionally and continually hurt myself, because even years after her death i still feel that crushing weight of her suicide being my fault-- and i stopped watching as soon as that fucked up scene with kaoru. it's oddly reassuring, cathartic, even, to hear this show flopped.

[@junyan2811]

[@PathBeyondTheDark]

I sometimes feel the same way. If the premise includes something close to home I tend to skip it for fear of torturing myself. I have even watched things that seemed fine at first, only for it to get to an event or subject matter close to me, depicting it all to real and I have to shut it off. Some are comforted by the representation, others just don't want to relive it. I hope you are able to heal and move passed your trauma, if you have not already. I wish you well.

[@katidoj]

@@anananananananananananananana i never said i was happy, i said i was relieved. i watched this show as a form of self-harm, hearing it ended up becoming universally regarded as having one of the worst endings just brings me an odd, cathartic sense of relief i can't really explain the logistics of. maybe because i don't have to worry about seeing this anime pop up everywhere in praise when already my mind has equated it to the proverbial knife i hurt myself with?

[@tteoke]

i feel you, to be honest - i read a lot, and some things i rather appreciate being included, because it feels like no one else has ever felt that way, and its lovely to feel like im not alone, but other things? it'd be better for me to not engage in them, because all they do is remind me of something im going to panic and spiral over ive also had to stop engaging in a lot of works when i realise im just using it for self harm, and ive been much better for it

[@gilgamesh9698]

it had SUCH a good start. i remember seeing the scene with the See No Evils for the first time and was blown away. instantly hooked. then the..gore fest that was the self-harm sequence a few episodes later was one of those bits that just... causes a viceral reaction.. it really feels like they had expected a season 2 and didn't get it over them just fucking up this bad but shit. Honestly, i don't think they COULD have saved it with a season 2 with how they played out the fast.. four episodes.

[@MillyKKitty]

If I could be the writer of Wonder Egg Priority, the real villains/antagonists of it would be the 2 creators of Fritz. Their way of creating, nurturing and treating Fritz would be based on their lack of understanding on identity, sexism & objectification. Fritz cannot physically grow nor is she being let to grow emotionally, which she subconsciously despises but fears abandonment from her fathers. These subconscious feelings would meet a breaking point once one of her fathers marries a woman and she expects a baby girl. Because of the limits raised and created within Fritz by her dads, she goes with the emotional and impulsive solution to her fear of being replaced by the new girls. Her fathers, refusing to acknowledge their own flaws that created Fritz's issues, ignore her needs and lock her up in a box, where her body would slowly deteoriate and shut down. However, Fritz's mind, in a last desperate attempt to escape the isolation, finds a way to escape into the internet through the wifi near her. But because of the limitations of her new "being", only her subconscious manifests, and she tries to find a way back to her original body, which is the reason why unwell teenage girls fitting her programming connect to her while dreaming. Meanwhile in the real world, the daughter of one of her fathers survives but lives only to her teenage years, like in the original story. However, the cause of her passing would be those unresolved flaws within the two fathers that caused Fritz to go through the same pain. Yet they pin her passing onto Fritz somehow connecting to her within dreams, and it inspires their whole company of looking into the passings of girls and dreams, instead of actually preventing the issues that caused them in the first place. And the dream versions of the two would actually just be Fritz's subconscious demons that every Wonder Egg girl has. The narrative of Wonder Egg Priority is a subconscious manifestation of negative values & expectations people put on 'girls', or whoever Fritz's versions of her fathers consider 'girls' as they view the world only from a biased biological and traditional lens (yikes). Half of the series would be our main characters saving girls, who have passed on, from weird exaggerated manifestations of their trauma, while also believing the information from the fake fathers, that they can bring someone back from the death. At half-way mark, viewers learn Neiru has been working for the Dream company and we meet the real fathers, who tell the characters about Fritz and hire them to hunt her down. The later half would be about our characters realizing that the passing of the 'girls' had nothing to do with Fritz, and slowly the exaggerated manifestations hunting Wonder Egg 'girls' would turn human, and our characters would stop getting hurt for them since the originals are already dead, and they can't actually do anything for them anymore. The ending conclusion would either end with them letting Fritz's subconscious pass on while understanding the real main cause to her situation, or saving her from both of her literal and figurative fathers' control and giving her autonomy physically, mentally and emotionally by giving her a body simiral to Neiru's. It is a bit trickier to decide, since I think it would be more themetically fitting for the main characters to help someone still living with their issues instead of chasing ghosts like the fathers did.

[@shii9470]

i really like this angle. it's a lot more sympathetic with frill while not detracting from the points established in the earlier half of the series. i especially enjoy how the finale with frill was basically, "be yourself." in today's age, a lot of people do die from not being able to live as their true selves. the fact the girls were able to help frill be herself shines a light on how friends are very critical in letting a person figure themselves out. overall, i would've been pleased if this was the direction that was taken during the production of wonder egg opportunity

[@NoReplyAsset]

the one thing that stuck with me about that sexist remark about male vs female suicides was: what is a "logical suicide?" what does it mean that a "man commits suicide for a logical reason?" there's no such thing. there is never a logical reason to take one's own life.

[@KirbyIsCute]

It's really a weird take. Did the creator really think a man will go, "I can't take this pain and suffering anymore, I'm going to end it - but in a logical way, of course." What the f?

[@Omicron9999]

Sure there is. If your life sucks and things are never gonna get better, why continue to suffer? Terminal cancer is a pretty damn good reason. Your entire career being completely destroyed and your name ruined is another. Some people suicide over breakups. Some just plain hate life in general. Everyone loves to harp on the 'suicide bad, please don't end yourself when you have so much to live for!' cliche, and yet people still do it every day, so if everyone is saying that, then at least some of them are being disingenuous. A few months ago, someone who used to be a close friend of mine committed suicide. Just a few weeks before she'd actually talked someone else out of an attempt. But things were bad enough in her own life that whatever she felt was overwhelming enough to make her do it to herself. I don't judge her for it. It's not my place to say whether she was or wasn't justified in taking her life that way. I'm not her. What I feel isn't what she felt. People have their reasons for doing anything. Even something that seems illogical or insane to everyone else might make perfect sense to an individual in a bad situation. Dying hurts the ones left behind, but living hurts those who are suffering. Which is more selfish - to end your life for personal reasons and hurt everyone who loves you, or to force someone to remain when their situation is bad enough to make them consider ending it all? Sure, one hurts more people and you could make the argument that 'the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.' I'm not sure it'd make all that much difference to someone at their lowest point. I'm not glorifying suicide or saying 'just do it' or anything. I'd say don't get me wrong but most of the people reading this will have already made up their minds regardless, so whatever. I'm just saying there's reasons. And maybe we shouldn't be so quick to judge or say there's always another way. Sometimes there isn't. Reality is cruel like that. I'm just not not arrogant enough to decide what's best for people who have had enough. Think what you want. You'll get it when you're older.

[@senpaisniper2796]

​@@Omicron9999Those feelings of despair don't define you as a person, they're not what make you, you! And men do get emotional, that is just a fact. Also what if a woman was in a life or situation that was abusive or violent? It goes both ways.

[@KirbyIsCute]

@@Omicron9999 I'm actually approaching my 40's soon. I guess I can be childish with childish thoughts despite my age and yes - men and women are wired differently in some ways - but in the end of the day we are not a different species. We all have emotions, thoughts and feelings but men are usually forced to hide theirs. Too often they hear, 'man up' or 'act like a man' when they want to express their feelings and vulnerability. Currently it's been recorded that statistically the rates of suicide is higher for men than it is for women. Again, this could be because when a man often tries to reaches out they get shut down but for a woman they are usually often more heard and treated more seriously about their pain. Not saying it is always like this but it's kind of how society seems to be with the difference how they treat men and women when they are suffering. I'm sorry what happened to your friend, I truly am. And if I was in your situation maybe I would have hold the same opinion. I've been told that some people are happy to accept death as it means the pain will finally end. What is best, maybe I don't know for sure but if the slightest chance things can get better, then I would hope one keeps fighting.

[@samykalacelle8143]

@@Omicron9999 Its difficult to understand because its false… “ Woman tend to do it for more emotional reason, men for reasons related to their life or situation” What??? Do you think woman don’t do it for reasons related to their life or situation??? Id say its the opposite and studies shows I’m right. About twice as many woman experience depression, but men commit more suicide with the most common cause being of depressions. So statistically and factually speaking, men are far more likely to commit suicide because of their emotions and woman are far more likely to commits suicide for events happening in their life such spousal abuse, sexual abuse and such. Also, pointing out how genders are difference isn’t wrong as long as the context demands it but the way your phrase it makes it obvious it was just misogyny/Transphobia.

[@Shin_Kyo]

This video took 2 months to make from its research and editing. It was supposed to be a quick little video making fun of the disaster that is wonder egg's ending but then I decided to investigate a little bit into how exactly we got to that special episode only to realise that almost everyone is wrong about the entire situation because what I found was both fascinating and ridiculous to say the least... I really hope you enjoy this video and comment below your thoughts on wonder egg^^

[@KukuMomsHouse]

I really liking these kind of videos of yours which let us know what's going on behind the screen. You are doing great brother... You kind of remind me of HitReg another KZbinr that make these kind of video.

[@BananaAreKool]

Talk about the disaster of jojos ending next 😭

[@Zetsubou738]

The phone throwing cut near the end cracked me up

[@seekittycat]

The writer is an award winning TV writer who is well known for having talking about real dark things. In Japan where people hide problems people found him shocking. His fame is based off young women suffering. Like imagine he wrote a show about teen pregnancy- which is important, she'll go into an hospital with doctors who all abuse her, then she'll get sold into an abusive marriage by her parents, then she'll escape and get kidnapped by child traffickers, then they'll force her to go to this school where she will be abused by all the student and teachers too. This show can be like 100 episodes long. It's like all dark topics for young women that need attention, but as it keeps going it just feels wrong.

[@nonsensicalabyss]

So basically torture porn involving young women. Got it.

[@maxiargos1971]

So....The creator of the series is just a Japanese version of Sam Levinson. For those who do not know who that is, Sam Levinson is the one who made, 'the idol' and 'Euphoria'. Plus I wish I was you if you do not know him or these shows.

[@darkcrydotmrihavetoomanyst1440]

The idol was such a shitty show

[@TheThreatenedSwan]

I don't. I didn't even follow this anime because it seemed too melodramatic and neurotic

[@loli_cvnt5622]

Naaah, not enough sexualized usually serious themes and teens Oop, nevermind, there's his other projects

[@alicianelson1252]

What is it with media portraying teenage girls like they are in control of everything

[@alinashard8967]

OH god, the sexist remark, i thought it was sexist to show that the character saying it was slimy and untrustworthy but holy SHIT the fact that its the writers opinion??? and he put it in to a grey area creepy character??????????????? what????????????

[@McPyore]

?

[@alinashard8967]

@@McPyore The sexist remark that the like, sack guy says about womens suicide being emotion driven, i thought it was put there to be like "look how slimy and morally ambiguous these mysterious guys are" but it seems to be something that the writer actually agrees with, which is crazy

[@Hetsu..]

@@alinashard8967 That anime clip wasnt even sexist, its just the writers latter comment is so strange and open ended, what the fuck is he even saying.

[@Nan01987]

You guys are fucking stupid, it's not sexist in the slightest, it's literally just psychology, male and female suicides *are* different, that doesn't mean they don't overlap

[@Evidoll]

Something inside me felt DISGUSTED when you arrived at: "In the case of men I think there are logical reasons why they commit ---. (...) But when it comes to girls it might be strange to call it a feeling." WOW. JUST WOW.

[@sarafontanini7051]

because of course being bullied has nothing about emotions, because MEN aren't affected by emotions, not like weak, dainty women. what a dickhead.

[@sidney9796]

yeah for real - really goes to show some men truly dont believe women capable of having complicated inner lives. and that little comment about men "really being bullied" makes me sick

[@Evidoll]

@@sidney9796 The scariest thing, I think, it's not even the assumption that woman are incapable of having complex relationships, but the complete disregard for them having FEELINGS.

[@Evidoll]

@@sidney9796 Like, some men really have a HARD TIME seeing girls as the same species as them, huh? This is super creepy.

[@Mikumo91]

Yeah, that dude got something realllly wrong. There are studies suggesting that male and female suicide attempts differ in nature, (men actually want to die while women use it as a cry for help - but this is not a rule), but what this dude wrote is just nonsense.

[@rivergoeson5607]

The moment episode 8 was mentioned, I felt a chill running down my spine. I still remember the day I watched that episode like it was yesterday, specially the scene where the boy started undressing in front of his abuser. I started crying and shaking uncontrollably, begging for him to stop and get out of there. I had to pause the episode out of panic. To this day I have no clue why I reacted like that, but God that episode was terrifying as fuck because of how real the whole situation felt. ...Sure is AWESOME that it ended up with a psychedelic death scene for the alligator pokémon overshadowing everything else.

[@Shizkeb]

touch grass it’s fiction 💀

[@rivergoeson5607]

@@Shizkeb It's a topic that makes me uncomfortable and makes me remember experiences I rather not relive. That's the power of fiction.

[@Shizkeb]

@@rivergoeson5607 Jesus Christ get over it istg you’re the type of people to scream in terror if I drew a penis on a paper 8==D

[@romildapearl4445]

​@@rivergoeson5607then why would you watch an anime like this one? I don't care and am not a fan of emotional trauma like anime that dive into mental health topics. Or any anime that has a rape trauma scene. So I don't watch those types of anime. I think you should too as it would be great for your mental health.

[@rivergoeson5607]

@@romildapearl4445 First because I had no idea that it had those topics when I started it. And lastly, if you don't care why bother answering me?

[@cocogoat2131]

I actually really liked that the teacher was a good guy. It's what I kind of expected, since we never saw him actually doing anything bad. The teacher was simply a handsome guy Ai's friend (and Ai, and every other girl) had a crush on. And Koito making herself look pitiful to get sympathy and attention from the teacher only made the bullying worse (because the other girls were jealous). This is actually... Very realistic. I've seen it in real life. And male teachers can be completely oblivious (not even considering that a 14 year old could be interested in him) and if they are fathers (which the teacher technically was, as he seemed to want to be a supporting stepdad to Ai) they might be even more oblivious, as they view girls that age as daughters. He would never think that him hugging Koito to comfort her could be seen as flirting by jealous teenage girls. The problem was Frill, and the "alternate world" BS. It was really disrespectful, as it tried to blame some kind of evil entity as the one "behind" the suicides, and not the... you know... abusers of the girls. "Oh, you were r*ped and made pregnant at 14, and you offed yourself as a result? Naah, it was the fault of this AI robot, not what you experienced." Like... How insulting! Frill could actually have worked as a character, if only she was treated symbolic, similarly to the "traumas" of the girls in the dream world. Frill could be the representation of the temptation of death. A beautiful girl, symbolizing death as a more appealing option than life. Frill should not be an evil character either. Simply neutral. But still something twisted, though her twistedness is based on the girls' own willingness to excuse and rationalize their desire to die. So, in the dream world, Frill would be an "enemy" of the girls, because Frill wouldn't want them to bring anyone back to life, as she (based on the girls' own mentality) thinks they are happier dead than alive. "Defeating" Frill would not be "beating the bad guy", but rather convincing the girls that despite their hardships, and although they have every reason to feel the way they do, there is so much in life worth living for. I have no idea what they were thinking when they made Frill. It was honestly a cool concept, two scientists making an AI robot turned evil. IF it had been it's own anime, and a completely different plot. That episode felt like we got dragged into a whole other show.

[@Problem_Child]

Yo thank you for doing this deep dive into the anime. Seeing all these people misdirect blame to the staff is annoying, and the story had such potential

[@Prizzlesticks]

In almost every study self-unaliving (thx, KZbin) is attempted more often by women and more successful in men, but conclude factors other than gender likely define risk factors. Such as access to lethal means. For example, in the U.S., men are more than twice as likely to own a gun, and guns are by far the most likely to result in death. That doesn't show a goal-oriented mindset. Self-unaliving and attempts, whether planned or impulsive, are a reaction to extreme distress, pain, or suffering. No one with a healthy mind and balanced emotions makes it their #goals to die, no matter their sex or gender. Asinine assertion by the creator. I hope he never touches the topic again.

[@jessy1982]

Maybe he's had suicidal thoughts before and emphasising that he is better because it was for "rational" reasons is his way to cope with it. Idk, just a wild thought.

[@Prizzlesticks]

@@jessy1982 Or maybe he's just shit at writing women. I dunno, just a wild thought. On top of that, if one's long-term way of coping with their own attempt to self-delete is to somehow almost idealize it while talking down to half the world's population, I dunno. Get therapy.

[@jessy1982]

@@Prizzlesticks I didn't mean "wild thought" in a sarcastic way. I genuinely was just saying a random idea I had.

[@jessy1982]

I agree he's sexist.

[@Prizzlesticks]

@@jessy1982 I see, I apologize for being so waspish, then. I'm pretty used to troll replies, I'm sure you understand. Thank you for clarifying! :)

[@The1andonlysharpshooter]

I tend to watch video essays while doing tasks and clicked on this immediately because it was in my recommended and I was genuinely curious because I realised I haven’t heard anyone talk about this anime in a while. When taking a break and deciding to scroll in the comments I was shocked to find out you have under 600 subscribers. This video is insanely well made. The script is well structured, and easy to understand. Something I usually expect from long time video essay youtubers I’ve been watching for years now. This was amazing. I find a lot of small channels with high quality content nowadays and this is absolutely no exception. I wish you the best of luck in your career. Keep at it!

[@emmett_m]

Good video with the exception of momoe’s character analysis. Simply stating that she “just wants to be more feminine” ignore so much of what makes her an engaging character. If you’re not willing to engage with themes of gender struggles and identity that’s fine but don’t call her story bland just because you didn’t.

[@existentialcrisis797]

i thought she was trans mtf-

[@NewLifeLives]

I agree

[@thevioletbee5879]

Her story was probably my favorite. Especially given my personal (likely unintended) reading of her being a trans woman.

[@emmett_m]

@@thevioletbee5879 I personally had the same reading on her character, and with how much it fits her struggles and arc I’m not so sure it wasn’t intended. At minimum she is a very trans-coded character for sure

[@AyakoHideko]

YES. THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS. I had a bad feeling that he was going to dismiss her or say sth terribly invalidating... So when he actually did I just went "Nope. Nope. Out of here." Just wanted to pop in to show my solidarity... 🥲 Thank you for putting it very respectfully in the comments.

[@blitzonej884]

I genuinely admire the themes that wonder egg priority tackles and I was one of the people that roots to make it an anime of the year, I hate to admit but the author knows how to use a hooking topic to provide the shock feeling on each episode but unfortunately the shock value only could go far as a surface level knowledge. You hit all the points of the thoughts I've had for a long time and I'm thankful to see YOU, explaining exactly which was at fault on each part. As a an artist, I have only seen a few anime that (imo) successfully nailed an aesthetic that inspires me like no other anime. Thank you for making a video about this anime that is backed up with sources.

[@arurora5474]

Now I don't know if I remember wrong but there was this line that really grossed me out in one of the episodes with Frill where the two creepy mannequin dudes basically say something along the lines of "frill was female and was inevitably going to be attracted to two grown ass men and become homicidal because that's how girls are" it sounded like something a p*edo would say to justify his own feelings about little girls... like it's not us sexualizing a child nooo it's heeeer!! she wants us!! So, you know, on top of the fact that this was a Lost(the series) worthy completely random plot twist I really really started disliking the show... it felt gross. Personally I feel that this show really lets you see what this writer thinks about women and girls. like, he could never write something decent about a topic like this becase he sounds like he hates women and blames them for their own suffering. he seems to have no empaty for girls especially.

[@user-uq9oe7sc5m]

Since when does sexist=incorrect?

[@arurora5474]

@@user-uq9oe7sc5m i said that his writing is poor and badly planned. If you actually read the comment you would see that i did not say the word incorrect. But you are just a little troll and very much telling on yourself.

[@user-uq9oe7sc5m]

@@arurora5474 No you did not say that. You thrown verbal abuse the author's way, comparing him with pedophiles, because of a line in the show that you implied you think is incorrect. You're toxic and dishonest, or at least that's how you come off here.

[@ma.2089]

The Lost writing failure was due to the writers strike. The fact that the writer did what he did in a way reminiscent to that just really hammers in how bad a writer he is

[@ma.2089]

@@user-uq9oe7sc5m sexist is literal ignorance, so yes it’s incorrect.

[@ManzanaDeMuerte]

it honestly felt like they were trying to pull off a madoka magica and failed miserably

[@yui7star]

Yeaahhhhh I kind of thought that a TV script writer is not a good mix with an anime production. You have for example additional writers on the scene, if the main script writer can't be on the scene, to make adjustments in the moment, for various reasons. TV script writers are always pushed to write the next episode and just work. Having people watch every episode is the ultimate goal, meaning a dramatic cliff hangers and shocking revelations works better for that. A good example seems to me "Pretty Little Liars" that kind of loses its audience towards the end, when everyone starts to wonder about the plot points that haven't been addressed. But you can't work like that with animes. Animes have so many production steps that can't be changed or at least shouldn't change after the script is done. Which is probably why the adaptation of an ongoing or completed manga is much better suited to it. You know that people like the story, now you can adjust it to an anime production. Or an original made by an animation studio, that very much knows what goes into an anime production. Why the director hadn't much back n forth with the writer.... Maybe the writer is a much bigger name in the industry, so there's hesitation to doubt and there's probably trust into "the writer probably has a plan". Or, well, the writer might have just not... responded as often as he should have. But that's something only the staff would know. But honestly, it's been a while since I could remember any live action endings, especially TV shows. And yes, animation production is hell in Japan. Can you imagine working on such a big project like Jujutsu Kaisen but having no joy or pride when you mention it? That's how dead tired they must feel. No project is worth sacrificing your health for. But it has become the norm in every position in the anime industry. From director to newbie animator. Thank you for this wonderful video and let's hope their working conditions get better

[@bluedude05]

I appreciate your deep dive into this because I hardly knew about that interview. It makes a lot more sense when you compare his works to what he did here too.

[@graceisNERD]

The clone episode was when I really lost it. Big soap opera energy.

[@candycane4419]

The episode that really soured the show for me was the episode with the trans kids. Like I was sitting there like why is he even here if this only affects girls. Like the line about woman being more emotional, I thought was just anime bullshit being anime bullshit at first. But that coupled with the mere existence of that boy in this dream world repainted the entire show for me.

[@zoeb3573]

Yeah, it's like the show is stating he's a boy but also implying he's still considered a girl since he's in a girls-only place, which is a weird story choice. Why not make it a trans girl instead?

[@Sh12pen]

​​@@zoeb3573I take it as a whole "believing that there's a distinct biological difference between males and females" which has been proven to be not true by some brain scientists who say that male and female brains basically showed no differences. Because we are all people.

[@Sh12pen]

It's like they wanted to fill a quota, rather than understand what it is that makes a woman a woman, and what makes a man a man, and brings to question whether or not they actually asked transgender individuals for the character to be realistic

[@DuskyPredator]

Great video. I remember at the time it felt like Wonder Egg Priority knew what it was doing, touching on trauma, and hopeful in overcomimg it and understanding others. Maybe we ignored certain parts, but it was I guess the moment it showed its hand the idea of seeing the difference between boys and girls with its subject matter as not just say how society treats girls. Not long after was it no longer a case of girls not being victims of society, but not being logical enough, and then a magical evil little girl robot. The final nails that to this day make me feel sick is that it felt like it blamed young girls, such as being too into older men. This video managed to hold back from mentioning that it prettt much blamed the girl who commited suicide for being too dramatic and possessive. And we were meant to feel bad for the adult that clearly had red flags in boundary issues, because he unfairly was accused, and it was sort of the main character's fault too because she caught feelings for him. It felt like something written by someone who would blame the victim for putting themself in danger, and that those in power should be believed first.

[@FloydLorenzMashups]

i remember closely following a Twitter account who made analysis threads of every episode and giving high praise on the art direction and symbolism, as well as providing insightful speculations that i always looked forward to see. i saw his disappointment and anger intensify gradually and reach its peak at the final episode 😢 in retrospect, it really does highlight the point that the episodes shine individually but in an overarching manner it's as flimsy as a glass hammer. with that being said, this video essay was really great and well-researched man, succinct yet covers all the bases. i'd love to explore your backlog. subbed 🙏

[@someonep.4951]

very interesting to analyze, also i remember being on a collage class about suicide (major psychology), and the theacher (he is a doctor) really made various points on how this anime is actually so edgy and disrespectful about death, and made me realize why i felt kinda angry while watching that so many years ago

[@DrachenIvy]

ah. another anime where they're like "hey look at us we tackle ~dark topics~" and then proceed to fumble those topics completely

[@GaetorCreation]

You did amazing on this video. One thing I want to say as a trans masc person is that their portrayal of the trans guy was... gross. After having some time to calm down over the fact that a trans guy was even in an anime, the fact that earlier in the show, the BFF dudes, who certainly are not gay and live together, said that the main cast of girls would only meet other girls in their dreams for some unspecified reasons (I barely remember this anime, sadly). Putting the trans guy in there is a concerning innuendo to the message the show was trying to convey. It does not get better from the fact that his trauma is heavily linked to a sadly common experience that trans men and trans masc individuals have. The fact that the writer is a misogynist does not help either, with the added context of his other shows. It gives off so many red flags; I feel like it's a sea of blood. If he wanted to tackle an ongoing crisis in Japan, he should have had the basic understanding to actually do research and be ready to change his mind on certain things when conducting that research. Yet, he was so full of himself that he thought he knew it all, which is a sin on its own. Wonder Egg was amazing at first, but now... nah."

[@stonks3507]

I haven’t watched the show, but the fact that you only see girls in the dreams, and a trans guy appears.. Is so shitty

[@GaetorCreation]

@@stonks3507 it's not just not showing the 2 interact in the dreams It's specifically stated that boys cannot fall into the dream world with girls and vice-versa

[@silentlore2458]

You will never be a man

[@MillyKKitty]

​@@stonks3507It is honestly really awful. I think there could have been an opportunity to turn it around by writing the dream world or whoever manages it as having very bad views based on biased outdated biological- or traditional values. Could have easily made the 2 dream world scientists the antagonists based on the weird stuff they said.

[@GaetorCreation]

@@silentlore2458 damn good thing i don´t care

[@MXCN_El1011]

Had a watch party with my brothers for that 1hr final episode and i dont think i've ever been more disappointed in the direction/ending for an anime. promised never land comes close tho. One of the few anime where i was actively listening to the background music too because it was super unique (remixed one of the tracks too actually lol). But super interesting to get to know how it all ended up falling apart behind the scenes

[@NelsonStJames]

There is this camp that is quick to say that a creator always knows best, but there are cases where a person can have an idea that they simply don't possess the skills to execute properly, or to it's maximum potential. Shinji's writing style is most commonly referred to as "mystery box" and it results in terrible endings for live action shows as well tending to have many shows that in their first and second seasons were proclaimed as some of the best television of their time ( i.e. LOST, or BSG etc ), only to be practically unwatchable now because the endings were so disappointing.

[@rueenglish9328]

Character: [says sexist shit] Director: this is deliberate, this character is supposed to be wrong and shows the ambiguity of their morality- Writer: [says sexist shit] Director: [sigh]

[@RadioactivePeaches]

I've been suicidal for 6 years (stable now dw) and the anime did a great job depicting the pains of depression. The end definitely made it worse though.

[@lyrichal0202]

We don't know each other, but I wanted to tell you that I felt a moment of genuine relief to hear you've felt more stable recently. From one fucked up stranger to another, it really is no easy task. We battle an enemy that has killed most of us with its first swing. I'm happy you've been able to fight back against those brain demons, so that at the very least, you can watch and discuss next season's anime as well!

[@sarafontanini7051]

Wonder Egg Priority suffers from what I call 'second half/second season syndrome',where the first half of a show (whetehr it be the firsthalf of a short series, or the first season if its a two season series) is incrdible and gripping and well written and then the second half/second season throws that ALLL down the shitter and gives an unsatisfying ending to it all. I felt this way about many shows I initially enjoyed: code geass, kaiba, XAM'D, Fractale (hell, fractale lost me like maybe even earlier than its halfway point), its why i gave it a name cause it happens so much in my personal opinion.

[@jlawsl]

So, it turned out to be another type of dark Magic Girl trope that was already done, just more trippy, from the looks of a Madoka Magica standpoint. I looked at the synopsis of the show and gave it a pass, thinking about giving it a chance multiple times. But, it always just seemed like another kind of depressing, overly artsy high school girl tragedy that tries to incorporate artsy parts Adolescence of Utena and gloominess of Madoka Magica. There is almost always a 100% chance of a bad ending where almost all of the supporting characters die and the situation becomes worse for the protag or just leaves them mentally broken in the eventual paradoxical outcome of their struggles.

[@TanyaChihuahua]

god this just crept up on me, it REMINDED me that wonder egg even existed because the last few episodes were so soul crushing i forced myself to forget. I loved the first few episodes, genuinely, and once it started its decline with these insane twists and just pulled the veil.... I had SO much hope that they could flesh out these stories to make them hit so well, they take such real themes, real problems and turned it right on its head to make it fall flat. it upset me, genuinely. It felt like they were just playing with their viewers

[@oni123]

This show was genuinely special to me for the first few episodes until we got the recap, and then frill’s introduction. It had so much potential but they fumbled and Im not even mad about it anymore. Hope there’s some sort of manga remake in the future with a more refined story

[@junkmanjosh6592]

wtf why does this have so little views

[@gran-knee]

1, it hasn't even been 24 hours since it's uploaded, 2, uploader only has 400 subs FOR NOW. But the yt algorithm is doing its work for sure

[@boogl]

yeah the editing is too good for such little views

[@kanao8859]

​@@booglbro it hasnt even been 2 days yet chill out

[@theweebandrea6008]

i knoww

[@wadejohnston4305]

For a channel of this size 7k is a massive return and it'll keep going up. A great video man I'm a fan of you and the channel. You do hard research obviously

[@supercyc10]

I can't speak for Horimiya, but I definitely know that they shit the bed with Promised Neverland so badly that people are saying "there is not season 2" (like Joo Dee saying "there is no war in Ba Sing Se". While striking out 2/3 times usually doesn't bode well for studios, they somehow turned it around eventually with Spy x Family and Bocchi the Rock...then again those ARE adaptations and not original series.

[@marbleb33s]

I mean Promised Neverland is also an adaptation.

[@supercyc10]

@@marbleb33s Yeah, I shoulda been more specific and saying something along the lines of “relying on the original source material for the anime to be good” But I didn’t want my paragraph to be an essay

[@nybrotherman]

This is the sane studio that animated The Promised Neverland. That show had an absolutely awful ending and had some major plots cut that left people furious. And the plots would have made excellent content. It was so bad staff omitted including their name in the credits. Wtf...

[@wolfenstarnice4821]

This put into context about the issue with Egg. I seriously didnt know what went wrong because no one had explained it as well as you did. I loved this!

[@XorusVII]

i have erased from my memory the last 2 episodes of wonder egg priority and live in a world where this show got the ending it deserved also alot of things that are used in later clover works shows were tested and worked really good here (splicing animation styles, using real photos as backgrounds for characters, I'm not sure it started here, but they surely been using this in later shows)

[@ivello]

The anime should have been about the two guys scouring trough multiple realities trying to figure out why some girls end their lives in some but not in others bcs they couldn't understand why their "daughter" did so.

[@screamingpotato9520]

God damnit! Now I wish your idea was real.

[@Kitty-we6il]

"and oh my god its a talking toilet paper" and subbed; your humor is so relatable.

[@toshinronin]

Bro ain’t different lmao

[@Aogami20]

This is such a western approach to TV writing. You see it all the time with people like Joss Whedon and his "mystery box" bs or CW shows. They have no goals for the story, they just keep dumping plot hooks and twists with no intentionality, praying that cliffhangers will keep people coming back until it inevitably fizzles and dies with an unsatisfying conclusion. Very sad though because WEP is a GORGEOUS show and the passion of the animators is so obvious.

[@HDimagination]

An excellent Autopsy. Very well researched. There were a lot of origonal anime in the era that didn't quite stick the landing (Vivy, Come at me) but this was the worst by far. So much potential wasted, so many problematic elements.

[@wadejohnston4305]

This studio effectively permanently labled themselves as one of the WORST studios in the buisness with not ONE ruined sequel that had fans absolutley livid and crushed but ANOTHER horrible ending as well albeit not technically a sequel. I didnt know they also did promised neverland...oyyyyy just thinking about the vitriol the staff must have had to deal with makes my blood pressure rise😅

[@Gxmwp]

Yep that's why you still see people get excited over their works!!! Wait... Seriously though, it'll take more than just two bad productions for people to label an entire studio as the absolute worst.

[@__dane__]

You clearly haven’t watched any other Cloverworks productions

[@ohwell1547]

​@@__dane__I don't even think they watched the end of the video ⬆️

[@usefulbobcat]

Wonder egg priority was one big fever dream you forget when you finally wake up

[@ChalkMuncher]

As a great fan of the series, this is really a great essay. I didn't know most of this stuff but now that i do its just the nail in the coffin that its straight up not going to come back. It really needed a season 2 and the last episode was heavily hinting at a continuation. But i guess thats just how it'll end. The best i feel i can say about wonder egg is that it was really special. Not just to me, its just fundamentally special. And it talked about mental health in a very patient and nuanced way, and one of the first series i've seen to do it so well. At least to me thats why episode 13 doesn't define the series for me. Ai is one of my favorite characters of all time, in any media, and this show is one of my favorite animes despite the finale. So it really does suck it has to end like this.

[@jamesmeikle7216]

This was the first anime I actually followed weekly in years (I'm not really into anime in general). I remember really liking it, getting that weird """ending""", finding out they ran out of budget and the actual ending would come at some later date. I forgot all about it, then randomly heard it was terrible, never bothered watching it and kinda forgot this existed. A shame as well cos I liked the characters, style and music a lot.

[@hrb9679]

..... P... people blamed the production people?? It was CLEARLY the writing. At least at the end?

[@ClaySmileSoil]

This is purely my speculation and nothing out there supports it, but there might be a case for the crew having to rework the finale’s script on the special episode, knowing that they have 0 resources or time to make anything more demanding than dialogue scenes. Foreign animators on the special said that they were given very specific instructions not to overdo their animation because there was simply no time to in-between and process any complicated scenes down the pipeline (that’s how that running animation came about). But the train wreck began far, far earlier and many were just too taken by the shock factor of each episode to process the insensitive, sometimes downright offensive writing before the finale. Not even the most talented, well-intentioned director could have saved the ending at that point.

[@__dane__]

There is so much I love about Wonder Egg. The first 9 episodes are solid. The Frill plot isn’t terrible on its own but it just doesn’t connect to the rest of the story very well narratively or thematically. It’s such a shame what happened

[@emoth]

It's such a shame, I really enjoyed the first eps of this series when they aired. As it went on, it just got worse and worse. I hope someday maybe someone has a similar concept that can actually write it in a better way, with a satisfying conclusion

[@peanutkix]

Excellent essay. I remember hearing that line in episode 4 and trying to rationalize it as "well maybe the Accas are meant to be kind of old fashioned, sexist characters, and this is a hint toward them not being the true allies they seem to be." Nope. Wild yet in hindsight understandable that that throwaway line is actually what the entire show premise is based on.

[@bean9786]

so glad to see this video! I was honestly curious about how quickly the public discourse around this show pivoted and it was on my watchlist until everyone suddenly told me to skip it. It's nice to have a succinct explanation!! obsessed with how you say 'wonder' like 'vrrunder' also. can i simp for an accent????

[@Zetsubou738]

I remember watch wonder egg and being baffled. Every element felt great but togeather it was awful.

[@strxwb3rrynat]

great video, shinning light on what went wrong. the only thing i would like to add is that momoe's character showed promise with her portrayal of gender dysphoria. but ultimatly fell thru because of the needless suffering they put the characters thru near the end.

[@dafire9634]

"this is just like darling in the franxx" everything clicked in that moment

[@jdotleaf]

Super in-depth and high quality. Thanks dude. Keep it up

[@jmodule7693]

I love your use of the chuniibyo soundtrack throughout this essay! And also its a really good essay!

[@loiscampos4553]

Well, this made even more clear the suspicions I had about the story, it always seemed strange to me that the story tried to integrate so many elements and plot twists while ignoring things that had already been established, now I see that not even the writer himself knew what he was doing, he just added more and more things to keep the attention of the viewers without considering that at the moment of ending the story this would completely harm the story because there are too many loose ends, , I mean, how did we go from an apparently fantasy story where the girls try to help others who died in their dreams to parallel worlds, sci-fi, humanoid robots, research centers, clones, etc.

[@Rumblingbum]

we really did watch this show grow into itself and wished for it to succeed and then they stabbed it to death and force-fed us the corpse. funny how that keeps on happening.

[@ChangedMyNameFinally69]

Anime seems to have this problem worse than most shows

[@rirururu4697]

Wonder Egg Priority is a perfect case study of the negative impacts of hype. This happens every season. A new anime comes out, everyone sees the first 1-3 episodes (or in the case of a shounen, the first season), then start declaring it the best shit ever since sliced bread. And more often than not, the shows completely jump the shark. How many times have we seen a series peak in episode 1 or season 1 then become trash afterwards? I was hoping we'd have learned our lessons from Wonder Egg Priority, Promised Neverland, Sword Art Online, Toriko, Shield Hero, 7 Deadly Sins, Demon Slayer, Erased, etc but people keep doing it. I understand why shows are hyped up. Some shows have great beginnings and actually stick the landing-- but it's rare. It's good to be excited but please, can we hold back on the declarations that a series is 10/10 and the best thing ever after only seeing the first episode or season? If the reactions to shows like Oshi no Ko are any indication, apparently no we can not. This is why I can't take people seriously when their reasoning for why a long running series in late seasons is bad because it "isn't as good as the first 5 episodes of this other anime."

[@caperAntagonist]

Thanks for the summary!! I always wondered what the hell was going on with that show. I stopped watching after episode 11, I was really confused about what was going on and just didn't stick with it. I think the visuals were incredible but the show's content gave me a stress headache lol. I'm glad I watched when it was releasing so I didn't watch it all in one go LOL... Its a shame there was a big disconnect between writing and everything else in the show. If they had worked it in well I think they could have made it work, but it was all so disconnected and confusing!!

[@ouranFan98]

Shinji thinks he’s tatsuki Fujimoto

[@luckytrinh333]

Real world mental health problems ❌ It's some random AI's fault ✅

[@thenigerundayooooguy2752]

bro your video quality and research is crazy respect and subbed

[@avoidant560]

I remember liking the anime because of its pretty art design and its premise. Too bad that it didn't go that well on the narrative side.

[@lucahsailor]

The fact that the trans boy was in this space (where it was stated that only girls could be) also felt so off and wrong

[@zoeb3573]

Yeah, they could have made the same story with a trans girl without the weird misgendering implications.

[@Vintagesonic1]

I haven't seen the anime since it aired and I've essentially forgotten most of what it was about, but I was always under the impression that she was a tomboy. I'm probably wrong though.

[@lucahsailor]

@@Vintagesonic1 They had the trans colours and tbh its been a while too but I took it as they were trans. Still majorly uncomfortable that their whole story was that they were sa'd, and they got pregnant from that.

[@GeneralDMadness]

Holy shit this video only has 1k views????? This is some incredible detective work

[@jaime4597]

I watched Wonder Egg Priority a year ago and thought little of it since then until now- I had no clue about all this behind the scenes stuff and genuinely thought there was just going to be a second season. Great video!

[@RahRizzle123]

I remember watching WEP and happily waiting for the next episode along with watching SK8 since they aired around the same time. It felt so good having 2 animes to look up to. At least SK8 ended off fine but seeing WEP die off like that was depressing. Me and my friend went wild over WEP

[@CreateAmazment]

I don't want a WEP season 2 tbh, I want a WEP reanimation but actually giving the show enough time to tell the story it wanted to be from the beginning instead of the rushed ending. With 24 episodes this show could be AMAZING. I know it will never happen, but god I wish it would. I loved the feeling I got from watching the first 10 episodes, it was a breath of fresh air in a time where all the anime I was watching didn't really hook me, but WEP was the one to do it, and I want it to receive justice.

[@Danihelmanart]

i admit i skipped to the moment where you started talking about the production because i already watched the show but hearing that the main writer just did not have any communication with the rest of the staff explains a lot about the show's direction. some creation methods are just not sustainable for anime production

[@WrathHowler]

Bro This production level and the research, the details, the editing is amazing for a channel with 400subs Hope you all the luck for the future

[@poru1482]

As someone who didn't watch the ending this feels like closure. I always thought that the director or the studio cut some content to push it into 12 episodes like what they did in Promised Neverland S2, but now it makes sense that the show turn into what it is. I would still recommend Wonder Egg Priority because of Clover Works' visual animation and the concept and themes, but I would warn them about the misogynistic take of the writer on suicide and the two last episodes. In the end Wonder Egg could have been something greater but I am still happy that it aired because who would have thought that Ai's thighs is that squishy.

[@makkadakkadakka]

I'm glad the algorithm brought me here, fantastic investigation man!

[@bingo36able]

Really great video! I am a huge fan of Anime Slushie, happy to see them referenced here! This video is the most i have ever seen in one vid of the action animation of Wonder Egg and there were some moments where watching your video, despite knowing how the story goes in advance, i foukd myself understanding why people wanted this show to succeed. A lot of the visuals are really pretty and striking amd there isnt much that looks remotely like Wonder Egg! And i didnt realize there were regularly scenes after the monster battles where Ai would hang out with the girls she saved, that sounds like a really neat hit to add to the structure of a MotW format, and i think there would have been a cool opportunity for a bottle episode that has the girl defeat the monster before the ten minute mark wirh more time available for that hanging out, processing, and recovery. Again, really nice video, i will be subscribed and checking out more of your vids! :)

[@JentaCookieCat]

Wonderful video this explained so much that I wondered.

[@mystik_owl]

Fantastic production and editing! The jokes had great execution, and I'm excited to see your future content!

[@richatdastkey3555]

Great video. I remember waiting in hype for this show and saving the ost on KZbin music and those last 2 episodes deflated me SO fast. I even thought oh, it's not over, I'll just wait for the movie, CLEARLY they wouldn't end it like this 😂

[@cutewolfluna6711]

eventhough with its flaws i do wish for a season 2, it just ends with a cliffhanger so much question piles up with so little answers, im still a fan of wonder egg priority and will still believe itll come back and answer those questions

[@rqueen4218]

I'm happy for the journey, and the journey alone. Even if the way the story was handled disappointed me to no end, I still hold this series very close to my heart for it's approach to storytelling in the beginning and beautiful art. Their choices of color and atmosphere is not something we see everywhere and I'm so happy it exists.

[@lunekosama]

one thing i'd like to add for momoe: social conformity is a big deal in japan including in how people present themselves outwardly. so her being insecure in how she's perceived by others easily resonated with some members of the trans/gnc community. hell i even headcanoned momoe as a possible trans girl initially since her concern with if she was feminine enough was similar to the idea of "passing" as another gender. then the kaoru episode happened. absolutely shocked that anyone could think that episode was pro trans rights considering the theme of female suicide and every other person helped being a girl, thus invalidating of his identity. momoe saw him as a guy while the trauma monster didn't but also he's here in the girl suicide dreamworld?? idk it was all handled so poorly, i'm so embarrassed that i really thought this anime had something to say about its dark topics at first.

[@Shan_Kun]

Pretty good video, ashamed that the algorithm hasnt given back to such good talent

[@munchmongoose]

I feel like deep trauma of mine has been validated and soothed by seeing this video. No lie. I had such a painful hatred of the disaster that this show became, with its serious topics done toxically.

[@ktostam35]

As someone who overthinks, over analyzes and gets stressed a lot, I think the "teacher was good" was actually a somewhat good idea. Like it's either him trying to defend himself and make sure Ai doesn't find out it's his fault, or it's showing of how girls like me think - anxious, afraid, assuming things because we don't have the courage to ask. I was afraid of a "friend" I had. The way Ai looks at the teacher reminds me of how I looked at them - creepy, shadowy, with no empathy in their eyes. Ai became scared of him when she saw him giving her a side glare when comforting Koito, after which she died. She became paranoid of him. I was paranoid about that person too, hearing or seeing some things and fearing they might hurt me. I was around her age at the time and I was bullied too so I think I understand her character well. It should've been more obvious tho - by that I mean that it was Ai's paranoia and fear. We should've gotten some moments when Ai was sure of something but it turned out she was overthinking. The sexist remark and "logical suicide" were awful, as well as using trauma for shock value and the writing of the anime. I myself want to write and this show showed me how to not do it.

[@TiefseeToaster]

Thanks for this great quality video. I was especially excited that you took in the comments of other content creators, information from interviews and other things the regular viewers of this show would not look up

[@sarafontanini7051]

the writer's approach to writing explaisn why this clearly fantastical show suddenly became a sci-fi story about a murderous teen robot girl locked in a basement out of nowhere How does the egg stuff work? why does this one girl, out of evryone, get pulled into this along with getting the egg inthe first place? what is this weird mental world full of murderous monsters? uhhhh two dads and their evil robot daughter did it. well great! that explains everything! also WOW they really expecteed to make a second season after an open ended finale that maes the main cast split up for reasons and not even come close to addressing their issues let alone the main plot, didn't they. Like, they had the audacity to make an open ending likely becaue they thought intrigue would be enough, instead of...making a goddamn ending.