REVIEW: ‘Wonder Egg Priority,’ Episode 4 – “Colorful Girls”

Content Warning: Wonder Egg Episode 4 includes discussions of molestation and sexual assault

Wonder Egg Priority is a brand new anime debuting in the second week of the Winter 2021 anime season. Unlike many titles this season, Wonder Egg Priority is an anime-only series with no prior manga or other media forms. That being said, this intense, thoughtful series about bullying, suicidality, dreams, and friendship has made its mark and is steadily on its way to being a contender for one of this season’s strongest anime. Thankfully, Wonder Egg Priority Episode 4 seems to be maintaining the same momentum as previous episodes.

Wonder Egg Priority Episode 3 introduced Kawai Rika, a girl with a tough shell and a lot of pain inside. It also gave viewers a fierce display of Ai’s internal rage. A rage that we haven’t seen boil over… until now. Things grew quite tense in the wake of Ai’s emotional outburst, leaving episode 3 on a cliffhanger. 

Wonder Egg Priority Episode 4 starts in media res with a new pair of characters: Momotaro “Momo” and Miwa. The latter is a girl who has been suffering sexual assault, which has caused catastrophic consequences in her life. Despite Miwa being brave and speaking up about her abuse, it cost her father his job. Her mother has become quite cruel towards her. It hurts so, so much, even though we don’t have context for Miwa at all. 

Yet this is the cruel reality that Wonder Egg Priority so often operates in. The show looks at the world through a young girl’s eyes, at a world that mishandles their bodily autonomy. Thankfully, I feel that Wonder Egg Priority Episode 4 handles the topic with care without leering at Miwa’s experience. Post-OP, we’re back with Ai in Wonder Egg Priority Episode 3’s situation. She and Miko and Mako -the two girls she protects- dash through a forest, trying to evade the monster at their back. However, tragedy strikes when Ai’s pen weapon shatters. Thankfully, Miko and Mako are here to help.

This is interspersed with a bit more background on Momo, the character we saw at the beginning. Just like Ai, Momo faces off against a Wonder Killer in the dreamscape, fending off the monster’s devastating attacks. Each character does their best to protect their charge and end the Wonder Killer’s terror-filled reign. The juxtaposition as the scenes shift between Ai and Momo is really engaging, especially since viewers have only glimpsed Momo from the show’s opening. The action is beautifully animated and feels so fluid and dynamic. Instantly, I found myself wanting to know more about Momo, especially since they’re so starkly different -in both appearance and manner- from Ai. So far, we’ve really only seen the world through Ai’s eyes. I hope that we’ll see Wonder Egg Prioroty’s world through Momo’s eyes as well. 

Like all dreams, they end, and all of the characters who entered leave, returning to the real world. Now, back in reality, the girls have to face their own problems once more, which has steadily become the show’s crux. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that the dreamscapes the girls explore are just the vehicle to address their very real trauma and pain. Thankfully, Ai isn’t alone in her exploration of her feelings. In fact, the very next day, after entering the dream with Rika, she goes to pick up Neiru, who’s made a full recovery.

It turns out that Neiru’s family is quite well to do in a not too surprising way. Viewers might have gotten this vibe simply from how Neiru speaks and dresses. However, Ai wasn’t on the up and up and gets the shock of her life when Neiru leaves in a limousine. A limo that Ai gets to ride in as well.

Wonder Egg Priority Episode 4 is kind of a transitional episode. It introduces a brand new character in Momo, whose full name is revealed to be Sakaki Momoe. It’s a dynamic episode, but not a plotty episode. In fact, I’d go as far as to say that it really doesn’t advance the plot a lot. It closes up episode 3’s plot threads but doesn’t open too many new ones outside Momo’s introduction.

Wonder Egg Priority Episode 4 feels like an info dump in many ways, though I’d argue a necessary one. So far, we’ve been seeing the weapon-wielding girls in snapshots. Now, the girls might have the chance to fight as a group instead of as individuals. I actually look forward to seeing all of the girls join together as Wonder Egg Priority continues to build its fascinating plot. Hopefully, we’ll get a taste of the quartet -and their potential for deep, meaningful friendship- in episode 5. I suspect that we will since Wonder Egg Priority Episode 4 does leave viewers with a bit of a cliffhanger hook for episode 5.

For now, Wonder Egg Priority Episode 4 was a solid episode that was enjoyable to watch, even if it didn’t necessarily advance the plot. I think viewers who are already on board will be more than willing to stick around for next week’s episode. If you’re a viewer who’s been on the fence, I highly suggest doing the same. I get the feeling that Wonder Egg Priority is going to give us something really, really good in episode 5.

Wonder Egg Priority is streaming now on Funimation.