Wonder Egg Priority episode 1 really surprised me with how visually gorgeous it was and how thoughtfully it tackled its themes! I actually loved it!

In this thread, I'll be talking about some of the visual observations I made. I'm primarily talking about the shots and symbolism.

We're immediately hit with the idea of death and rebirth that's gonna be later revealed in the show when Ai picks up a bug and buries it. From the soil where it was buried, she even places a plant above it, showing how she wants new life to spurt from the deceased.

Simple yet classic imagery of an escalator going down to signify that we're going to be delver deeper into Ai's mind. What exactly is the topic that she has so submerged in the back of her head? The need for a friend as revealed by the dialogue!

Throughout the opening scenes there's a lot of us looking in on her, which gives us the sense that her character likes to keep to herself, in short, she likes to remain closed off from the outside, much like an egg.

I just want to take this time real quick to highlight on Ai's attire. There's a sunflower on it which is a flower that represents warmth and happiness. This is something Ai desires which is why she tightly encases herself in this sweatshirt, especially with her hood.

The flower here makes sense, it must be a flower on a desk which is typically placed there when a student dies which, as we learn later did indeed happen. Then there's the bullying that's seen and mentioned which even further implicates that bullying caused the death to happen.

A bit on-the-nose but I like it nonetheless! The pieces start coming together when the announcement happened and Seeno Evils are introduced. Ai saw the bullying that was happening and chose not to report it which ended horribly.

There's just a lot of sadness going on in Ai's mind. This shot is taken from outside of a window looking in on Ai, showing how she feels trapped. There's also the water droplets and the fogginess of the window to reflect her inner emotions being sad and hazy.

I love how they show the Seeno Evils corrupting the hallway itself as they run around. One really gets the sense of how pretending to "not see evil" can really begin to build regret until it overtakes the mind which it seemingly did with Ai.

White flowers being plucked on the ground leading to a doorway which leads into a scene where Ai is walking towards a doorway about to see a horrific sight. The idea of loss of innocence is extremely apparent here, both for Ai and Koito, her friend that committed suicide.

Remember that bug I mentioned earlier? Ai was certainly thinking about Koito in that instant which is why she went through with the burial with the little sprout on top because she wishes Koito was alive. There's so much clever imagery in this show!

The shots during Ai and Koito's conversation is well shot with Koito either being cut off by the frame or the attention drawn to her feet. This shows how shy Ai is, the camera is taking on her way of looking at Koito, she's averse to direct eye contact as reflected by the shots.

A lot of people were bringing up the Yamada-isms to me and I couldn't help but include this comparison because I can totally see it in a lot of scenes. Yamada is one of my favorite directors so seeing scenes like this that focus on legs and such is my jam!

Longtime followers of mine know that I love my umbrellas since they can be used symbolically for many things. Here it's used to shield Ai's emotions, well, she left it behind so I guess that shield has been broken. All she wants to do is make friends, but it's hard for her-

as a target for bullying because of her different eye colors. This need for comfort by people is then shown by her leaning her head on the wall where there are cheery people drawn which is in direct contrast to the gloomy rain outside.

Koito is the first person we see in the episode that really breaks into Ai's shell that she's created around herself, even going as far as proposing to be best friends and using touch as a means of comfort. It seems like Koito really wanted to be close with her.

Koito being a statue makes sense here seeing how statues are created as a means of remembering important people. The fact that this exists in Ai's dream (whatever this world is) shows how much of an important figure Koito was to her and feels guilty for betraying her.

I mean, what else do you want me to say here? This shit was so badass! This show already had a MY MC moment and it's only been an ep lol. I really like how the weapon completely shatters solid objects, really fits with the idea of breaking out of a shell.

The damage carries over into the real world which is interesting. What's also intriguing is using imagery of a fried egg with blood dripping down on it. I don't know what to make of it, it might be showing how cracking out of one's shell can be dangerous or leave one vulnerable.

I... Yeah... No comment lol. There's just so much visual imagery with eggs happening in this show, it's eggcelent!

I'm hyped to see what the next ep has to offer! I really dug the character writing and the visual presentation was stellar! It seems like it's very ambitious and I looooove myself an ambitious work!

If you read this far, I hope you enjoyed the thread! ^_^