English Dub Review: Wonder Egg Priority “Punch Drunk Day”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

All’s not well in egg world as the girls are under a new kind of threat due to a fresh enemy. The See-No-Evils are morphing into Haters, so the Acca bros decide to give the girls helpful new sidekicks. Meanwhile, Ai’s mother is getting closer to Mr. Sawaki, and Ai isn’t sure how to feel about it. But one thing’s for sure: she’s going to keep moving forward one step at a time.

Our Take:

Wonder Egg Priority is back after a brief dub hiatus, and with the return of the show comes a return of the focus to Ai and her mysterious backstory. There’s also some new developments with the Accas and the egg warriors as they gain new friends to help in their struggle. It’s an artfully done episode that makes it clear that WEP is still able to deliver on the thrills despite being halfway through the season.

The main thrust of Punch Drunk Day is about Ai and her dynamic with Mr. Sawaki. She still doesn’t seem to know what to think of him, and the audience is in a similar boat due to our limited point of view. Did he contribute to her friend’s suicide, or is he merely an overly touchy teacher? Either way, Ai has reason to be wary, and even when her mother announces that she and Mr. Sawaki want to start dating, Ai keeps her distance.

Her friends in this case don’t provide much relief to what she’s going through. Neiru thinks she has a crush on Mr. Sawaki herself, Rika is talking up the absolute worst case scenarios, and since Sawaki is Momoe’s uncle, she doesn’t have much to say about the matter. It’s not even really clear what Ai’s feeling in this episode, which is probably a deliberate choice as she wrestles with her inner self. What’s clear is the romantic setup of the ending scene, as Ai runs to grasp Mr. Sawaki’s sleeve as the two of them share a moment in the sunlight. Even though Ai doesn’t say anything romantic or confessional, it’s meant to make us think that’s coming — which is why there’s sure to be more to it than that.

On a somewhat nicer note, the animal sidekicks that the Acca bros give out are super adorable and also surprisingly capable for a bunch of cute little critters. Rika gets a tortoise, Neiru gets a snake, Momoe adopts a teeny weeny crocodile, and Ai has a chameleon — rather fitting for how she can change depending on the people she’s around.

Punch Drunk Day may not contain many answers, but it’s neat to see that so many mystery’s are still sticking around at this point, and we’re still invested in them because of how well Wonder Egg has built and developed its characters and the world they inhabit. Things are looking good now, but be warned — the next episode is a bit of a detour and things get a little crazy from here… and not necessarily in a good way.