Wonder Egg Priority was the dark horse of the Winter 2021 anime season. As an original anime helmed by debut TV series director Shin Wakabayashi, the series quickly took viewers by surprise with its bold explorations of trauma, guilt, and gender identity, among other themes. And it did so while delivering each episode with the production values and visual ambition of a short film.

Yet behind the obvious quality of the final product, the production was struggling in a very public way. Notably, the staff failed to deliver an episode on time for the broadcast, resulting in an impromptu recap episode for episode 8. The series is now scheduled to conclude with a “special edition” episode on June 29.
In today’s understaffed industry, it’s possible for practically anyone with an online presence and art samples to receive an invitation to work on a Japanese anime. It was in…