The Wonder Eggs
Wonder Egg Priority as the ambivalence of magical realism starts with Ai Ooto, aged 14, mourns the suicide of her only friend Koito. She begins to enter a dream world where she must fight to protect the spirits of dead girls. The world takes place inside Wonder Eggs. To help them find peace, Ai must fight sinister kitchen-knife-wielding demons called Seeno Evils. The more enormous monsters known as Wonder Killers are scary demons too.
Ai has her plan, which is her strange benefactor. A mysterious mannequin named Acca and Ura-Acca’s promise to bring Koito back to life in return for her services. While on a mission, she meets and befriends three other girls who are doing the same. They all have their most obscure reasons. It included Neiru, Rika, and Momoe, who buy Wonder Eggs from the magic machine every week. They were going on a mission to save the Egg girls in a different dream world.
The Magical Girl Show
Otherworldly familiars give access to abilities that trick girls into reshaping the world, exercising agency, and feeling confident in themselves, just like any other Magical Girl show. Wonder Egg Priority adheres to such a tradition. However, it is decided interestingly. At first glance, the show is a mix of adult drama and psychological horror with a clear impact. From the first impression, it is a complex layer of visual language reminiscent of directors such as Makoto Shinkai, Naoko Yamada, and Satoshi Kon.
The depiction of subjective but magical reality makes the show have much influence on anime works in the past. Wonder Egg Priority has an approach in changing the concept of Magical Girl to be unpleasant in another sense. At first, the warning of the protagonist in the first impression is that it is partially bear literally. Ai has to buy every egg regardless of other costs yet to be seen. In other words, there are thousands of consequences.
The basic idea of the system in which the main character operates exploitatively reminds many anime stories.
The Avant-garde of Anime
Especially arthouse or avant-garde, into the minds of many audiences, people can compare these examples like Angel’s Egg with a surreal or literal concept, Neon Genesis Evangelion with a psychological idea, or Penguindrum with a destiny concept. However, Puella Magi Madoka Magica is an excellent example of subverting the subgenre of early mediums by presenting a monstrous lens.
The characters are given power; even when magical girls are over, they do not change their identity perception of the world. All characters imbue objects with force rather than the other way around. The metaphor of transformation, while outdated, is not much different from the grace and charm of the ballerina from Sailor Moon. A protagonist who is bullied because of her unique appearance is learning to feel comfortable with herself.
However, Ai needs to fight while dressed as herself. Regardless of which it is not, it is her strength and not the strength of others from her will and point of view.
The Two-dimensional Casualty
In addressing sensitive topics such as suicide and mental illness, the show must suppress sexual assault with respect but caution. However, the show plays with fire and, no matter how the firing process, does not criticize the traumatic bravely for the audience. Trying to excuse the meticulous attention to detail into a girl’s feet leads to the navel stare of the art of emotional manipulation.
Wonder Egg Priority emphasizes an alien character with more than two-dimensional victims, shallow understanding of mental illness, and omitting character designs for each egg girl explains various reasons. The ambivalence of Wonder Egg Priority in presenting magical realism often avoids exploitation even when the symbolism is explicit; it successfully balances the contrasting material by linking charming comedy with harsh social commentary.
The director restrains himself at the right time by taking a lopsided approach to the most challenging subject. It yields rich detail through unexpected revelations, such as the protagonist glimpsing the character’s scars, figuratively, unintentionally. Her own experiences with bullying are revealed only through the appearance of her dream world. Naturalistic and character nuances combine clever juxtapositions by imbuing objects and the world around them with emotional significance.
The raw egg broke, in the end, as time and space became more and more uncomfortable.
The Subgenre of Magical Realism
The combination of violence and traumatic background, apart from severe and taboo themes, is not haphazard. Wonder Egg Priority depicts the strangeness of the protagonist in the way each character compliments and clashes. Ai’s idealism, Neiru’s directness, Rika’s persistence in stabbing her friends, and Sawaki’s calmness. Each character’s rebellion against the egg yolks of rough adults, even peers, is only one part of the journey.
Each girl is starting to break out of their shell and face their isolation thanks to the new support system. The approach to the aesthetic and narrative tradition of the subgenre magical realism and the magical girl is a symbol of another attraction that cannot be described in specific moments. With an apparent influence, the show has the intersection of several different genres. The stylistic approach, slick tone, and simple categorization challenge clarify what the show makes excellent.
It is blending the elements of difference into more than just a sum.
The Prospective Status
Japan and its medium are unique forms, whether talking about spirituality, culture, entertainment, or art. A big question arises from various audience perspectives: is the show anti-suicide propaganda? Is the show just an anime about trendy puberty? Wonder Egg Priority suppresses teen drama full of symbolic imagery, screams of meaning, almost literal sense, and the aftermath of a little emotional maturity.
It is a show with potential status all the time but forgotten by time. Regardless, it is rarely a series of gates, consistently engaging, challenging, and beautiful simultaneously. Wonder Egg Priority is a passionate project by young aspiring artists from around the world. Frankly, probably, it is one of the most shows with great animation. Simultaneously and ironically, CloverWorks makes up for the lack of flesh and blood by exploiting how magical realism is no longer fanciful and contemporary.
Bibliography
- Campbell, K. (2021). Wonder Egg Priority is reimagining Magical Girl empowerment. Polygon.
- Piedra, J. (2021). Anime Review: Wonder Egg Priority. The Outerhaven.