Trigger Warning for mentions of Bullying, Suicide, Self Harm, Abuse and Eating Disorders
In these years, there has been an increase in awareness about mental health. Many schools have taken part in mental health programs, and people have come to terms with their issues, and from 2000 to 2014, there has been a 14% increase in adults receiving treatment for their mental health. However, with almost every aspect of life, one of the biggest influencers of change is the media. Whether it's from the improving black representation in Hollywood or the discussion of gender identity on social media platforms like TikTok, the media - television, the Internet, movies, music - takes up a large part in acting as a P.S.A. for many different topics.
"Wonder Egg Priority" is an original Japanese anime television series by director Shinji Nojima. The anime follows a 14-year-old girl called Ai Ohto, who was bullied by her classmates because of her heterochromia and eventually stopped going to school. A mysterious entity coaxes her to buy an egg from a gacha machine during a late-night walk. After falling asleep with the egg, she is transported to a dream world to battle with evil CGI red gremlins. After smashing the egg to a wall, a schoolgirl awakens from it, and Ai has to defeat the gremlins, known in the show as See-No-Evils, before dawn.
Now, after watching 10 minutes, I was baffled. People online and said the show was gory, and it was. The schoolgirl has an axe thrown at her by a pixelated-face bully. Later in the episode, we are told that Ai has recently lost her only friend due to suicide, and the voice in the dream world tells Ai if she continues defeating the monsters in her dreams, she can get her friend back and find out why she committed suicide.
There are many interesting metaphors in this anime. Each episode follows Ai protecting a girl who committed suicide for their own reasons and Ai physically fighting a comically colourful monster, representing the girls' trauma. The show tackles a lot of dark topics, and Ai, as well as fighting these creatures, has to deal with her personal struggles as well.
The See-No-Evils represent the people who didn't want to look out for the girls during their darkest times. As a result, the girls in the eggs have already passed away. What I liked about this show was that none of the themes are forced. Some shows that have dark topics could be considered flawed because it seems more like a sponsored episode than a developed plotline. As well as Ai Ohto, there are three other girls who protect the Wonder Eggs; a pop idol whose devoted fan starved herself to death; a diligent child-president whose younger sister jumped off a bridge; and Momoe who struggles with her gender identity and close friends. Every girl who defends the "wonder egg girls" have flaws of their own, and each character has amazing development in order to defeat the monsters.
The show also has some very interesting Easter Eggs. For instance, Rika Kawai, the pop idol also has to deal with self-harm, and what's interesting is that the weapon that Rika wields in her dream world are two large razors.
Overall, Wonder Egg Priority is a very in-depth show. The girls featured inside the "Wonder Eggs" have faced different kinds of trauma, such as abuse from mentors, bullying and probably more to come. Even if you aren't a fan of the anime genre, I would definitely recommend this show if you're a fan of dark psychological shows with kawaii anime girls.
