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Wonder Egg Priority Digs Deep Inside the Toxic Culture of Japanese Idols

 Wonder Egg Priority dives deep into the world of bullying, self-harm, and the Japanese pop idol industry’s toxic culture.

Note: The following contains spoilers for Wonder Egg Priority Episode three by Shinji Nojima, Shin Wakabayashi, and Saki Takahashi.

Anime fans were glued to the screen when Attack on Titan season four premiered but little did, they know, a fearsome anime was lurking in the background to attack right where it hurts. Wonder Egg Priority is the newest edition to the winter anime 2021 list, and so far, it has received mixed reviews from fans.



The one thing that Wonder Egg Priority prioritizes the most is displaying society’s evils in the same aesthetic style as the 2011s anime series Puella Magi Madoka Magica. In the first episode, we saw the concept of bullying and the phenomenon of breaking the egg in dreams.

In the second episode, we saw some more heavy subjects. Still, the most significant topic was introduced in Episode 3, “A Bare Knife,” where Rika Kawai, a former Japanese idol, delves into the dream of Japanese idols’ toxicity.

The third episode introduced Rika Kawai, a former pop idol who battles a monster that molests young girls. In the dream state, Rika meets a girl who she addresses as “fatty.” The protagonist Ai Ooto enters into Rika’s dream and finds her in insufferable pain. After a few seconds, Rika wakes up and introduces herself to Ai. Now, Rika asks for cash as she has forgotten her wallet. This brief introduction moves to more significant concern for the show’s protagonist Ai Ooto.

Rika’s deepest regrets form a paracosm.

In the third episode of Wonder Egg Priority, we see Rika’s wrist have marks of cutting, indicating that she has been subjected to self-harm in the past. The cause of this self-harm is deeply associated with her former life as a Japanese pop idol. In Wonder Egg Priority, dreams are the central phenomenon. With every dream, the most profound regret pops out, and Ai, along with people who are dreaming, fights with guilt to liberate people from their past misery.

In Rika’s dream, a former idol who committed suicide transforms into a giant monster, and along with her, two Yu-Yu fans also pop-out. In real life, Yu-Yu committed suicide, and the two fans that popped out in Rika’sRika’s dream also committed suicide following her idol. All the self-destruction stuff is new to Ai, but Rika’s past history is as same as Yu-Yu’s, but she didn’t commit suicide.

Who is Chiemi, and what is her relationship with Rika Kawai?

In Rika’s former life, Chiemi was her devoted fan, and Rika used her devotion to her advantage. As a pop idol, Rika asked for several favors from Chiemi, and she regularly asked for money from her. Rika was a ruthless person, and she often addressed Chiemi as her wallet. In hopes of supporting Rika, Chiemi used to shoplift, and once Rika witnessed her shoplifting, she calls her “fatty” and asks her to stop being a fan.

As an opposite reaction to Rika’s behavior, Chiemi didn’t stop the shoplifting act. Instead, she starved herself to death. This regret created a paracosm of dreams where Rika is destined to save Chiemi. Her first encounter with Ai also suggests that Rika wanted to change herself and save Chiemi because she died of Rika’s irrational behavior. There were many other sides to the idol culture used throughout the episode, including idol stalkers, maniac fans, abusive adults, and much more to digest for a healthy mind.

Conclusion

After the third episode, it is clear that Wonder Egg Priority is not an easy anime series to watch. The show depicts society’s evils by putting Ai Ooto in the middle of all the madness. Wonder Egg Priority continues to strike delicate topics from bullying to toxic pop culture by combining art and psychology. The anime series has 12 episodes, and unlike the first three, fans can expect a lot of twists and turn into this aesthetically pleasing yet matured anime series of winter 2021.

Read Official Blog Post - Wonder Egg Priority Digs Deep Inside the Toxic Culture of Japanese Idols

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