:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22341443/5LYzTBVoS196gvYvw3zjwDkYAKy50qCAE6ANt1AzN_E.jpg "Wonder Egg Priority is rethinking magical girl characters unlike any anime")
[Ed. note: This article contains general spoilers for Wonder Egg Priority. It also contains mentions of self-harm and suicide that may be unsuitable for some readers.]
Even between high-profile sequels and adaptations, some anime series have surprisingly exceeded the title this winter season Wonder egg priority. CloverWorks’ animation is terrific, with incredible layouts and illustrations consistently throughout her dialogue and her fights. But under it all is an unusually dark core. Directing with the series director Shin Wakbayashi and writer Shinji Nojima immediately sets traumatic themes. Wonder egg priority Also magical girl anime predecessors.
in Wonder egg priority, 14-year-old Ai Oho is grieved after the suicide of his only friend, Koito, and enters a dream world where he must fight to protect the souls of dead girls housed within “Wonder Eggs”. To help them find peace, Ai has to fight the creepy, kitchen knife-wielding demons known as the “Seno Evils” and the larger demons as the “Wonder Killers”. Ai has her own agenda: her bizarre benevolent, mysterious effigy man named Ak and Ura-Ak promise to return Koito to life in return for her services. As the AI executes its missions, it meets and does so with three other girls, for their own mostly ambiguous reasons. It includes Neeru, a quiet and isolated child of wealth; Rika Kawai (“as in ‘Kavai’, because I’m so cute!”), A former young idol whose pain caused a lot of unpleasantness; And recently Momo, calm and confident in all areas except when she faced a stigma towards a tired appearance. Every week, they buy Wonder Eggs from Magic Gachpon machines and embark on a mission to rescue the Egg girls in their own separate dreams.
As with the other magical girl, another uses familiar familiarity abilities that empower girls to reorganize the world, build their agency, and feel confident in themselves. Wonder egg Follows that tradition in some places but breaks through it in an attractive way. On the face of it, the show is a mash of psychological horror and upcoming drama with obvious effects. From the beginning there are complex layers of visual language that recall the work of A silent voice Director nako yamda (Especially the use of flower language) and the subjective, magically realistic depiction of reality that gave Satoshi Kon a name. There is also Person 5 The way teenagers of the show deal with the moral failures of adults.
Wonder eggThe instant approach transforms the concept of the magical girl into something ominous; The “beneficiaries” of AI warn in the first episode that “the first one is free. The rest is what you will spend.” This is mostly literal because the AI has to buy each egg, though other costs remain to be seen. This is the underlying idea. That the very main system in which the protagonists work (in this case, patriarchal and capitalist) is itself famously remembered. Revolutionary Girl Utena And Kunihiko Ikuhara’s other show Mawaru Penguindrum. A show that will come to many people’s minds Puella Maggi Madoka Magica, Another series that showed through a more gruesome lens after giving birth to a magical girl. For viewers of that show, potential troopers between Ai and its so-called beneficiaries should immediately ring the alarm bell. It remains to be seen how far Wonder egg Those implications will go along, but there are definitely bad vibes, as Aka and Ura-Ekka witness their life and death struggles with the callous detachment.
The girls are given strength, although even in their more magical girl moments, the characters do not transform themselves so much according to their perception of the world. They remove objects from other things instead of moving them around with power. Not that the change trope is outdated, but the ballerina-like glamor and grace of a sailor guardian is not complete Wonder eggIn which a hero who is provoked for his unique appearance is learning to be comfortable with himself. It is important that Ai fights dressed as himself – it is not someone else’s power, but his own vision and resolve.
The series also underscores the ugliness of reality. It is not vaguely “about trauma” like some show is content to be, but actually addresses specific issues with their systemic origins as well as the impulses that exacerbate them. In the show-stopping third episode, “A Bare Knife”, the girls who have to protect Ai and Rika are commenting on the toxic side of idol culture, Rika finding herself a victim and engrossed in the exploitation of young girls happened. place. This is unfortunately a rare anime that takes sexual harassment and assault seriously, treating aggressive action as a serious threat rather than brushing it off as a crude joke. Wakabayashi and Nojima did not pull punches, making it a difficult show to recommend universally – many would find a fairly direct exploration of the harm they cause themselves to become a suicidal obstacle to the show. But until now, the show has never sensationalized such material with a careful and often lyrical depiction of hidden trauma arising from common, predatory cultural systems.
The trick lies in the elegance of its presentation. While the show is often direct, it avoids exploitation even when the imagination is clear, and does well to balance its contrasting content to add catchy comedy and tough social commentary. Wakabayashi and the directors of the second episode show restraint in the right moments, a necessary slant approach to their most difficult subjects. The heaviest details are shown through accidental reveal: Ai catches an accidental glimpse of another character’s mark, and her own experiences with bullying are revealed simply through the presence of her Dreamworld. The nuances of its naturalistic character acting are combined with smart juxtaposition that affects objects and the world around them with emotional significance. In one scene, the news of a great change in Ai’s life is made up of an elaborately bitten raw egg from Tsukiyaki, a raw egg shattering as the location of her home becomes even more uncomfortable.
while Wonder egg Separates its thematic content through calm and careful observation, it also does it through loud and brilliant action. Each episode culminates in cathartic, stunning visuals that never miss the editorial intent, even as the animation becomes more playful and experimental. The third episode finale, the high-flying action sequence that borders on Abstract as Ai and Rika, demonstrating the power of their mutual understanding, valiantly leaps to the rescue of the Egg Girls. And while each girl retains her distinctive but down-to-earth character design (courtesy of Saki Takahashi), there’s still the magical girl transformation, just the things that interact with AI: her favorite pen. Turns into a battle-ax; A gymnastic ribbon in the whip; Pendrive in small lights. The subjective view of the show also applies to the reality and worldview of girls EggThe style thrills.
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The show uses a burst of action to evoke mass rage in violent behavior in general, as each of the “Wonder Killers” above have a clearly intended purpose. In other hands, it may sound very literal, so it is a testament Wonder eggThis craft seems to be complicated with each episode acting as an extension of the character study. “Bare Knife” may be the most powerful example, as the episode’s director Yoki Yonemori’s use of what appears to be animation on the threesomes at the beginning of the episode, the judgmental movement reflecting the disruptive personality of new character Reika. Conversely, in the fifth episode, Neeru’s big fight moves with the agility of a spy thriller, her magical weapon based on distance and accuracy.
The images that bring these moments to life feel unique in their detail and continuity of quality. All of this is inspired by DE DE MOUSE and Mito’s bouncy, off-kilter electronic score not far from Satoshi Kone collaborator Susum Hirasawa. Such scenes articulate themselves with their peers with surprisingly clear brutality, violence specific and largely real even in earth-shattering cliffs. While most of these battles are thrilling and fast, the show’s creepy roots reveal themselves each time, as in the episode “Punch Drunk Day”, which finds terror and frustration in a fight against an invisible enemy. The impact of the fight against Ai is clearly evident.
The combination of violent combat and painful backstory is anything but serious. Wonder girl priority His portrayal of the main player’s quarrels is extremely charming and funny and how they compliment and collide – Rika’s constant need for her friends, Ai’s friendliness and idealism, Neeru’s straightforwardness, Momo’s peace. Their rebellion against the yolk of abusive adults and even complex peers is but one part of the journey, as each girl begins to break out of her shell and face her isolation from her newfound support system She thanks – more powerful than any of her other abilities. The show’s approach to the magical girl Upazat is at times indifferent to its indescribable appeal, even with its effects clearly worn on its sleeve, Wonder egg priority There is a slippery approach to style and tone, remixing each element into something more than the sum of its parts.
This is an anime with potential for an all-timer situation, although it is a sentiment that can fall apart as writers keep picking up incredibly inconvenient content. It is unknown whether Wakbayashi and company will stop the landing, but it is rare that a series comes off the gates as consistently exciting, challenging, and gorgeously animated. Wonder egg priority There are many things as before, but nothing now.
New episodes of Wonder egg priority Air every wednesday Funimation.
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