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Perhaps my favorite thing about Wonder Egg so far is how it is able to so organically balance its lighthearted moments with its more dark yet delicate matters without ever feeling tonally whiplashed in how it transitions between them. Add the fact that it's tackling plenty of-
difficult societal issues and you end up with something that absolutely requires special care, for it can come out in many ways wrong. But I'm happy to say that in its first five episodes as of writing this, that it has done everything right so far, and perhaps even beyond that.
While I could go about how it accomplishes this by going through every creative decision the show has made so far, I only want to focus on one thing for now which I felt like I really had to say something about ever since her debut. And that thing, or rather character, is Rika!
I've already expressed in a previous thread that I love it when a show questions a core theme or an aspect of a character. In a sense it's self-aware of the viewer's expectations and is not afraid of bringing these conflicts to light. https://twitter.com/RainAfterDark/status/1351605209559040003?s=20
And Rika is just, that. To me she embodies this self-awareness, and it's reflected in how she confronts our characters, especially Ai. Initially coming off as assertive, materialistic, and selfish, her facade was the perfect mix of traits to go against Ai's views.
It's quite ironic how in just a couple of minutes after she talked her way into Ai implying that she too only sees the superficial that we get to see that her way of coping with guilt is just as, quite literally, surface level. I'm not saying that her self-inflicted injuries are-
to be taken lightly, but the fact that she only does it to reaffirm this guilt upon herself out of the frustration of not being able to do anything about it. It's also a peek into her true self, that more than anything, she's the most selfless of them all.
We get a glimpse of that self-LESS-ness with how she seemingly sacrificed herself at the end of episode 3. While it's not very clear what happened, I'm assuming she pushed the other twin aside her before the wonder killer blasted them with a petrifying ray.
It parallels her paralyzed state when she first knew of Chiemi's tragic fate, and how her initial response was that it was all her fault which eventually lead to self-harm. While we do get to see her now promising herself that she'd never do it again, even if it's not-
something we can't fully trust her on about, I think the fact that she's showing a willingness to change is enough to see that she's making progress, even just a little. Which brings me to my next point in how she brings up a different solution not just for her own problems,
but for everyone's. A solution that doesn't necessarily solve anything. I've mentioned it before that guilt, or rather the root of guilt which is sin, can either be forgiven, or forgotten. Rika is suggesting that the latter might just be what they need. To forget and run away.
Why cling to a past that only brings pain? Why suffer for something you were never responsible for? Why risk the prospect of a future with new people for someone who doesn't even exist anymore? I like how early we're getting these questions asked, and who else is better to-
bring all these up than Rika. On the surface level she seems as though she's being selfish again with how she wants to take the "easy" way out of this whole mess they've gotten themselves into. The Acca brothers don't even seem to mind if they do stop buying eggs,
for they're not being forced to do any of this anyway. Rather they don't need to, for these children feel guilty enough to do them voluntarily. But Rika isn't simply trying to discard the validity of the guilt each of them feel, but that if it meant that they could potentially-
lose their lives and in turn the friendship they've built for now in this pursuit of forgiveness, then is it truly worth risking for? To see how Ai doesn't even know the first thing about Koito and seeing her being happy in the environment that she's in with such a loving mother,
I think it's only natural for someone to feel this concerned, and it's in these moments where I feel that Rika truly shows that her selflessness is presented not just through her recklessness, but also in the compassion that she feels for her newfound friends.
Even if she had to go against the group's best interests and play the devil's advocate, it's nice seeing a different perspective in all of this, and it only makes the utterly mundane yet blissful little moments in this series all the more precious, endearing, and invaluable.
Thank you for reading once again! I'm shifting my approach to being less about tackling each individual episode, but more big picture threads like this one. I feel like viewing things holistically makes it much more comfortable for me to write my thoughts on.
