What else did I expect from the director of Revolutionary Girl Utena? I’m on episode 15 of Mawaru PenguinDrum and I can safely say that this is really, really weird. However, it’s also very engaging. As a result, I sound like I’m psychotic when I try to recommend the show to my friends:
“Guys, there’s this great show you have to check out. It’s like if Eden of the East had turned out better. Also, trippier. And there’s this dying girl, Himari, who’s possessed by a stuffed penguin hat. There’s also a crazy stalker, but she’s a protagonist, not a psycho. And incest, but don’t worry about it. Guys? Guys!”
Anyway, I watch this show to relax but I keep getting hung up by the particulars. It’s almost like watching The Matrix in that every little detail seems to be there for a reason. I’m convinced that the whole show has some underlying message about the Beatles: there’s a character named Ringo (I know that means “apple” in Japanese, but I’m not convinced there isn’t a double meaning), and for some reason, whenever Himari is possessed by the penguin hat (see above), she yells, “IMAGINE!” When I googled this, the Mawaru PenguinDrum wiki found about ten other ties to the Beatles.
But in spite of all these WTF moments, I’ve never doubted the course of the plot. Mawaru PenguinDrum takes place in one mixed up universe, but it’s a universe that’s seamlessly assembled. Invisible penguins that do chores and can only be seen by Himari and her family? Sounds legit. A hospital corridor filled with gifts from character’s ex girlfriend? It could happen. As my friend Andrew would say, (this guy speaks purely in aphorisms), this is just one of those shows for which you have to turn off your bullshit sensor first. And after that, just enjoy the ride.
Watch with me: Unfortunately, Mawaru PenguinDrum has not been licensed… yet. You’ll need to watch it streaming or get a torrent.
9 Comments.
Penguindrum has been one of the more talked about shows around the blogosphere that started in the summer and ended in Dec. Glad that you’re joining the party Lauren, late as it is :D
@Justin, I have to be on top of things for work, but nobody said I had to in my free time! That’s a useful benchmark though. In the future, I won’t worry about revealing spoilers for shows that have already ended.
Sounds very interesting!
Also, the Beatles label is Apple, so Ringo meaning Apple in Japanese fits on that angle too.
I’m good at suspending all and just going along for the ride trusting that the ride will be awesome even if it takes me a bit to figure out just where the ride has taken me.
Thank you for the recommendation!
@Dormouse42, believe me, I STILL don’t know where that ride has taken me. Back when I was 15 and watching Revolutionary Girl Utena, I figured I was just too young to understand. Now I know better.
For whatever reason, I kind of resisted saying it was such, but after finishing the series I think it’s the best anime of 2011. You’re right – EVERYTHING has a meaning, but more than that, the show has a lot of heart, as demonstrated near the end.
If you’re interested in the symbols and in deeper analysis, I pretty much ended every episode by reading the episodic colloquium posts at Altair and Vega:
http://altairandvega.wordpress.com/category/colloquia/mawaru-penguindrum-colloquia/
@Charles, thanks so much for bringing this blog to my attention. I’m only on episode 15, so I’ll really enjoy seeing a detailed synopsis for each of the episodes I have yet to watch.
Thanks for the shout-out, Charles!
And Lauren, thank you for visiting our blog as well! This episodic was HUGE yet exhilarating. Every week we’d press forward and challenge each other a bit to write the best posts we could, and it seemed as though it resonated with a portion of the anime fandom. So feel free to come and read and kick around and leave a comment if you’d like, though some of the posts are a touch overflowing with those, heh heh.
Just downloaded the last of this series last night, but I haven’t had the chance to watch any. Great to hear it lives up to the reputation of Utena!
@SL Heitz, as I said, I think I sound crazy when I recommend it, but I truly do recommend it!