Mawaru Penguindrum
Yesterday I just finished watching this anime called "Mawaru Penguindrum", and I can't wait to talk about it. It's honestly a pretty tiring-to-watch anime because it's highly concentrated with symbolisms, but the key is not to expect all the answers. There's a lot to interpret from this show.
Penguindrum is about these 2 brothers whose sister died from illness and got revived by a mysterious spirit who tasked them to find the "penguindrum" to sustain her life. But the storytelling is very unconventional, so you don't see progress every episode. In fact, the story keeps jumping back and forth.
The characters are very engaging in my opinion. The girl on the left is Himari (the sister), followed by the brothers Kamba and Shoma. Right from episode one, their close family bond is already shown so clearly and you can feel their love with one another.
Then there's Ringo (center). At first, she just seems like a crazy half-yandere (yandere: a girl who's crazily and creepily obsessed with a guy) crazy over Tabuki (right) but as her backstory shows little by little, we start to sympathise with her and she eventually becomes a normal girl. She plays a rather small role at the crucial points but becomes important again in the end. My favourite character.
I also like Yuri's (left) character. All I can say is she has depth and is quite cool.
As Penguindrum is about "getting the penguindrum to save their sister", the show keeps us wondering what exactly is the penguindrum and how they are going to get it. Then in the show's openings, there are two very frequently shown objects: A pink diary and an apple with a sticker.
The pink diary belongs to Ringo. It was her sister's diary, but her sister died on the day she was born, so she religiously follows what is written in the diary in order to "become her sister". The apple is a symbol much talked about and referred to as "the fruit of fate".
Apparently, Ringo's sister is some great child whom everyone loves and who had saved Yuri and Tabuki's lives when they were younger.
Every character has a backstory. In fact, all of them are sad stories. Himari's story was the most touching, in my opinion. So as I have mentioned, you can feel Himari, Kamba, and Shoma's love for one another. As the story progress, their love become their source of pain, and as each backstory unfolds, secrets start to reveal. It's fun to see where each character plays a part. And what exactly is the penguindrum.
One of the main characters, Kamba, will be a mystery you may desperately want to find out about until the end. But you must be prepared to not get the answers. Many parts of this anime is very subtle, either just mentioned briefly or expressed through metaphors. Overall, it's a great anime to watch.
Penguindrum is about these 2 brothers whose sister died from illness and got revived by a mysterious spirit who tasked them to find the "penguindrum" to sustain her life. But the storytelling is very unconventional, so you don't see progress every episode. In fact, the story keeps jumping back and forth.
The characters are very engaging in my opinion. The girl on the left is Himari (the sister), followed by the brothers Kamba and Shoma. Right from episode one, their close family bond is already shown so clearly and you can feel their love with one another.
Then there's Ringo (center). At first, she just seems like a crazy half-yandere (yandere: a girl who's crazily and creepily obsessed with a guy) crazy over Tabuki (right) but as her backstory shows little by little, we start to sympathise with her and she eventually becomes a normal girl. She plays a rather small role at the crucial points but becomes important again in the end. My favourite character.
I also like Yuri's (left) character. All I can say is she has depth and is quite cool.
As Penguindrum is about "getting the penguindrum to save their sister", the show keeps us wondering what exactly is the penguindrum and how they are going to get it. Then in the show's openings, there are two very frequently shown objects: A pink diary and an apple with a sticker.
The pink diary belongs to Ringo. It was her sister's diary, but her sister died on the day she was born, so she religiously follows what is written in the diary in order to "become her sister". The apple is a symbol much talked about and referred to as "the fruit of fate".
Apparently, Ringo's sister is some great child whom everyone loves and who had saved Yuri and Tabuki's lives when they were younger.
Every character has a backstory. In fact, all of them are sad stories. Himari's story was the most touching, in my opinion. So as I have mentioned, you can feel Himari, Kamba, and Shoma's love for one another. As the story progress, their love become their source of pain, and as each backstory unfolds, secrets start to reveal. It's fun to see where each character plays a part. And what exactly is the penguindrum.
One of the main characters, Kamba, will be a mystery you may desperately want to find out about until the end. But you must be prepared to not get the answers. Many parts of this anime is very subtle, either just mentioned briefly or expressed through metaphors. Overall, it's a great anime to watch.
Labels: anime/manga