Yeah... the pacing is a bit rushed in my opinion, too. :|

I think doing a movie to conclude it all would probably be a good idea, given the number of loose ends he'll have to tie up in a total of 44 minutes air time.

1. Who's Princess of the Crystal?
2. What did Momoka do that day and what happened to her?
3. Why penguins?

This show is much more paced like a mystery kind of thing so far, with a bunch of hanging threads and then SHERLOCK HOLMES EXPLAINS EVERYTHING periodically. That's fine, except that I would criticize that Ikuhara's left threads hanging for very long periods at a time. The diary and hat have both been kind of dropped for long enough that you're going to need to remember they're important the next time they show up. Maybe this is a symptom of his being accustomed to how he paced SKU? It was fine to drop threads of plot for a while because the episodes were largely based on individual characters, and individual duelists rarely had any real and immediate bearing in their episodes on the story at large. Here, they have to connect somehow, or it's been a waste of time, since he's definitely built these things up to make you wonder about their relevance, not just experience their story.

This episode definitely proved, however, that Ikuhara is 1. A Murakami fan (the description and design of the underground in this is as far as I recall identical to Murakami's in Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World), and 2. did his homework about Aum. The practices that flesh out the characters' histories, of being 'adopted' as children and isolated into a family and social system separate from the outside was part of how the cult worked. I'm definitely getting a lot more out of the show that way now that I've done my homework about Aum.

So far the broad exploration seems to be about destiny, but in a certain particular. Destiny kind of implies a continuity. Especially in the Japanese psyche, judging by the historical outlook its had on family and such. (Such as instances of voluntary seppuku done to absolve a family of the shame of the person committing it.) If the shame of your parents, even ancestors, carries over to you, how can you possibly have any freedom of your own to forge your own destiny? Not only is the show asking this, but it's also asking if this is as specific as a genetic line. Can the friend of a shamed family escape the shame?

I kinda see Penguindrum as reinterpreting some of the questions and values of SKU but in a very Japanese setting, even a more Japanese way. Strange to say, but I found SKU to be almost entirely presented from a very western perspective--the symbols and the ideals and even the utter absence of things that would have been so relevant to the Japanese characters. (A character like Saionji having no contact with his family and us getting no explanation for that is proof of how absent this is.) In Murakami's book about Aum, he notes that Aum, despite being this marginalized culture comprised of people cast out of Japanese society, is itself a definitively Japanese thing--and that's what should disturb people about it. Ultimately, I wonder if that's the point Penguindrum is making. That this story feels so easy and familiar and horrible...but why? Shouldn't it not? Does it sit right with us that we understand , even if we don't agree with, the idea that the children should be punished for the sins of the parents?

I recalled that Sanetoshi kinda broke the 4th wall to us audience after reviving Himari.

He asked the question for us, "Why did I save Himari?" <-That question must be the link to tie up the major loose ends, because Sanetoshi responded, "Wait just a little longer."

He also said that he wanted the two brothers to continue their journeys to find out if there really is such a thing as "Penguindrum". What if all the sparkles and illusions were... some kind of elaborate distraction that was never really there in the first place (if that even makes sense).

I was just thinking...

I have a feeling that [Himari's death] will prompt the return of Princess of the Crystal. Especially now that [Ringo got one half of her book back since Tabuki and Yuri figured out the reason why they are still alive, which was not to bring back Momoka, but to help other children feel that they are loved. Masako had also made the resolution to save Kanba with her life, so that will probably mean that Ringo will get that other half back, as well. The maid will probably be the one who returns the diary to Ringo, presumably per Masako's instruction or something.]

Maybe with [Himari dead, Princess of the Crystal will gain full possession of her body... maybe]

Last edited by Hiraku (12-10-2011 10:46:21 AM)

I agree about the pacing as well. Looking at how the plot's progressed, it feels very skewed... not enough happened in the first half and EVERYTHING in these last few episodes.

Having said that I'm looking forward how the director is going to wrap this up in 2 episodes!

I don't think we're done with Himari yet. We need at least one more Survival Strategy so that we can see wtf the Princess of the Crystal actually is.

By the by, poor Mario. Doesn't seem like anybody's actually going to try to save him.

I was under the impression he was on the same medicine that Sanetoshi was giving Himari. I *think* there was scene in episode 16 where she's telling Sanetoshi that the treatment is working before he offers her the same deal he gives to Kanba at the end -- to join the Kiga Group gang as a "chosen one" to save her brother's life. She's definitely been in contact with him via the creepy cell phone calls and office visits, so I might just be inferring the situation's the same

HonorableShadow wrote:

I also loved the scene with Kanba and Himari. Was she trying to lead him on? She told him "I love you" but he wasn't having any of it, because   he knew why she was saying it. Then she gave up and just begged him not to do anything terrible. It was a great scene.

Hmm... I wasn't under the impression that she was trying to manipulate him in that sort of way. I think it was an honest "I love you", something that perhaps she felt that she hadn't told Kanba enough times. Kanba's saddened expression struck me more as a kind of "you don't love me the same way I love you" thing. Of course she was trying to convince him to stop, but yeah, I don't think she said those words in order to play on his feelings.

Sanetoshi is a truly despicable character.

Sanetoshi is a saint.

Despite the fact that they've established that  Momoka was split *into* the penguin hats (presumably Himari's and Mario's hats), I'm having a lot of trouble buying into the idea that Himari = Momoka reincarnated or that Himari's Princess form is somehow her channeling Momoka. We've now seen Momoka talk through the penguin hat, and she doesn't have the same 'voice' as the Princess -- at all. No commands, she addresses Shoma by name instead of calling him a 'slave' or a 'lowlife who won't amount to anything.' It definitely seems like the Princess is a totally separate character from Momoka.

Which begs the question of where-the-fuck-is-*that*-persona coming from?

I'm also starting to think that the really wacky Natsume-blowfish episode's ending might end paralleling the show's ending, since otherwise the one-off appearance of a second "ghost" in the show seems weirdly out of touch with the rest of the show.

Last edited by dirufacade (12-16-2011 09:26:17 AM)

One thing I am actually kind of hoping that Ikuhara would not do: [Using Deux ex machina to bring people back from death. :|

I think, it makes no difference if Masako died or lived. Kanba would have taken that diary either way.

But, maybe that's the point that Ikuhara is making, that sometimes we should have accepted death? ]

Last edited by Hiraku (12-16-2011 01:12:57 PM)

Those two girls were some of the girls Kanba had dated and dumped.

At least, I'm pretty sure the girl with the permed hair was...

Last edited by Hiraku (12-16-2011 01:14:08 PM)

Episode 23: Despite all of this I am still holding out hope for at least a bittersweet ending. Followed by Adolescence of Himari, the movie.

Also! I do not believe I have posted this here yet.

As far as I know, Kanba was already doing shady things since the start (money to pay rent). He probably felt that he already had enough on his plate to worry about, so he sent Shoma after Ringo.

In other note, I was looking back at some of the episodes, and... it's not a satisfactory answer to my question of Ikuni's storytelling as to why Penguindrum was thrown to the back burner for much of the later episodes until this second to last one, but I feel that the reason Penguindrum was not being sought after since episode 16 was because:

1. Yuri and Masako both have the diaries
2. Sanetoshi claimed that he can save Himari. The two brothers were only doing the princess' biddings because at the time she had control over Himari's life. But with Sanetoshi and his medicine, it no longer felt necessary to find the Penguindrum. At least Kanba believed so then before Sanetoshi trolled him saying, "oh, jk, the medicine is losing potency, your sister will die anyway." Shoma was thinking of getting the diary back, but Kanba dissuaded him saying the he's got it covered (the medicine)

Problem I still have with the plot:

Princess of the Crystal seems to know what Penguindrum is. When Shoma asked her if Penguindrum is the diary, she went, "Not telling." And, when it's just Kanba and the Princess alone, she told him that she can tell he has what it takes to save Himari because "Penguindrum is your..." <-(Your what? Is Penguindrum the scorpion soul?)

If the princess already knows what Penguindrum is, why can't she just tell them straight up that the diary isn't the Penguindrum???
Also, if the hat was Momoka... why was it not her who communicated through Himari, but an alien princess instead?

Then again... [the princess said that she's from the ends of the brothers' destiny line. Given the clues, it seems to me that the "ends of destiny" is the subway train where the bombing happened. So... maybe we will meet her again now that both Shoma and Kanba are in the train.]

Last edited by Hiraku (12-17-2011 09:42:34 AM)

guys, I can't deal with this.

D:

Still - why the hell does the hat talk so cute suddenly?
Hat!Himari cursed a lot. : l