Momoka=Utena? Yuri=Anthy?

So were those calling Yuri a hermaphrodite right? Every scene with her and her dad seemed to point in that direction. That was a horrifyingly episode with a beautiful and touching ending.

Last edited by chrisb (10-22-2011 03:33:12 AM)

satyreyes wrote:

[Yuri's visible injuries after episodes of abuse weren't on parts of her body relevant to her sex.  I think her dad was just batshit insane, and Yuri's awful body image now is the bizarre offspring of what her father told her and what her father did to her.]

[I think he raped her : her leg "broke" later than we would expect it to if he did her the same thing he does to statues.]

VictorVVV wrote:

satyreyes wrote:

[Yuri's visible injuries after episodes of abuse weren't on parts of her body relevant to her sex.  I think her dad was just batshit insane, and Yuri's awful body image now is the bizarre offspring of what her father told her and what her father did to her.]

[I think he raped her : her leg "broke" later than we would expect it to if he did her the same thing he does to statues.]

I think that's very likely.    But not evidence of any hermaphroditism.

Something doesn't add up, though...

Yeah, that is still the best evidence.  But it could be something [her father] did to her -- a permanent and very visible scar or set of scars.  I can't help thinking of Anthy's stomach in the movie.

I'm guessing the marks on Tabuki's fingers are from burning, caused by saving animals.

It's also pretty clear now why both he and Yuri would be convinced that Momoka hadn't died in the attack.

o___________________O what the hell?!

God, I love this show.

I actually think that's a possibility, Davine...

[Tabuki was conveniently late for the train that day when the event happened. It's very likely that Momoka knew ahead of time what's going to happen to Tabuki and traded their fates, so she'd die in his place]

But, I'm not so sure about Himari not wanting to live, though... When she said that no one would accept a scarf from her, I think this is a reflection of what Shoma said to Ringo in Episode 14, ab0ut how everyone is just standing by watching them destroying themselves because of the sins their parents had committed. It's very likely that Himari was also be ostracized at one point, but I felt that Double-H were probably the few who never really hated Himari for it. She probably wasn't aware of that, maybe Hikari and Hibari never got the chance to tell her how they feel.

I don't think they're the kind of friends who would dump her over something like that. Maybe it's just that their parents told them to not be around Himari anymore. They were obviously super stoked that they got the scarves from Himari, and Himari looked super happy that Double-H loved her scarves, so maybe her fear of them also hating her for her parents' crimes was unfounded.

EDIT: Rewatching episode 12, and I just realized that Takakura Kenzan was voiced by none other than the same man who voiced Touga... Why did I just had a sense of deja vu...

Last edited by Hiraku (10-23-2011 03:17:42 PM)

One interesting thing about the episode 15 that no-one seems to have mentioned yet: the multiple worlds! If we are to take Momoka's words and Yuri's subjective experiences at face value, Momoka used her diary to transfer them to an entirely different version of the world to save Yuri. The gigantic David statue-skyscraper appears to have been replaced with the familiar Tokyo Tower in the end.

I'm increasingly leaning towards the possibility that Momoka might be the Princess of the Crystal. The way Sanetoshi talks while looking at the girl now revealed to be Momoka in episode 14 and then turning to the penguin hat would seem to connect the two, as would Momoka's apparent ability to influence the destiny itself.

And another thing: what's up with the part of the new opening where adult Tabuki bows to kiss child Momoka's foot?

To just chip a little in for the Yuri-issue, I feel that [spoiler]her "ugliness" was psychological independence, rather than a physical deformity, and her father was determined to "chisel" it away with physical and psychological abuse, possibly intending to culminate in murder to dominate her completely forever.[/spoiler]

Last edited by Lightice (10-23-2011 04:55:36 PM)

HonorableShadow wrote:

I have a bad feeling that Hikari and Hibari don't know the scarves are from Himari.  It could be that Sanetoshi himself is the friend they're referring to. I wouldn't put it past this show.  I think we're due for a Double-H focused episode at some point.

Edit: Hey, it's my 100th post!  It only took me 5 years to get this many.

Congrats on getting the 100th post!

Also, I won't deny that possibility, but I sincerely hope that's not the case because then Hibari and Hikari are just... well... mean...

Regarding the multiple worlds, I was thinking about whether or not Momoka was actually altering fate, or just altering what the targets are seeing. The change of the David statue into Tokyo Tower reminded me of how in Utena, the dueling arena that we see with the bells, became nothing more than just the chairman's tower at the last episode. Maybe it was the Tokyo Tower all along, and Yuri had a warped view of reality that Momoka managed to change for her?

Then again, it would contradict with what happened to the bunny that Momoka saved. There's no changing perspective of life/death, after all.

In other note about the opening scene, Ringo gets set on fire the way Momoka did, makes me wonder if [This foreshadows Ringo's ultimate sacrifice, thereby living up to being the person that Momoka was, who was loving and selfless. Ringo already started to admit that she was dense and selfish before then, so it's a start. Maybe she'll really become Dios, or close to being Dios.]

Last edited by Hiraku (10-23-2011 10:06:46 PM)

At the end, Sanetoshi is picked by Akio in his car, and they whisk off to meet Dornkirk at the Destination of Fate, which is a bar for fate-obsessed villains at the Restaurant at the End of the World.

....LOL

I openly prefer the Eva movie, even if it is a whole load of ridiculous hogwash.

Did everyone notice the washing machine Yuri's selling on the back of the magazine a few episodes back?

The washing machine is based on a joke made by Japanese fans back when nothing about the series except the title "Mawaru Penguindrum" was known. They said it sounded like a name for a dishwasher.

Anyway, you want the ultimate troll ending? Let's say that right now, network executives are upset that the show isn't appealing enough to shut-in otaku and lean on Ikuhara to make a few thematic changes.

In the next episode, the members of Double-H come to visit Himari at the hospital. She is healed instantly by the power of friendship and comes with them to their swanky hotel room in Ginza, where they unite again as Triple-H. Ringo sneaks into the hotel after them and asks if she can join the band too. They laugh and tell her of course not, because her name doesn't start with an H. But she can hang around and serve them tea and cakes, so it's all good. All the other characters are instantly forgotten, except for the three penguins who come to live with the girls and entertain them with their wacky hijinks.

The rest of the series plays out as a slice-of-life moe comedy starring the four girls. They lounge around their luxury hotel suite, playing ping-pong, swimming in the indoor pool with the penguins and drinking tea. Each episode will tackle such weighty issues as "Who ate the last of the croissants?" and "Ringo bought chamomile tea by mistake and doesn't know if the other girls like chamomile! What will she do?"

In Episode 23, the girls are preparing for a big concert and Himari is scared because she isn't sure if her singing voice is up to par. But in episode 24 they decide to cancel the concert and just lounge around the hotel some more. The series won't end here, though. At this point model kits of the girls in their swimsuits will be selling like hotcakes, so the network will greenlight 48 more episodes. Yay!

@Davine: You've ruined me. How did you manage to crush my soul in a single post? O.o

Last edited by Rose Rust (10-25-2011 11:55:01 PM)

Hiraku wrote:

I can't unsee this...

Actually, you know what? There's a possibility that Ikuhara has a hidden stash of moe-goodness for his personal guilty pleasure :|a

We've seen some with sketch of Anthy coming on to Utena, right? Right? Yeah...

Nah, that's not moe. Utena and Anthy have agency and character growth, which is antithetical to the whole moe phenomenon. Actually, Anthy would be a good addition to any moe series, since she would drive the other characters to insanity and suicide. Ikuhara should direct his own slice-of-life schoolgirl comedy show, he could start it out like a clone of the popular shows in the genre and then take things into really demented and perverse territory. Japan's otaku would be so badly traumatized they might even leave their rooms.