(I've been waiting until I could peruse this thread without fear of spoilers! Just finished the last episode this morning )

I'm wondering if anyone else has noticed the similarities between Dios and Momoka. I've been pretty diligent about separating Penguindrum and Utena in my analysis/viewing experience (judging it on its own merits and all that) but this one has always stuck with me.

Namely, a character whom the entire plot revolves around and who has some power to manipulate events posthumously (though whether or not they're "dead" is debatable) yet we never really see them or know anything about them until the end. -Also, the soul-splitting thing.-

Hiraku said:

There are 24 episodes to this series.

24 inverted is "42"

And, in the full opening song for Noruniru, one of the lines Etsuko sang was, "You will disclose secret of the world."

Delicious references!

I'll never understand why we wasted so much time with Ringo and Tabuki in the beginning. I mean sure, it was funny and all, but I started getting bored of Ringo early on when it turned out each new episode was featuring her and the Takakura family (besides Shouma) wasn't getting much screentime at all. Ultimately, her storyline with Tabuki wasn't so important that it needed all those episodes. That's not to say it wasn't important, but the screentime in the first few episodes could have been distributed more evenly. It could have shown more of the Takakura family and the Natsume family (especially Mario) while still balancing the Ringo/Tabuki plot. It wasn't until episodes 9 and 10 until I really got into the series because of all the time wasted in the beginning.

I must confess myself confused by the ending.

Why did both boys need to sacrifice themselves? I understand Shouma taking the fate transfer, but why did Kanba disintegrate? I thought the idea of the fate transfer was that it would bring Himari back to life.

Hiraku wrote:

Honey Bear wrote:

I must confess myself confused by the ending.

Why did both boys need to sacrifice themselves? I understand Shouma taking the fate transfer, but why did Kanba disintegrate? I thought the idea of the fate transfer was that it would bring Himari back to life.

The idea is that Penguindrum is what will save Himari.

Presumably, Kanba and Shouma both carried half of the penguindrum very early on (in the form on an apple). Penguindrum was basically like your ticket for survival. Both gave up their halves to make Himari whole.

Shouma, I think, did a little extra by also taking on Ringo's burden of carrying the fires of curse with him.

I think the question is, why does Ringo need to come in and dramatically transfer fate at all?  What did the fate transfer add that Kanba and Shouma couldn't have done anyway?

Can Ringo's fate transfer save both Himari and everyone on the train...?

I think... even if the bombs were neutralized, fate transfer alone probably wouldn't have been able to give Himari a Penguindrum without taking it from someone else, so maybe Himari will still be considered as "unchosen" and die.

I recalled that Momoka saved Yuri by "sacrificing" Yuri's father and sending him to a place where he'll never be found. It could be that Momoka took Yuri's father's "Penguindrum" and gave it to Yuri, while Momoka herself gets burned as the price she paid for changing fate.

So... maybe this is what happened to Kanba and Shouma, they both disappeared, such that Himari lives on. Except in this case, they chose to die for her.

Maybe it's Kanba and Shouma's part of the job to be the one that give the penguindrum to Himari, while the fate transfer facilitates the process and completes the rest of the job of stopping Sanetoshi's plan to destroy the world, something Momoka intended to do in the first place.

Last edited by Hiraku (12-28-2011 12:06:04 PM)

So like, has anyone ever considered the significance of the zoo being a significant point in the series? I mean, forget penguins, what about zoos? That seems symbolic... beautiful exotic creatures being caged up in fake habitats being observed by humans? Yes?

I often can't help but compare Penguindrum with Utena.  Both brilliant works in their own right, with the difference being that Utena is something that one can start watching from a later episode and still able to (partially) understand the show, while anyone trying to skip episodes in Penguindrum will be at a complete loss of what's going on.  As to which show is "better" . . . I honestly could not say.

Just very grateful that we fans got these two shows to fawn over, that's all

I hope this is the right thread to post this question:

Does anybody know what is the name of that incredible music score they played towards the ending of Ep 24?  I remember it starting out as a delicate piano piece in the scene with Masako Natsume wakes up and tells her little brother about her dream of Kanba saying he loved her, then gradually enriched itself into a full orchestra at the point when child Kanba and Shouma walked into the starry sky followed by the 4 penguins.  I need this info to complete part 3 of Seinen Kakumei Utena. 

Thanks for reading!

P.S. found the song name already!

Last edited by gorgeousshutin (05-25-2012 04:18:37 PM)

Reposted fanart from Neogaf:

Last edited by Rosesareawesome101 (01-18-2013 08:50:26 AM)

Just finished this anime - I wouldnt say I was disappointed but I'm really not sure if I liked it. I started it simply because I enjoyed Utena so much. Naturally, I found myself comparing Penguindrum to Utena throughout and it was very nice to see recurring themes expanded upon - I would say Penguindrum helped me to understand Utena's ending better.

Where did this anime go wrong? Well I really couldn't get invested in the characters at all. I'd say they were all lacking in personal development and consistancy - none of them were particularly memorable or interesting to me like the Utena cast and their relationships. The story itself was convoluted but on the whole manageable to follow, though parts were as confusing as the Black Rose arc times 10, particularly nearer to the ending. It was clunky, put bluntly, and so was the symbolism - while Utena had finesse and grace, Penguindrum felt like her little sister trying on mum's lipstick.

While the ending was a bit sloppier than Utena's, my praise goes to the show for actually having a solid ending and tying a fair deal up.

Am I disheartened by this? No, I will definitely be paying attention to the creator's future works. I probably wouldn't recommend penguindrum though, it felt a bit of a chore to watch.

Last edited by Tardigrade (06-29-2014 07:57:14 AM)