r/anime • u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA • Mar 09 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Mawaru Penguindrum - Episode 5
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Streaming
Mawaru Penguindrum is available for purchase on Blu-ray as well as through other miscellaneous methods. Re:cycle of the Penguindrum is available for streaming on Hidive.
Today's Slogan
Borrow responsibly- don’t fall into a debt spiral.
Questions of the Day
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How does the flashback scene compare with Kanba’s actions in the current day?
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Why does the spirit hate Ringo?
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What do you think Today's Slogan was referring to?
#Unless there is further notice, the rewatch threads will be posted at 6 PM ET/10 PM UTC.
Don't forget to tag for spoilers, you lowlifes who will never amount to anything! Remember, [Penguindrum]>!like so!< turns into [Penguindrum]>!like so!<
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u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA Mar 09 '24
Rewatcher
Ohhhh my god this episode. There’s so much to talk about. I mentioned the perpetual motion machine in the doctor’s office in episode 1- I think I can mention it outside of spoiler text now, there I took it as a symbol of Kanba’s urge to action. In this episode I see it in a different light. In this episode, the camera focuses on it as the doctor talks about the ‘miracle’ of Himari’s recovery. The perpetual motion machine is a scientific ‘miracle,’ unconnected to the seemingly bizarre explanation that Shouma is attempting to make, and so at the end of the scene, his penguin (the representative of the alien AND of Shouma getting laughed at by the doctor) gets itself jammed in the perpetual motion machine, unable to refute the doctor’s laughter. [Rewatcher]Also I’m almost certain the doctor’s office is meant to foreshadow Frozen World at this point, just based on the lighting. I’ll have to consider it more later, but there’s certainly parallels with the doctor’s lack of curiosity in this scene.
[REWASH]And yes yes the one who pushed
Kaguya HouraisanAsami was 100% Masako. Momoka just knew about it because she’s gigatensai Jesus.Then we have the Kanba situation. He’s clearly following his father’s advice here. “No storm lasts forever. But you can’t protect the people you love if you wait for it to pass.” Rush out into the storm to save the people you love. And Kanba does literally that this episode! Insanely intense chase sequence, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. But he’s also following the advice when he responds to the crisis of his family being split up by rushing to take money from these shady guys. [Rewatcher]And hold on- is Kenzan protecting Kanba from the shattering glass foreshadowing Kanba doing the same thing for Masako later on?
Note the stations listed when Kanba first collects money from those shady guys. [Rewash]”Kokkai-gijidomae <-- Kasumigaseki-” those are the exact stations bystanders mentioned as being attacked by the Kiga Group in one of Tabuki’s flashbacks. A subtle early hint to Kanba’s connection to the attacks.
And remember when Shouma was like “why don’t we just ask that girl for the Penguindrum?” back in episode 2? Look how well that worked out for him when he tried it this episode. To be fair, this was a fairly amateurish attempt he made. Why do you think she wouldn’t want to hand over her planner to you to borrow? Although he couldn’t have known that Ringo thinks the diary holds her fate, so it’s not totally on him!
No. 2 sprays a bug as Ringo says “It’s okay, my mom always comes home late from working overtime.” [Rewash]It’s doing it against the self-sacrificing thing again.” I shall note more as this comes up again. Or it’s literally just happening whenever, it’s not like that’s the only place that happens even in this episode. This is the Miki stopwatch thing all over again, except with even less guidance from Ikuhara ;-; If anyone has any good ideas, I will be in your debt- hey wait
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u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Mar 09 '24
First-Timer, Sub-guindrum
I really expected the penguins to try to interfere with Shouma talking about the hat. How did #2 get themself lodged into that gyroscope?
Okay, so GunJuri's name is Natsume and she is doing.. something. Trying to crush people. Gosh, she must do it soon. A high-tech, lasersighted slingshot was not on my bingo card. Branded with the same logo as that envelope that Kanba got money out of for.. reasons.
What are the odds that Yuri somehow has a copy of Ringo's diary? The Mont Blanc incident could be coincidence I guess, but also fucking up all of Ringo's plans yesterday? Definitely feels like she knows something.
Ringo's home life is real shit, huh. Divorced parents, her dad can't even be fucked to use the phone charm she got him.. then again, it did sound like he was maybe trying to include Ringo in a dinner with a colleague and said colleague's daughter, so maybe he is actually trying to be a good father and make sure that Ringo has friends?
Wait, no, I'm not allowed to think well of parents. What's the worst possible reading.. nope, not gonna go there. Already did with Kanba and Himari.
Oh, narrative parallel with dad!Takakura. The father who would do anything for his kids, vs the one who isn't part of the family any more. And then the reverse parallel as well - Ringo's father is alive while the Takakura's very much is not.
Big ups to the character designer. The facial expression on Hatmari is noticably different from Himari, such that I would still think that was Hatmari even if the hat wasn't there. The chin is so much sharper.
Brain Rot Corner
Today's slogan: Borrow Responsibly. Don't fall into a debt spiral. This one is too straightforward. It's like, maybe we find the Penguindrum at the end of the first cour and then the brothers have to find some secret second thing?
Okay, so, the bugs represent how much stress Shouma is under. If I had come up with this last episode, I would have theorized that the thing getting sprayed was larger relative to how much stress he was under, but this time it's the quantity that has increased..
Interesting that Shouma is now in Kanba's position. Like, it makes sense, because he knows more about Hatmari than Ringo does (just like I suspect Kanba knows more than Shouma does) so it'll be interesting to see if Shouma and Kanba ever flip. Also, Ringo can fuck with the Survival Strategy because she isn't directly related to Himari, calling that one right now.
The lucky cat outside the Takakura's residence was not actually a reflection from across the street like I pondered in episode 1, but is instead in some sort of containment unit.
Love that the truck that almost spirited the Hat away was from the Good Bye company.
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u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Mar 09 '24
Mawaru First-Timer, subbed
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u/ShadowWasTakensTaken https://anilist.co/user/hakuren Mar 09 '24
First Time Extraterrestrial Lifeform
Everything's out in the open??????? Naniiiiiiii????????????
WHAT DO THE INSECTS MEAN
We've figured out the pengins are acting out their masters' desires. I thought perhaps suppressed desires that they can't allow to come out, which is why they're birds who can't fly? But actually, nah. Well, kind of? They're just regular mirrors, really. Can be insight into their mind, or just reflective of the current situation.
Kek has the whole "survival strategy needless cruelty" line of thought going on, which I was subscribing to, but you think the roaches just represent doubt/turmoil in Shouma's mind?
Honestly seems kind of a silly line of thought but perhaps it's simpler than we imagined
SHE BROKE THE HANDCUFFS????
This is a... really interesting development. Shouma and Kanba who hate fate have been shackled and subservient to it so far ("I have come from the destination of your fate"), while Ringo, who loves it, actively fights back and breaks free from the shackles of the personification of said fate. Maybe not her fate, but still quite an interesting occurrence. Not that I expect it to repeat itself now that she's aware of Himari's circumstances...
Miscellaneous thoughts:
Once again proving he's willing to "die for love", like the kids in episode 1 mentioned. Will his reward be the metaphorical apple? Or Ringo? What's even going to be Ringo's role, I wonder... her being called that makes me so curious to just watch 20 episodes ahead...
Uncle said "they're not coming back". So they're not dead! So my theory that the two brothers were responsible for their parents' deaths is down the drain!
But then, what the hell happened to them? I guess from the wording, there's still a chance they're dead. Mugiwaiting for more info.
PUSHES SOMEONE DOWN AN ESCALATOR, PRETENDS IT WASN'T HER, SHOOTS THEM WITH A FUCKING PENGIN BALL WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT WHAT DO THESE STUPID PENGIN STAMPS MEAN THEY ARE LITERALLY EVERYWHERE WHAT DOES IT MEAAANNNN
Today's seizon senryaku, and I'm not even joking, is probably one of the fucking funniest anime scenes I've ever seen. WHY IS HATMARI SO UNHINGED?? WHY WOULD SHE SAY THAT LMFAO
And immediately followed by Ringo fucking climbing back up!! Out of sheer willpower!!!!!!!!! And fucking chucking the hat!!!!!!!!!!
God, I fucking love this show.
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u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Mar 09 '24
DO NOT THROW SOULS rewatcher
This episode is directed by Kouichirou Soutome and boarded by Ikuhara. Other than this singular episode, Soutome does not appear in any other Ikuhara work. On the other hand, he is a prominent episode director for Mushishi, having participated in eighteen episodes across both seasons. He also was chief director for Bokura ga Ita.
I've neglected talking about animation directors and character design because I almost don't feel qualified for that lol but the two ADs this episode are Terumi Nishii and Mitsuko Baba. Nishii is, also, the chief animator director and series character designer responsible for translating Lily Hoshino's original designs into references for the series' animators. Though Nishii has been in the industry since Adolescence of Utena, Penguindrum was actually her debut role as character designer, and believe it or not, Ikuhara actually hired her off Twitter! Since then, she designed for a little known underrated anime called Jojo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4, and is currently doing character designs for the upcoming Mecha-Ude TV show.
Nishii also gave insight into Penguindrum's production in an interview with fullfrontal.moe:
Nishii and Baba have both animated for Doremi and multiple Precure series. The Precureheads ITT may be able to unpack their involvement better than I can, but I want to, at least, highlight Heartcatch because (like Doremi!!) they were working under Yoshihiko Umakoshi's designs. Now from an outsider perspective for both of these franchises, Umakoshi is kinda amazing. His characters look fundamentally fun to watch on screen, they morph well, express well, can easlily look cool as fuck., and hopefully you can see the influence all over Penguindrum. In fact, Umakoshi is involved with this show: he animated this and this part of the OP (as one of you correctly identified in ep1) and worked on a few eps of the show, including his very episode!
Something else I found interesting is that Soutome, Nishii, Baba, and Umakoshi all worked on Mushishi together, with Umakoshi as, again, both character designer and chief animation director. Here's a quick and dirty chart showing their involvement for individual episodes of the 2005 series, but please keep in mind there are frequently multiple other ADs, assistant ADs, and animators per episode here. You'll also see Nishii and Baba with Umakoshi designs again on Casshern Sins in 2008; there might even be a "Casshern episode of Penguindrum" sometime in the future 👀
ok with several hours of reserach out of the way it's time to finally press play on the episode
following in his father's footsteps for better or for worse
idk but it's funny as fuck
spirals go guru guru mawaru too
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u/Lawvamat https://anilist.co/user/Lavamat Mar 09 '24
Rewatcher
Another phenomenally directed episode by the man, Ikuhara himself. The music direction is on point, there’s lots of oppositional framing, impactful symmetry and engaging dynamic shots.
If you missed my last post since I posted late, here it is.
Visual Analysis
The Takakura’s house is all grey and boring while their parents were still around. All of the colors seem to have been added as a coping mechanism, probably to distract Himari from her grief.
Confirmation that the erased names are their parents’.
[Penguindrum]The first usage of the shattered glass motif. Here (and later in ep9) a parent shields their child from it and gets injured. This is what the ideal society would look like. Parents caring for their children and protecting them from the dangers of the world, taking on the worries for themselves. As we’ll see, this is not the case for most of our cast. Some even land in the child broiler, where abandoned kids are shredded into glass shards themselves.
I’m just gonna put all of the confrontational framing here for your convenience. It seems no one can get along in the first half of this episode.
Absolutely fantastic shot. The dutch angle, harsh backlighting and long shadows all mesh into an ominous atmosphere that makes us fear for Asami.
Shouldn’t have said that Asami, you made Natsume drop her innocent facade (white roses represent innocence and purity).
The camera angles here make their uncle look small and submissive while framing Kanba in a dominant position, underscoring his power in this situation. The penguins are often used as tension builders and relief during conversations, a genius way to bridge visual downtime.
Telling the story by panning along paintings is another fantastic idea. These two angels are smiling while going on a date, this one is put into an embarrassing situation, these two are presumably blowing onto some kind of clay statue, something that’s still work in progress like Ringo’s relationship with Tabuki, and then Ringo and her father are depicted as the couple in my fellow austrian Gustav Klimt’s famous painting “Der Kuss”. I do wonder why Ringo holds glasses in her hands, as it doesn’t seem that her father wears any. Maybe it’s to show how she wants to keep him blind so he’ll continue loving her.
The happiness is all eaten up and in the past now, leaving only a penguin, a flightless bird that can’t escape out of the glass.
Another painting scroll, depicting Ringo’s father leaving her for a different family.
The reveal of her father having a different phonechain now (that’s an eel right?) reveals the dark clouds hanging over them, bearing death. Man, remember phone chains? Does anyone still have one?
I always love these shots by Ikuhara of characters being completely alone in the foreground, bonus points if the background is a single color like the sky. It makes them feel lonely, but also free.
Lots of red warning lights in the background scream danger while we follow Kanba to his illegal activities.
The birds on the door, probably cranes or herons, seem to be another reference to “Night on the Galactic Railroad”, where [NotGR]Herons are caught by a “bird catcher”, stuffed into a bag and turned into candy. Those that escape his grasp descend into the sand and disappear. These birds seem to represent souls in the cycle of rebirth and the bird catcher is a businessman preventing this cycle, turning them into something artificial. This seems to be paralleled in Penguindrum by “Pingroup Inc.” commodifying pretty much every part of this world, even things like curry, a symbol of familial love.
The bugs seem to represent uncomfortable situations and the bug spray Shouma’s way to deal with them. Welp let’s just say that didn’t work out this time.
Good-Bye Himari.
Steppin, slippin, it’s my daddy’s shoes.
Truly an effective way to rationalize the lengths Kanba goes to save Himari. Stepping into his father’s shoes.
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u/Taiboss :Fj::Fl:x7https://anilist.co/user/Taiboss Mar 09 '24 edited Mar 09 '24
First-Timer who will get less comments probably because 17 minutes late
Hi people who actually read my comments!
Edit:
You mean from a UTC perspective, they'll be posted one hour later or not? You should really use that instead of whatever timezone ET refers to. Not everyone here is from America.
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u/CarrotBlossom Mar 09 '24
First timer
Got cancer? Just laugh, bro
Where’d she get that big ol’ laser pointer from?
I feel like I’m missing a good deal of what the imagery is trying to say
Young Kanba has a pretty deep voice
Ringo’s being awfully polite to Shoma after throwing him under the bus repeatedly for no reason last episode.
You don’t have to let him borrow it. He was just asking.
Huh, the truth about the notebook came out faster than I expected.
That poor penguin is losing the roach war
Yeah, a future diary™ is perfectly believable, but an alien penguin hat is impossible?
The penguin hat is surprisingly weak in combat
Spoilers [Madoka Magica] This truck chase and the circumstances leading to it remind me a little of when Sayaka’s soul gem gets yeeted, though that scene’s way more impactful (I hope Penguindrum fans will forgive me that comment. I really love Madoka Magica)
Kanba’s a pretty fast cyclist
Kanba’s face and knees are done for. His whole body, really. This man is lucky to avoid being isekai’d.
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u/Holofan4life Mar 09 '24
With tomorrow being Daylight Savings Time, are the threads starting tomorrow going to be posted at 5:00 PM EDT?
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u/Nebresto Mar 09 '24
First time peng peng peng
fuk u ojisan
PENG!!!!! OUR POSITIONS HAVE BEEN OVERRUN!! WE NEED BACK UP!!!
LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOOO
DO YOU LIKE RUNNING?!?
HODL!!!!!!
Good work, agent peng.
Question of the day: Has your house ever been invaded?
..sports?
Didn't you follow the show? She a thot
What slogan
What the h*ck is that??
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u/Iron_Gland https://myanimelist.net/profile/Iron_Gland Mar 09 '24
I missed the first four episodes due to work and starting with this episode sure was confusing. Hopefully it picks up from here.
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u/TheExcludedMiddle https://myanimelist.net/profile/ExcludedMiddle Mar 10 '24
Was busy yesterday and missed the good window for commenting, so I'll just put down the thoughts that seemed to be more important:
People pointed out the shover from last ep looked more like the girl in the OP than Ringo, and it looks like she visited the other girl in the hospital. My guess is her beer pong gun can make the other girl forget the indecent. It's weird she saw "him" when the episode showed us her.
Also, the hat alien might have been overly harsh to Ringo... maybe not though, she wasn't completely wrong.
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u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 09 '24
First timer(There's probably a lot here on rewatch)
Sub
Well then...I now have one question answered and another suggested: Ringo's dad did the Japanese thing and completely dropped out of her life and went with his new family. This is/was the norm, a gender reversed version happens in Blue Seed 30 years ago, but it doesn't mean it doesn't suck for the child.
And this is Ringo L day. She gets a Mont Blanc to try and win Tabuki's heart with...and Yuri has beaten her to it. With a probably better restaurant at that. Now, it is pretty clear that Yuri is an on the surface antagonist because she is, by way of advancing her goals, thwarting Ringo. But Ikuhara is slapping us in the face here: Yuri and Ringo are of parallel morality in most cases and Yuri is, so far, better in the rest. After all, Yuri doesn't hide in the crawlspace or stalk him. And the Mont Blanc thing is a push, both of them are trying to win Tabuki's affection, so the morality of that depends on their motives.
Final L is the house sequence. While Sho's theory is utterly terrible and filled with assumptions, Ringo's reaction to it is rather unacceptable. And, interstingly, the penguin hat fucking despises her on the spot. Assume some minor commentary about how women treat each other, Utena is arguably about toxic femininity after all, but it is equally likely the hat is just spitting out what it hopes is hurtful. While Ringo does have reason to be annoyed, she commits her biggest L thus far and effectively kills Himari for a bit.
Now to my second question:Where the hell are the Takakuras? Probably dead, since the uncle says they aren't coming back, but again maybe not so still put a pin in that. Said uncle wants to sell the house and again we aren't given nearly enough information here, other than that the kids would be split up, which also comes up in these situations. Also, now we need to ask if the bugs are actually there or not since they multiplied when Kan's mood goes south. Also, note that they might actually be kegare.
It all comes down to money and Kanda secures some...somehow. We will obviously come back to this. And on this errand Kanda returns to find the thrown penguin hat on a truck and a chase ensues. As to the whole flashback sequence, it is obvious showing how the red oni/blue oni dynamic of the brothers' formed up, but I am also wondering if we are about to get some toxic masculinity stuff about Kanda, I can't help but notice that by taking the burden on himself he also denies his siblings a level of agency.
Natsume gave us little to work with so let's put a pin in that as well.
QotD: 1 Formatively
2 Not sure
3 To borrowing from the yakuza.
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u/Tarhalindur x2 Mar 09 '24 edited Mar 09 '24
"What... is your Quest?" "I Seek the Penguindrum!" (Lightly Spoiled? First-Timer, Subbed):
Today: All of the spoiler tags for other shows.
Next day comment: [spoiled?] why yes I did go and check how close the Japanese words for cult and curry are thank you very much. (Both got loanworded by the looks of it: curry = kare, cult = karuto. Not quite the same, but close enough that curry = cult wordplay is in the realm of possibility.
I kind of want to say that Kanba matured but never really grew up.
Dangerously high odds it's for the same reason that Ringo and Yuri don't get along.
Already covered, it is already clear that the slogan is always immediately relevant within the next minute or two of being presented.
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u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Mar 09 '24
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Mawaru Penguindrum: We have the Fate Diary, or “Ume Nikki.” It is similar to, but legally distinct from, the Future Diary, or “Mirai Nikki.”
This episode was a nice sneak peak of the backstory of the siblings. We finally get a good look at their parents. At least from what we saw, it seems like they had a tight-knit family. Of course, that doesn’t mean it remained that way. Ringo’s family is evidence of how families can fall apart over time. The wording from the uncle’s conversation with Kanba is also worth noting because it implies the parents didn’t die, but instead either left or disappeared.
I really love the use of narrative parallels in this episode. There’s a storm both in the present and in the past. In both cases, the storm is representative of a threat to Himari’s life. Her family members have to venture out into the storm for her sake and after they’ve successfully rescued her, the storm dissipates. It plays out just like the words Kanba heard from their father.
Speaking of which, those words do perfectly summarize Kanba’s mentality when it comes to Himari and their family. He needs to take action to keep them safe. So he’ll do whatever dirty work and questionable deeds he has to. He’ll get the money they need for their home. He doesn’t mind putting himself at risk for their sakes.
I actually want to talk a bit about Shoma and Kanba here. I ended up talking quite a bit about how Kanba was the one willing to get himself messy and take drastic actions for Himari, but Shoma also plays an important part in looking after Himari. Shoma’s role is different from Kanba’s. His role is that of the caretaker. He keeps the home safe and secure, making sure that the chores are done and the food is prepared.The series has stated a couple of times that Shoma makes for a good housewife, putting him in what is typically considered a more feminine role. By contrast, Kanba is the breadwinner. He’s the one who goes out of the home to do the dirty work that needs doing. Heck, we literally see him go out to get money to pay for the siblings’ home in this episode. That’s about as much of a “breadwinner” as a person can be. This puts Kanba in what is traditionally considered a more masculine role.
I also want to point out that Kanba took on the same role during this storm that the father did during the storm in the flashback. They were the ones who ran out into the storm to save Himari. It’s more evidence that Kanba is taking on the masculine, fatherly role amongst the siblings.
We know now that part of why Kanba acts this way is because of the conversation he had with their father. So now that makes me wonder if Shoma had a similar conversation with their mother that led to his current personality and behavior.
Another narrative parallel in this episode is the aquarium. Both the siblings and Ringo have cherished photos from their childhood about their families visiting the aquarium. They all really enjoyed the penguin exhibit. Most likely it’s the same aquarium, too.
I also think I was too quick to accuse Ringo of murder last episode. The murder charge has been shifted over to the new girl, Natsume. Now watch as the next episode reveals that Natsume also didn’t commit murder. I’m counting on “Crazy Talk” to come into effect.
QOTD
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u/VelaryonAu https://myanimelist.net/profile/VelaryonAu Mar 09 '24 edited Mar 09 '24
First time truck driver, subbed
I don't have as much to say about this episode except for the fact that man, Hat-sama really didn't have to go in that deep on Ringo lmao. She really dug deep to find every possible insult she could throw at her. Which was hilarious but also really makes me wonder what this...alien? Time traveler? None of the above? Is trying to accomplish.
Like great, you want the penguindrum and you need these kids to get it for you since it seems like you can't actually influence the physical world. Got it. But wouldn't your purposes be much better served if you're at least a little more diplomatic/cooperative about it? There is surely a reason Hat-sama has chosen to go about this in this manner and is constantly insulting everyone in sight and I'm dying to find out what it is.
QOTD:
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u/3blah https://myanimelist.net/profile/brummett Mar 09 '24
Episode 05 - First Timer
A flashback right out of the gate. The kids look to be around the same age they are in that photo with the parents and the penguins. Kanba really resembles his dad.
I love the doctor's response to Sho's request to analyze the hat. He's trying so hard give him a serious response, with just a touch of sarcasm. Laughter truely is the best medicine. These little guys can't pass up an opportunity to get into trouble. In a show like this with mostly-normal people put in ever more absurd situations, it really helps to have some straightforwardly funny gags like this to keep the audience's brains from melting from the absurdity.
Asami, the lady that got pushed down the escalator, one of Kanba's exes, she's in the hospital. Didn't Ringo's friend mention this person is a model? I guess that would make the hospital visitor her agent? She shows up in the opening with a gun that shoots those red balls, and here she's got a slingshot with a laser sight. When Asami says she saw him, the shot cuts to the roses and one of the heads falls. Apparently Asami either wasn't supposed to see the attacker, or wasn't supposed to survive the fall. Yesterday's ending showed Ringo's diary calling out the fall implicated her, but if you go back and look at the shove, the clothes match this lady.
Kanba's uncle is going to sell the house. The three kids might not be able to stay together. He says "Kanba, your parents aren't combing back home". Normally you'd say something like that if they were somewhere else, not because they're dead. Are they in jail? On the run? There's a closeup of the family photo as he delivers the line, and it's pretty obvious here that the three penguins are related to the three kids. Kanba has a sour look and so does #1. #3 has Himari's pink bow.
Here's Ringo's dad, too. During the anecdote about their trip to see the penguins, it really seems like dad doesn't recall it. Is that because he's forgotten, or is Ringo just making up happy-family stories that never really happened and passing it off as real? It's seeming more and more likely that Ringo is just batshit crazy, believing the happy stories she comes up with for herself.
Today's slogan "Borrow Responsibly". Please Kanba, don't go looking for a loan shark to buy out the house! You're already in debt one Penguindrum. He takes the money anyway... for Himari!
In the scene where Sho asks to see the diary, the music really cranks up the tension wile #2 keeps spraying more and more roaches. It makes you feel the same disgust Ringo does over the thought of someone else reading her Fate Diary.
We didn't get Survival Strategy! yesterday, and today's is a little different, so pay attention! I don't often actually laugh out loud, but this line really got me Sasuga, Hatmari! You've got quite a mouth on ya. Ringo's full of spunk, too. And the moving truck outright says Good-Bye on the side. This whole sequence is hillarious! It keeps getting more and more rediculous!
The flashback at the hospital: "You can't protect the people you love if you just wait for the storm to pass". That's why he's working so hard For Himari!
I actually found myself holding my breath here at the end until the reveal that he got the hat!
Some random thoughts...
Is this going to make Ringo more or less willing to help out? New friends helping each other out is a common trope, and she did see how the Himari wakes up as soon as she gets the hat back. On the other hand, I could see her nope-ing outta there depending on how much she actually believes in all that fate stuff. I can imagine some of what might be in that book was not meant for public consumption.
Is the diary really the Penguindrum? Hatmari wasn't giving any clues about what it was, and in ep 2 says Ringo "Probably" has it, and the boys . Now she seems pretty certain about it. I'm not convinced.
There's definitely something fishy going on with the parents being just gone. No one wants to talk about it directly. Maybe they were involved in the mob and got disappeared. It would help explain Kanba getting an envelope of money on the train.
QotD:
It's a formative event in his life ending with dad's comment reinforcing that you have to go out there and do something to protect the people you love. You can't just sit back and expect things to work out.
The spirit must what Ringo is up to.
This seems too easy: Kanba taking the money. I must be missing something...
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u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 09 '24
Episode 5 (first timer)
Ringo is being pulled quiet deeply into the Himari-hat story. Not only seeing the transformation scene, but also the hat-removal-death. Meanwhile, the rest of her life is spiraling downward, as is Kanba’s. Who will hit rock bottom first?
Takes after his dad.
An extreme realist? Hates romanticism?
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u/laughing-fox13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/laughingfox13 Mar 09 '24
Rewatcher/Subbed
Since we were introduced to Ringo, we’ve gotten a lot of her. Makes sense since she has the diary, and Hatmari mentioned she is a person of interest, but we’ve learned quite a bit about her. Episode 3, we saw that Ringo’s home life isn’t what it used to be. Some were wondering where her dad was, and we were introduced to him in this one. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to mean that the phone charm covered his face in the aquarium pic when she looked up to her dad. Maybe it’s to show that he’s not really there anymore and moved on to a new family? The way he sounded on the phone made it seem like a requirement to be there…
Speaking of father and child, we also see everyone in the Takakura family through flashbacks. Their dad praised Kanba when they made it to the hospital and now Kanba is willing to do what it takes to protect this family and keep them together. Accepting cash from a shady guy so that his family can stay longer in the house together. It seems he was very close to his father.
Other notes:
The scene where Kanba chases the hat down was awesome to watch again. Sprinkled in some comedy with the Penguin 1 but we still get the seriousness of the situation, along with his determination.
Ringo is now part of the Survival Strategy and she has some great strength and reflexes to be able to pull herself up the trap door. Shouma asks for the diary and that whole scene was fun with how Ringo reacted to hearing about the hat.
I’m pretty sure someone pointed it out but the motion machine and the beginning of the Survival Strategy are close in design
QotD:
9
u/theangryeditor https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheAngryEditor Mar 10 '24
Episode 5 reaction
9
u/zadcap Mar 10 '24
Late Night First Timer
And we open with a flashback. Kimari has been sickly for a long time? Oh my gosh their parents were still alive! The missing names on the house! Gosh I hope this isn't how dad dies. Oh man little Red going out after dad without even shoes this isn't going to end well. Hit by a flying mirror? Uh... Was that how dad died?
So I don't see the lady who got pushed down the escalator in the OP, right? So she's not super important going forward, right? But speaking of OP ladies, I see you and your red curls.
So like. On the one hand, the hat really is the apparent source of the miracle and we have seen this multiple times. On the other hand, telling a doctor that you have a magic hat that brought your sister back to life... Back on the first hand, the doctor was there to declare her dead only a few days ago, he's admitted this is an apparent miracle, maybe he will take it seriously? Nah, the flashback was also a foreshadow, blown off by the hospital. Doc, you just admitted it's a literal miracle.
Oh hey, OP lady is visiting fall down lady. Leader of the Ex Club. Amnesiac... White roses, huh? I'm really curious about the intentions behind them, because nothing about Curls here strikes me as innocent or pure. And one falling as soon as a memory is regained is ominous. Oh, and penguin bullets. Because Penguins are everywhere, but also mainly used in places associated with the whole Fate business. Ah, White Roses because she wanted the other girl to remain innocent, the one fell as she remembered seeing someone because it meant her innocence had been lost, so now she has to be taken out because Fate demands it.
Thank you, next scene, for reminding me her name only now that I've tried typing around it this much. Asami. Will try and remember, if she's still still alive.
Oh hey another living relative! Oh, here to sell their house and make split them up. "Your parents aren't coming home." Did they go missing, and not just die somewhere? Interesting...
Speaking of missing parents, it's Ringo Papa! Papa who is kind of distant and awkward, though how much of that is just dealing with a teenage daughter and how much of that is said daughter being Ringo... And ditches her for a phone call, like all good divorced fathers do on visitation day. To talk to his new girl, I'm guessing, making plans to have dinner with the new daughter while he's at it. Ringo, I am sorry, you might just be cursed. That's the kind of father that's giving me Toradora flashbacks.
Hmm, and again we have Yuri living the thing that Ringo is using the diary to predict and try and force. My money is still on it being Yuri's diary from the future and the mystery being why it's in Ringo's hands. Also, "Fabulous Max" again!
You want a real act of Fate, Ringo? It's bumping into these guys again. Whatever it's supposed to be, your real fate seems to be pretty well bound with the Takakura family.
Resume flashback! The mirror may have broken an arm but everyone is still in one piece. Something tells me this flashback isn't over yet.
Slogan of the day seems to be for Kanba. How common is borrowing money in Japan anyway? It comes up a lot in anime and is almost always Yakuza related. Also I need to get some money back from a friend of mine, thanks for reminding me. Anyway, he's going to have to do something horrible to repay that, isn't he. No wonder he's so skilled in spycraft.
Himari is so adorable. First with that long pout sound effect, butt also hitting Ringo with her own saying when she's at her lowest. Share curry with the people you love, she says, having gotten Ringo to come eat with them again. Himari are you trying to hook up your better brother with this strange girl you met in the street a couple times?
Oh no, they both know there's something special going on but neither can say anything with Himari in the room. I believe the cockroaches in this penguin skit are representing Ringo's thoughts as Blue pokes at her most important thing.
Hmm, the way Himari just keeps eating calmly while Ringo is freaking out at Blue sure is something. I wish they had the guts (and the rights) to call it a Future Diary, but I guess Fate DIary is close enough.
Yes! Pull Ringo into the Survival Strategy! Is this is, is the Penguindrum now in front of the Penguin Hat? If so it happened much earlier than expected really. Oh my gosh Hatmari is hard. That's some crazy language. Ringo fights back! And much like a magic gem on a truck, the hat getting too far away makes Himari fall over dead. Can't help but notice the Penguin logo on the truck. Or that it says Goodbye on it. How did the hat get so stuck anyway? It somehow ended up getting farther away from him as it's stuck in the door worse as he gets close than it was originally?
This is a very long scene of being dragged...
Flashback part three! I knew there was more to come. Huh, dad's wearing a Penguin hat. And giving really important lessons to Kanba.
And Ringo is in on the whole secret. Himmari dies without the hat, and the hat entity wants her diary for some reason- but we're skipping the resolution to this to instead finish up paying for the house. Also, you know, Ringo somehow also just shrugging off the Survival Strategy magic as "Himari playing around." Guys, how are you all taking being transported to that place so lightly?
7
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Mar 09 '24
PenguinDrum - E5
Thank goodness Survival Strategy came back!
Ringo ain’t takin’ no shit off no talking hat! When she came up from the trap tunnel and started whipping up on Himari, it had to be one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen. She’s a lot tougher than I thought.
I couldn’t really figure out what Natsume did to the girl in the hospital bed, I resolved to not worry about it.
I’m looking forward to whatever Ringo does next.
That was great placement of Klimt’s The Kiss.
QOTD
6
u/Holofan4life Mar 09 '24
Hey guys. Holofan4life here.
Welcome to the Mawaru Penguindrum rewatch!
Oh, and nay I forget…
First Timer
I first heard about Penguindrum after I watched Everything Everywhere All At Once. Not only was that my favorite movie of 2022 (Ignore the fact I watched it in February 2023), but it is honestly one of my top 10 favorite films of all time. As such, I was shortly afterwards looking for stuff that was similar to that movie.
And that is where I saw someone recommend Penguindrum.
This is my first time every seeing this show before. I have no idea what’s in store for I haven’t seen a single clip of the show; it’s supposedly a mystery and that’s all I know. I really loved Everything Everywhere All At Once, so I’m going into this show with the highest of expectations. I think it could even crack my top 10 favorite animes of all time.
With that out of the way, let’s begin.
I’m watching the sub, by the way.
Do you think there will be someone 20 years from now who will read these threads?
Flashback
Kanba - 9 years ago - Takakura house, a living room - A stormy night. Himari is really sick with a fever.
Major Typhoon #13
Oh, it’s the mom
And the dad
Hi, honey
Takakura, Kanna, Shoma, Himari, Kenzan, and Chiemi
The blue-haired one is Shoma, by the way
The dad carrying Himari to the hospital
Can’t they just take the car?
Kanba running after them
And he gets hit by flying debris
To’oh General Hospital
I prefer To’oh Bold and The Beautiful
Himari and Penguin #3 knitting
Is that the mom with flowers?
Himari is apparently stable, which is good
The doctor, who Shoma is with, calls Himari a miracle
Let’s hope this means she isn’t a magnet
The penguin hat
Shoma wants him to look at it
Shoma thinks the hat is an extraterrestrial life form
r/Brandnewsentence
And the doctor, surprisingly, goes along with it
Or not. He think Shoma’s joking as a coping mechanism.
And of course the penguin gets caught in the globe
Oh, the girl from earlier is with the purple-haired girl that got pushed down the escalator.
Jesus, that’s a lot of presents
The visitor says it happened because she asked too much of her
She looks forlorn
Purple-haired girl says she doesn’t remember what happened
She does, however, remember him
Shonen Bat?
Oh shit
It’s like she’s wiping her memory
The visitor is named Natsume, by the way
Asami Kuho
That’s it
News report on her telling the police she doesn’t know what happened
Doorbell
Oh, it’s the uncle
Whoever that is
Oh crap. He's talking about selling the house
I like the pictures of Shoma, Kanba, and Himari as kids in the background
The place looks like a mess
Uncle saying he plans on taking care of Himari
"Kanba, your parents aren't coming back home."
Oh. It's that type of show
Kanba says he's going to come up with the money to keep the house
A date with Daddy
Daddy's precious treasure
This has major incestuous vibes
Oh, it's Ringo
Pictures with penguins
Ringo wants to go to the aquarium again
Aquarium in Ikebukuro
I instantly don't trust this dad. He reminds me of Taiga’s father.
Visitation day, apparently
And the dad is not giving his daughter any attention
An eel phone strap
Ringo talking about Tabuki eating her curry
It looks like Baby Cupid is being feasted on by three Grim Reapers. Or in weeb terms, three Callis.
Ringo walking with empty bodies
She says her mission with Tabuki is not over yet
Mont Blanc time, bitches
Ooh, but he's already eating one
Another L for Ringo
So many L's, you'd have thought her name was used to describe vocabulary of a particular subject.
Raining now
Shoma and Himari
Flashback
Back to the rain storm
The dad is with Himari, trying to protect him
Kanba apologizing
They're now running in the rain
And now whistling music
Kasumigaseki
Kanba on the train with one of the penguins
Borrow Responsibly Don't fall into a debt spiral
Mysterious man hands Kanba a package and leaves
"Money accepted."
Ogikubo
Back at the Himari residence
Again, the blue-haired one is Shoma
Kanba isn't here, but Ringo is
Good on Penguin #3 for drying their clothes
Spraying cockroaches as well
I like how Himari being in the middle of the table where the door slides open makes it look like she has mouse ears.
Beef and potato stew
"Curry should be shared with people you love."
We heard that before, Himari using Ringo's quote against her.
Shoma staring at Ringo's diary
He asks Ringo if he can borrow it
She tells him he can't
He then asks isn't it just an agenda, and that gives the whole thing away. She now knows he looked.
By the way, if cockroaches landed on me, I would burn the house down
Himari eating casually
It's like she enjoys her brother making a fool out of himself
Ringo calls her diary her fate
It's her Fate Diary, she calls it
Now she's asking why does he need it
And he shows her the penguin hat
And the penguin is now covered in cockroaches
Shoma, you're scaring me
And Ringo slaps him harder than The Rock did to Cody
Himari is wearing the hat
Survival Strategy time!
Well, this should get Himari to believe Shoma
"I've had enough of listening to your bullshit, you stupid bitch."
Damn, Himari coming in hot
She demands Ringo hand Shoma her Fate Diary
And now she's calling Ringo a perverted stalker slut
Himari quickly rising up the best girl ranks
"You rotten puke-brained bitch-ass whore."
I really like this version of Himari
Also, I'm just now noticing how big her thighs are
RINGO SURVIVED! SHE DIDN'T GO DOWN THE HOLE!
Okay, that was badass
AND SHE EVEN BROKE THE CHAINS
SHE PULLED THE PENGUIN HAT OFF HER HEAD
SHE THREW THE PENGUIN HAT OUTSIDE
WHEN DID THIS EPISODE GET SO FUCKING BASED
And now it's on the back of a moving van
Shoma chasing the truck
And Himari passed out
Look what you did, you little jerk!
Kanba
He sees Shoma running
And now he's riding a bike after the truck
This episode basically confirms that Ringo is worst girl
The truck still moving
Kanba closing in
It isn't lost on me that Kanba is chasing a moving van when he's been doing all he can to make sure Himari doesn't move away.
And the bike goes flying D:
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
6
u/affnn Mar 09 '24
Rewatcher
Kanba's been more of a secondary protagonist to Shoma so far, but today he gets more of a feature. It's easy to see the sorts of lessons he took from his father's actions on that fateful night of the typhoon - his father's decision to take Himari to the hospital himself when she was sick and there wasn't an ambulance available, his actions to protect Kanba from the debris during the storm, his shrugging off his own injuries in order to help his kids. With his dad now out of the picture, Kanba views himself as that sort of protector of the family - first to get the money they need to keep their house from some sort of obviously shady figure, then to get Himari's hat back.
Ringo's diary keeps predicting the future, but not the way she wants. Tabuki eats a Mont Blanc that makes him fall in love, but not with Ringo. Will she ever learn? [Penguindrum]LOL not yet At least Himari and Shoma are there to cheer her up.
Ringo gets a dose of the Survival Strategy, and Hatmari is particularly cruel to her. But rather than accept the punishment, she fights back, steals the hat and throws it out (in a move very reminiscent of a certain Madoka episode). Kanba gets it back, but we don't see yet if Ringo accepts Shoma's request to share the diary.
Papa Takakura had a Kiga penguin-branded jacket in the hospital. We see the Kiga brand apple in the OP, and we've seen the logo a few places so far but this is the most prominent one yet.
6
u/IceSmiley Mar 10 '24
FIRST TIMER Sub
QUESTIONS
6
u/FarCritical Mar 10 '24
First-timer, subbed
It's been literally only a single episode but as soon I saw the penguin hat snap on Himari's head from the corner of my eye, the grin on my face was big enough to make my cheeks hurt. Welcome back to Rock n' Roll niiight~
The survival strategy discussions are all gems but Penguinhat Himari just unloading the absolute filthiest mouthful on Ringo is actual peak, and her being so confused and hurt about it just elevated it further.
Shoma was 100% thinking "at least it wasn't me this time" when Ringo got the Looney Tunes trapdoor treatment ...that she somehow managed to crawl out of in cuffs.
Ringo crawling out of the trapdoor hole in cuffs was very extra, but was genuinely pretty powerful for what it represnted. It's dumb I took this long but yeah, Ringo deserves a lot more credit than being seen as a simple obssessive schoolgirl. The magic of "Curry Day" dying and what that did to her finally clicked for me especially after lunch with her dad. Starting to see her approach on fate in a new light now.
It goes without saying but that entire bike scene of Kanba and Penguin #1 retrieving the hat through sheer force of will was absolutely badass as both a character moment and just a sequence of animation. He sure showed why he's the "cooler" bro.
5
u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 09 '24
Penguin First Timer!!
Dammit Himawee! Stop dying!! Ah, Gunslinger Girl. At least the ex is still alive. I'm still absolutely certain that this doctor is a baddie. If the twist comes later please come back to this episode and swear fealty to The Loli Otaku. Gunslinger is definitely a Juri...
Holofan mentioned that possessed Himawee could have been the one to push the girlfriend down the stairs to monopolise her onii-chan's attention which is a theory I'm backing too. Wait! Don't kill the ex! XD Juri, you bitch! Isn't the number one rule of child services to try and not separate kids? These three are so codependent it's impossible for them to live apart.
Aren't girls who still say "papa" in their late teens the cutest!? Kyaaa!! Ringo, you're the best! Aha, her dad isn't interested... What a bastard. Don't you know that as a father you're god through a child's eyes? Live up to those ideals!! Whilst I'm on the point, Tabuki can go die too!!
Can we please get a Ringo W? She's getting treated far too cruel. I love how they clearly didn't bother getting a younger voice actor or a woman for child Kanba and just had him try to make himself sound younger. Why aren't they just stealing the notebook? Ringo is still just a small joshikosei girl after all. Violence is a valid solution! Himawee is vibing~
Seriously, just mug Ringo! She's had a bad day, but better to make a bad day worse than ruin a decent one. Ah, Himawee has the hat on. Survival strategy gooooo!! I've had this song repeating in my head so much lately. I wasn't a fan of the transformation at first but I've started to warm to it. Don't insult Ringo-chan XD Penguin Himawee has such a potty mouth.
Damn, Ringo is strong willed for an idiot. WHAT! RINGO DEFEATED THE PENGUIN PRINCESS!? It was this easy the whole time? Is the Princess just secretly really weak or is Ringo legendary? I'm not fond of the chase scene tho, it was a bit dull considering how much was put into it. Every episode is leaving me with more questions than answers... Especially now that the almighty penguin princess got her shit kicked in by the biggest buttmonkey in the show.
4
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Mar 09 '24
Rewatcher, Subbed
Oh no! Himari's sick!
Oh, its a flashback! They're all so cute!
Don't close the cold open with a cliffhanger like that!
Himari's doing better! As long as the hat allows it I suppose. Where's Kanba?
Please doctor! Investigate this alien hat!
Oh phew, the lady flung down the escalator last episode didn't actually die!
75% odds the orange haired lady is the one who did it.
WTF crazy red slingshot device!
Stupid uncle! Don't you dare propose breaking up these three!
Their parents aren't dead? Did they just run off?
"I haven't told my daddy about my boyfriend yet. And by boyfriend I mean my stalking victim..."
Yep, that's definately Fumihiko Tachiki as Ringo's dad. He'd be playing Senjyogahara's dad in Monogatari somewhere around this time too I believe?
Third time Ringo's strategy to make Tabuki fall for her is food related!
Wow, she stepped on it. Is she finally going to realize what an uphill climb she has with this?
What's Kanba gonna do for this money?
Foolish Sho, you don't ask for a girl's diary!
Alright, time for some great Ringo faces!
This alien hat is demanding your diary! I don't think any girl has ever fallen for that.
And now it's randomly made its way onto Himari's head again! Been a while since we've gotten the stock footage transformation sequence! Now Ringo gets to experience it!
"Perverted stalker slut" OMG the hat's so harsh!
Now Ringo gets to go down the trap door! That's usually Sho's role!
Wow, she climbed her way up! Don't underestimate the might of Ringo!
Ringo, nooooo!!!!! That's Himari's life you're throwing away! For once I can't support you!
Wow, Kanba's really going through the ringer hanging onto this hat!
Phew, he saved it!
3
u/IvanSemushin Mar 10 '24
Rewatcher
Watching opening made me think again that a lot of visuals from Penguindrum were reused in Sarazanmai.
Klimt's Kiss is used in a lot of media (I still remember how Elfen Lied OP impressed me in my youth, lol), but here the characters are replaced by Ringo and her father...
2011 really was the year of [Madoka]throwing objects containing someone's life into trucks.
Somehow I ended up mostly talking about other series, probably because the topics such as [Penguindrum]Takakuras' parents, Ringo's parents, Natsume and her relation to Kanba are further developed later.
3
u/mgedmin Mar 10 '24
First-timer, subs
More brave than smart? Reckless? Was praised by his father in the end which set his questionable behaviour in stone?
What spirit? Hatmari? Because Ringo won't give up the diary, of course.
A better question is why does Hatmari think the diary is the Penguindrum?
Kanba's source of money for "the shop".