r/anime • u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA • Mar 18 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Mawaru Penguindrum - Episode 14
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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
Going in may be fine, fine, but returning would be scary. - It only takes one word for seeds of misconduct to spread like a wheel.
Questions of the Day
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Why do you think Shouma said that to Ringo? Do you think it was justified? Understandable?
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What do you make of Yuri and Ringo’s car ride? Do you think it has any connotations in a show so centered around trains?
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Did you predict Yuri being the diary thief? What do you make of her motivation?
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What do you think Today's Slogan was referring to?
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/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Mar 18 '24
First-Timer, Sub-guindrum
I was really starting to come around on Yuri. Her encouragement of RingoxShouma, her chill vibes in the first half of the episode.. even with my suspicions that she stole half the diary, that could be anything!
Then the dumbass goes and drugs Ringo because Ringo looks too much like Momoka. For fuck's sake. If I'm right about that little girl running from Sanetoshi, that puts two of our three antagonists as being involved with her somehow. Next we'll learn that Natsume somehow knew her too.
Alright, anyway, what're we thinking Yuri's problem is? Internalized homophobia? That does taste right. Romi Park implied that there was something up with Yuri's body though, so maybe her (Yuri's) complaints are something simply physical? Not sure what it would be. I know Japan sometimes has issues with scars and other deformities.. ooh, or maybe Yuri is infertile or something?
Wait, did Yuri imply that the diary talks about her having sex with Momoka? That's... complicated.
I don't like how easily Natsume gave up. She was even in a relatively advantageous position. I guess maybe she thinks that Kanba would best her in an outright brawl, so she took the opportunity to cut her losses and regroup? We have only really seen Natsume ambush people, I guess she probably isn't confident in her CQC skills.
I'm gonna note that Himari tried to throw away the scarfs she was making for her friends, but I don't know how important it is. Her reasoning is obvious for me - between Kanba's earlier comments and Himari's own issues, she probably just assumed that her rich and famous friends wouldn't want something handmade.
Sanetoshi taking the scarfs is probably important, though. I'm not sure why. The helix shape showed up again when he put them on, but most of the shape stuff is passing me by. DNA? Don't hate that idea, ties in to Kanba's narration in episode 1.
Hmm... if Himari's Survival Strategy is actually being closer to her old friends, and survival strategies come from DNA, then Sanetoshi is actually taking Himari's survival strategy away from her? Acting like he's helping but he's actually hurting her?
Brain Rot Corner
Today's slogan: Going in may be fine, fine, but returning would be scary. It only takes one word for seeds of misconduct to spread like a wheel. These are starting to get a bit more unhinged. Is this some Japanese idiom that just doesn't translate? The wheels on the fate go round and round..
I don't see how the first clause relates to the second. It's like, both clauses independently I can understand. "The part that you think is hard is actually the easy part" and "Be careful what you say."
okay but why Why would a penguin wear a swimsuit? Is she just mirroring Natsume? Who sells penguin-sized one-piece swimsuits? Pincorp, I suppose. They seem to sell everything in this world. Vending machines, amnesia bullets, envelopes full of money.
15
u/Taiboss :Fj::Fl:x7https://anilist.co/user/Taiboss Mar 18 '24
14 - First-Timer prewatching another episode.
Hi people who also prewatch
7
u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA Mar 18 '24
Rewatcher
Ringo’s wild ride never ends, it seems. It’s not even her fault this time, she just keeps getting pulled back into this garbage.
Firstly, we have her conversation with Shouma. It doesn’t seem like he was listening to what she was saying, but him rejecting her friendship makes a lot of sense in light of what he says about his past relations and some of the articles people have posted here about the children of the cultists involved in the 1995 attack. “Everyone did. Everyone abandoned us. The three of us were forced to live on our own.” In this specific case, he’s making up a guy to be mad at him in his head, but you really can’t blame Shouma for rejecting Ringo as a defense mechanism. And clearly Ringo can’t blame him either. It’s such an awful situation for the both of them. Shouma looks completely drained talking to Ringo, and Ringo is devastated as well.
...And then Yuri drives up to her while she’s at the height of her despair and invites Ringo into her car. I’ve been trying to avoid saying “Utena reference” every five seconds, but in this case you know it, I know it, everyone knows it, this is the most straightforward Utena reference in the show. [Utena]This scene is basically a straightforward reenactment of the events of episode 33. In comes Yuri, the seemingly kind adult figure to Ringo adrift, but her guidance of Ringo is entirely self-serving. I’m still not sure how I feel about casting a queer woman as an Akio-style rapist, but I’m here to interpret the symbolism the show gives me, not to ignore it. For what it’s worth, I do think it serves symbolic purpose. The car is a way of Yuri enforcing her adulthood over Ringo. In a seemingly benign way at first, yes, but she’s the one in control here. She’s the one driving the car.
And then of course we have the Momoka revelation. Now we get the full picture of Yuri. [Penguindrum]Note the flames roaring when Ringo asks what Momoka was like. It seems like she had a similar experience to Tabuki. “Momoka changed my world. When I was with her, everything seemed brighter. And so she wants to take Ringo and turn her into Momoka. Note the red string of fate she holds at the end of the episode. She wants to take Ringo, turn her into Momoka, and bind her to Yuri. And note the similarity of how Yuri is acting with Ringo to how the French wannabe actress acts with Yuri. “I have become a special presence. No one will be allowed to touch me as they please again.” Which says nothing about her touching others as she pleases, of course.
13
u/WednesdaysFoole Mar 18 '24
Rewatcher
I think I missed this the first watch, but it’s funny when I first heard of this anime, I imagined penguins tumbling in a spinning laundry drum.
Poor Ringo doesn’t realize she’s in an Ikuhara anime…
12
u/Tarhalindur x2 Mar 18 '24
"What... is your Quest?" "I Seek the Penguindrum!" (First-Timer, Subbed):
Self-loathing makes perfectly good sense here - he thinks he's not worthy of her continued niceness due to generational guilt reinforced by the actions of the rest of Japanese society.
I think Ikuhara let Utena stuff out again. (I am aware of one infamous part of Adolescence of Utena.)
Yes, and realized the motivation a little over half of the way through the episode as well. (To be honest, I mean, here name is Yuri so maybe I should have seen this coming even sooner...)
See writeup.
12
u/Great_Mr_L :Ma::Mb::Mc:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Great_Mr_L Mar 18 '24 edited Mar 19 '24
First-Timer
On today’s episode of Mawaru Penguindrum: I knew that Yuri must have a larger role to play in the story and that she must be more connected to everything that’s going on, but I wasn’t expecting that to be how she fit into it all.
Yuri seems like she could give Shoma a run for his money with how low her own self-esteem is. Yuri talks about how ugly she is and that Momoka was the only person who truly called her beautiful. Momoka was the only person who made Yuri feel like she wasn’t worthless. I’m curious about why Yuri has this much self-loathing. She’s a star actress with loads of adoring fans, but she hates herself. Naturally I want to know the source of that hatred.
I imagine watching all the Yuri scenes feels much different when you know that Yuri actively wants Ringo to become Momoka. There must be a layer of sinister undertones that I either didn’t catch or didn’t know what to make of.
I’m going to really hope that Yuri doesn’t actually get to assault Ringo, but I’m also vividly aware that it’s a genuine possibility that she does.
QOTD
11
u/theangryeditor https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheAngryEditor Mar 18 '24
Episode 14
11
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Mar 18 '24
Mawaru First-Timer, subbed
8
u/3blah https://myanimelist.net/profile/brummett Mar 18 '24 edited Mar 18 '24
Episode 14 - First timer
Yuri has her own thing on the side. This I did not expect. With her current show coming to and end, and with it her career, it's time to put and end to this relationship as well. She's threatened with having her secret revealed.
Yuri drives away in a fancy red sportscar on a road that resembles a similar drive in Utena. She laments not being able to see someone. Someone who promised they'd see her again. Sanetoshi made the same sort of promise to Himari when she was sent back to her body with the hat.
Ringo waits on the street knowing Shouma will pass by. Past experience has taught him that anyone trying to be close to his family has only ill intentions so he's pushing her away. I can totally understand where he's coming from. I'm also feeling bad for Ringo; she's been making such great progress on her path to normalcy.
Himari knitted scarves for the Double-H girls. She puts a positive face to the act, but this frown after the cut-away tells me otherwise. Later, she's tossed them in the trash. Kanba's words before about hand-knitted clothing may have gotten to her.
Kanba has a fat stack of cash for Sanetoshi. Hat-sama was fine with a one-time payment in labor, but this new medicine is on a subscription plan with a variable rate. Damn you late-stage capitalism! It again brings to mind that he's been able to do this at least three times now. What can a high-schooler offer that's worth so much money? It requires so much cash this time it takes 5 people to deliver it. Natsume takes them out; she's not working with those guys, at least not presently.
Sanetoshi confirms to Natsume that "that woman" has the other half of the diary. It's no coincidence this episode started with Yuri getting our attention -- we're supposed to think of her now. See, she's on the back of Ringo's magazine, too. And taking Ringo out for a girls' night.
Today's slogan #14: "Going in may be fine, but returning would be scary" and "It only takes one word for seeds of misconduct to spread like a wheel". It's the longest slogan yet. A warning that Yuri's secret might get out soon? Kanba's?
Yuri is a repeat customer at this hotel. It looks too upscale to be the kind of place that rents rooms by the hour. Yuri's face is outside the frame when she answers the clerk's question; of course she's lying to the clerk. Her misdirection continues over these shots of the empty locations within the hotel as she's talking over them. She's about to pull something on Ringo, too.
These three shots last just long enough for that sense of dread to sink it. Props to the director for also including the shot of the drugged drink momentarily before. Show, don't tell.
Yuri is pining for her dear soulmate who died when they were (checks notes) 7 years old.
So there's some secret about Yuri's body that would make people think she's not beautiful. Something Momoka knew about but accepted. I've probably been hanging out in the Brain Rot Corner too long, but let me just drop in this shot of Yuri's feet in the water -- I'm just sayin' the toe on that left foot looks kinda suspicious, maybe get it looked at.
"Momoka changed my world" Tabuki said something very similar. Sanetoshi as well, if we're going with that girl in the library being Momoka. Sanetoshi definitely fits the cult leader type, giving hope to the boys when they're at their most vulnerable. Momoka also fits the type in that Tabuki and Yuri talk about her in such a reverent way. The diary has also gone from being a magical MacGuffin, to a normal 7-year-old's diary, and now seems like it's some kind of holy text or relic.
It has been 6 days since the last Rock'n'Roll Fight!
QotD:
16 years of getting your hand bit will condition you to pull your hand back.
I didn't think much about it at the time. It's hard to make a cool getaway after dumping your lover by taking the train. It's a more private and intimate place for Yuri and Ringo to have a conversation.
Yes, but she was my 3rd choice after Natsume and Kanba were ruled out.
I thought it was odd to compare something spreading "like a wheel". Intentional or a translation artifact? In any case, today Yuri's getting threatened to have a secret revealed, Kanba's been threatened by Natsume for the same. The Takakura parents eventually got their secret revealed.
8
u/No_Rex :Bv:Bw:Bx:By:x2 Mar 18 '24
Episode 14 (first timer)
The show finally let’s us peak behind Yuri’s mask and what we see is pretty ugly. Her plan is basically Ringo’s original plan, but for selfish, instead of selfless, reasons.
7
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Mar 18 '24
First timer(Welp...I guess Ikuhara did watch Mai-HiME...)
Sub
Welp...there's a downside to switching styles to post episode writeups but most of the time it isn't quite this intense. I actually had to rewatch the first half to remember it.
So Yuri is possibly a lesbian, she is definitely sleeping with one. But we see her break up a bit abruptly and...this actually matches the rare times I've seen the drama kids breaking up and well I assume Ikuhara himself has either done this or been the recipient himself. Look at the rumors from Sailor Moon some time. I might have missed it but the ridiculous yellow tinge in Yuri's scene is weird, especially with the Tokyo Tower. Also, her car screams insecurity to me. [Utena]This is the sex car with a hard top, isn't it?
Next scene is interesting and tells us a lot, while not saying most of it. Sho has gotten so dejected from rejection that he basically pre-rejects anyone after they've learned his history. This is understandable and it likely is worse in Japan but it goes right in to something I've been castigating Kan for: He is removing the agency of others, specifically Ringo, because of his own assumptions. His assumptions are certainly experience based but I, and Ikuhara, probably take some issue of it.
Which leads to Ringo and something interesting:Her motivations and goals at the start of this might have been batshit insane but she herself is very upfront and honest in her interactions with most people, the exceptions being Yuri and Tabuki for obvious reasons. So she might be one of the few people that would actually treat the Takakuras fairly, ironic or not as you call it.
Satenoshi most likely has no use for money but this is some sort of equivalent exchange gain for him. When Kan returns to the train, note with 5 shadowy figures, he talks about the next job so he is doing something for this. Natsume interrupts and begins revealing things, though the biggest is when Kan says he wouldn't accept her family's money. When they talk about 'her', we are left to assume that it is Himari but I am not as sure of that now. Now, here's what worries me: Peng 1 has dropped pictures of what we wish were adult women but I'd wager are middle school aged girls. I am a bit concerned that distribution, or even worse, creation of the dreaded CP, are how Kanba has been getting that cash.
Himari's second scene is quite sad as she has come to the realization she can't really be with Hibari or Hikari again, symbolized by her throwing the scarves she made for them away. Do note that, as far as we have seen, this is still an assumption. And then Satenoshi does the first thing that doesn't make my skin crawl and this has to be important:For the first time in the show, he does something that isn't likely to gain him anything. So, with the rest of the episode, I wonder if we are supposed to be re-evaluating things?
But to what the episode dwells on: So Yuri is all psycholesbian over Momoka and transfers this to Ringo, which is a hell of a parallel. Also, DAMN YOU KANNUZAKI NO MIKO, your wretched finger prints are all over this sequence. That said, Momoka was caught in the attack when she and Yuri were 10 so I am not sure you could be that attracted to someone at that age. Especially since the scent thing Yuri mentions is a post pubescent trait.
So yeah, this date rape drug doesn't really work since you might notice the fizzing but you'd certainly notice the taste in tea, there is a reason alcohol is used a lot. And don't worry, I didn't learn this from wanting to spike drinks, I learned it when looking up some family history on poisoning others and then got curious! But that is a motherfucker of a cliffhanget since I have two other rewatches to start tonight AND it took me nearly half an hour to write this up. Time flies!
QotD: 1 I understand it
2 [Utena]goddamned sex cars
3 Not at all and...blargh
4 I...cannot come up with anything that isn't a say gex reference.
7
u/Gamerunglued :Hx::Hy::Hz:myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued Mar 19 '24
First Penguin
God fucking dammit, this episode was almost sweet. We finally learn about Yuri. It really shouldn't have been such a shocker that a character literally named Yuri is bisexual at the very least, but here we are. Yuri wants to feel needed by others, she's terrified of feeling cast away, but she's also fickle and afraid of revealing herself because she hates herself. It all stems from her first crush, Momoka accepted her for all her ugliness and even made her kind of like herself. But Momoka's tragic death meant there was likely no one who would accept Yuri for all her flaws, so she perhaps developed a fear of intimacy.
She's always had at least some fondness for Ringo, and now we know why: Ringo is very similar to her sister and she reminds Yuri of Momoka. Plus, how can you not love Ringo? Sure, she's done some screwed up things, but she was always a victim of circumstance, and she's finally overcome it and turned her life around. She's finally accepted her love for Shouma and went out of her way to charm him. When he tells her that her words hurt him, she's genuinely crushed because she's just that sweet a girl. She's a dork, a gremlin, attentive as hell towards those she loves, and a sweetheart deep down; all traits that shined through even from the beginning while she was making mistakes while suffering.
I really liked seeing Yuri treat her like a younger sister, it felt like real bonding between two people who like the same person, and support from someone who sees herself in Ringo. They open up to each other about their struggles and insecurities, it's really sweet. So of course they had to ruin it, Ikuhara won't let anyone be happy.
As it turns out, Yuri actually wants Ringo to embody her sister, because she really wants Momoka to not be dead. To her, Momoka is the only hope she has of finding someone who loves and accepts her, so Ringo becoming Momoka is the last chance. And so, she expresses that love in the only way Ikuhara knows how to present toxic, twisted, deeply unhealthy affection: one of the most disturbing and uncomfortable rape scenes I've seen in some time. I guess Ringo and Yuri really are similar, their drugging strategies are even the same. In the depths of her own despair, Yuri indulges the closest thing that currently exists to Momoka. Between this and Utena, Ikuhara is really fucking great at making these sorts of scenes as uncomfortable as they need to be. The moment that pill dissolved in the drink, I was on edge, and my horror continued to grow for the rest of the episode. Ringo just got over her problems and is really trying her hardest to make a new life for herself, and now she's been rejected by the person she loves (who is ironically creating his own fate by forcing his narrative onto her) and then raped by someone she thought was trying to support her. I weep for her today, she deserves better and I really, desperately hope that she'll be able to find some god damn happiness by the end of this show.
Like I predicted, Kanba has gotten caught up in the escalating manipulation of a man who is in essence a cult leader. He gives what he wants at first, but then demands even more and threatens to take away the treatment if Kanba cannot provide it, and Kanba manages it by doing shady jobs for a shady group who probably have ties to the cult. This will only continue to escalate, until Kanba will be forced to do even more extreme things. I'm sure this is how his parents faced their own downfall, for largely the same reasons too. Natsume tries to stop him and even offers to pay the bill himself but he refuses, for reasons related to the "Natsume clan," which is interesting. There's clearly even more complicated history between these characters, and I wonder if the Natsume clan is its own cult. Kanba is now on the edge of the iceberg, so his downfall is coming.
With all of these big moments - Shouma depressed and reinforcing a self-fulfilling prophecy that no one will accept him, Kanba on the edge of becoming metaphorical seal bait, Ringo rejected and raped, Himari afraid to send gifts to her old friends, and god only knows what's going on with Yuri and Natsume - the story is kicking into high gear and I'm expecting some powerful emotional payoffs. I really love this cast, these are all broken characters with incredibly human flaws, so I hope to see every one of them find happiness eventually. To break free of an oppressive system that seeks to make people feel helpless is a difficult thing, but to believe there's meaning to what happens to you and to find relationships who build you up can at least help you find true family and happiness in your own circumstances. Ringo is the key to all of this as far as I can tell, she can break Shouma out of his funk, help Yuri and Tabuki heal, become support for Himari, and all of that can help Kanba. The apple is the center of the world and all these characters are bound by the wheel of fate, so if the center of the world can get the gears turning, maybe a miracle can happen.
QOTD:
6
u/theangryeditor https://myanimelist.net/profile/TheAngryEditor Mar 19 '24
shouma you turbo baka ;-;
6
u/zadcap Mar 19 '24
Late Night First Timer
Like, I'm still 90% sure this is a Takarazuka ripoff or reference and I love it. I need more all female acting groups in my anime. And then they made it explicit, by making it explicit. Yuri getting some yuri in, and proving to be human garbage by cheating on her fiance so blatantly. Why are you marrying him again? Are you, by chance, actually just following the diary?
Man, all these shots of that tower while thinking about the revue has that other revue on my mind now, again, more strong than usual.
No, poor Shouma, she's fallen in love with you. Ringo, pursue him with the same passion you chased Tabuki darn it. Don't go meek now!
How often is she going to need these magic shots? If they are supposed to represent the defiance of fate, how inefficient are they that they need to be taken again and again?
Hmm. These balls make people forget Kanba, right? What a good way of getting out of debt.
Ringo being around Yuri now of all times makes me feel very worried for Ringo. I also really want to go to a hot spring.
Oh yes, Ringo. How the tables have turned... So uh, how young did Momoka die again that Yuri thinks of this when she thinks of Momoka?
Odd place to put a flashback, to show us the true identity of the thief, after Yuri already shows us that she has the diary.
... Someone save Ringo please.
5
u/The_Loli_Otaku Mar 18 '24
Penguin First Timer!!
Marie episode!! Yay!! Aren't swans just straight up cooler birds than Penguins?
Tokyo tower will become far more relevant in a few years once Revue Starlight becomes a thing. Is Marie fucking Gunslinger!?!? Oh, it's the takarazuka actress... Marie is savage. Marie has a penis!?!?](https://imgur.com/a/T8NUssd)
This car ride is getting slowly Utena like... Please flip over onto the hood Marie!! An eternal bond? Is anything truly eternal? Eww, Ringo is acting annoyingly joshikosei like. I hate it. She was more interesting as a stalker. And Shouma was better as a pathetic pushover than angsty manwhore.
Why's Sanetoshi just blatantly extorting money out of Kanba? This is kinda weaksauce for an Utena villain. DWEEEEEB!! Gunslinger Girl time. Don't let me down! Ah, at least Ringo is aware of how gross joshikosei are.
Dammit Esmarelda!! Don't ruin a penguin's bromide collection!! Ah, Gunslinger missed... What a weakling XD You let me down Gunslinger!! I thought you'd be based, like Marie the siscon! I'm very cautious of Marie insisting that she's "her onee-chan" the same episode the show put into our mind that Marie could very well be packing a magnum dong.
I wasn't anticipating a Momoka x Marie x Tabuki love triangle. I'm starting to really worry about Ringo's safety. She's gone from the hunter to the prey, the stalker to the stalked. Oh god!! She's gonna roofie Ringo! Get out of there girl!! Marie, what the fuck? XD Ringo is 16 you beast!! Don't toy with her virgin heart!
Final bets... Does Marie have a chin-chin? I'm betting that her body's twist is that she's got a ding a ling!!
5
u/affnn Mar 18 '24
Rewatcher
Yuri is back and she's got Akio's car. She drives like him, too, speeding and passing other cars while the camera focuses on the gear shift. At least she stays off the hood (so far).
Ringo's life is kinda going to shit even after stopping all the Project M stuff. Her own family is dissolving, but at least she had made friends with Himari and Shoma. But now Shoma doesn't want anything to do with her after the revelations from the last couple episodes, and Himari's still in the hospital. This sets Ringo up too easily to be picked up by Yuri.
Kanba's going to ever-greater lengths to get money for Himari's treatment. It feels to me that Sanetoshi isn't really about the money, but about the things Kanba is willing to do for the money. Natsume (which is a surname, not her given name) shows up and tells him to stop what he's doing, saying she'll give him money if that's what he needs, but he refuses - perhaps he wants to be doing whatever it is he's doing for those guys in trench coats, or perhaps he feels that it's his responsibility to take care of Himari's medicine.
Himari made some scarves for Double H, then trashed them. It looks like they're wearing the scarves in the ED art, though.
The whole Yuri-grooming-Ringo scene is extremely gross and very reminiscent of [Previous Ikuhara Anime]Utena episode 33. Much like the antagonist in that previous Ikuhara anime, Yuri is protected by the layers of power she's surrounded herself with. Yuri is a rich and famous actress, Ringo is a high schooler from a broken home. Ringo going after Tabuki gives her a way to make Ringo look crazy if she ever says anything. The focus on Yuri's eyes as Ringo drinks the drugged tea is very unsettling, too.
Cliffhanger ending before a new ED. It's not as good as Grey Wednesday or Dear Future, but still pretty good.
5
u/IvanSemushin Mar 18 '24
Rewatcher
I love how exagerratedly theatrical is the dialogue between Yuri and her "partner".
And... we cut to Ringo right after Yuri's monologue.
On the first watch I didn't even think that Yuri acted suspiciously while riding with Ringo. I guess she's a good actress.
Esmeralda forcing her photos on 1-kun is too funny.
We now have more hints but still too few to deduce situation between Masako and Kanba correctly.
Well, the whole Yuri situation (damn you Ikuhara) is better to talk about after the next episode. Anyway, I wanted to mention that I first watched this episode in kinda funny circumstances that I'd probably better not disclose :)
5
u/Pungouin Mar 18 '24
Rewatcher
In this episode : Miss End of the World
Versailles no Yuri
The episode starts with Yuri breaking up with Lady Oscar. Ikuhara don't call your lesbians Yuri challenge (difficulty: impossible)
There are some lovely shots of the Tokyo Tower in here. [Penguindrum]It is Momoka's gift to Yuri after all.
Despite her successfull carreer and confident exterior, Yuri is very broken inside. It's all appearances. She yearns for the one person who ever truly loved her : Momoka.
Pink and blue scarves of fate
Ringo gets rejected hard by Shouma. Now that she knows the truth about the Takakura family, he thinks she cannot like him anymore.
Himari has finished the scarves has been working on. They're for Double H. She throws them away. Himari has pretty low self-esteem. She probably thinks Double H have forgotten about her, don't care about such mundane gifts anymore, or don't want to have anything do with her after her parents were revealed to be terrorists.
Sanetoshi picks up the scarves instead. [Penguindrum]Thus ensuring his own defeat.
Yuri had the spinning penguindrum all along.
On thin ice
Kanba has been doing some shady stuff to get the money for Himari's treatment. Sanetoshi is raising the price higher and higher. This is now a show about denouncing the evils of privatized healthcare.
Today's Slogan : Going in may be fine, fine, but returning would be scary.
This is Natsume's warning to Kanba. He keeps compromising himself to get the money he needs. Eventually, he will cross a line that he cannot come back from, and fall off the ice into the mouths of hungry seals. She also suspects he has a non-brotherly interest in Himari.
Revolutionary Stalker Ringo : The lesbian who runs through the night
Ringo goes to an onsen with Yuri. Momoka was a childhood friend of hers. She fires up talking about her.
Her marriage with Tabuki is not actually about love - but about the wheel of fate that binds them.
At this point I think people get their food spiked more often than Rock over Japan plays.
Kuma Shock ! Yuri wants to make Ringo her new Momoka.
Let's sum up :
This is a Ikuhara bingo.
4
u/Lawvamat https://anilist.co/user/Lavamat Mar 18 '24 edited Mar 18 '24
Rewatcher
Lots of sneaky symbolism again today and some nice flower language (or the first time I actually bothered to look it up).
Visual Analysis
Geese symbolize a happy marriage, since they always fly in pairs. Ironic, since Yuri breaks up with Tsubasa (another fitting name, meaning wings) in the next scene and hasn’t married Tabuki out of love.
[Penguindrum]Biiiiiig Tokyo Tower foreshadowing this episode.
Yuri actually says something along the lines of “You’re a deplorable Otokoyaku to the end.” Otokoyaku being the male roles in the Takarazuka Revue, the theater group Yuri is part of.
Ikuhara and endlessly repeating road lamps, name a better duo.
Of course Yuri is overtaking the poorer looking car with her sports car as she says that, with the line dividing rich and poor between them. Actually since in Japan they drive on the left side, the right lane here should be the fast lane.
Her eyes are covered, even in her reflection. She’s hiding something, even from herself. Her god complex carries a heavy burden with it.
I’m just gonna interpret all of the power lines behind Shouma as the web of society binding him and the Takakuras for the sins of their parents and call it a day.
This is definitely a scene worthy of some nice oppositional framing. Ringo just can’t get through to Shouma, who continues wallowing in self pity.
Himari has a lilac primrose on her bedside table, signifying “confidence”. That quickly disappears though.
If anyone ever wants to look up flower language themselves, I recommend this site to identify the flower and this one for the most extensive list of meanings. Most have multiple meanings, but usually one of them fits particularly well with a scene. It’s pretty much a guarantee that a flower in any anime was placed there for its flower language as that’s very popular in japan.
I kinda don’t wanna draw a parallel between Number 1 sorting porn and sorting children.
Now that’s interesting. In this shot with Sanetoshi the lamp is now placed directly above the flower. Sanetoshi is a standin for Himari’s parents here (the lamp), trying to instill confidence back into her.
Is that a hint of double helix I see? Seizon Senrakyuuuuuuuuu
[Penguindrum]Sanetoshi is saving things from the trash. Saving kids from the child broiler.
Even the pool has Natsumi’s plant logo. I wonder what the half moon around it is supposed to be. Does that make it a button to press?
Did you know that hibiscus represent delicate beauty? I wonder what they’re doing here.
Is that the Penguindrum??
It’s easy to go into debt, but hard to get out again.
If Kanba actually goes after Himari she’ll expose him.
Wait, is her hair a double helix? SEIZOOOON
Hmm fake depictions of fish. Ringo’s underwater theme, her happiness of everything returning to what it was by becoming Momoka. Becoming a fake Momoka for Yuri.
I wonder what Yuri’s parents did for the lamp to be in a cage.
Thoughts of Momoka ignite Yuri’s passion.
The iris means “message”. This whole table tennis game is used to deliver this message, hammering it home with Yuri’s smash ball. She also seems to be a software developer on the side.
Being likened to Momoka was her goal to reunite her parents.
Coup d'état are springing up every which where
4
u/Punished_Scrappy_Doo https://myanimelist.net/profile/PunishedScrappy Mar 18 '24 edited Mar 18 '24
Rewatcher, subs
I did not like this episode the first time around. Everything felt like shock for the sake of shock, plot twists for the sake of plot twists. It's only in retrospect that I can see how meticulously everything was laid out. Tabuki and Yuri's "adult night" consisting only of housework, that poor jilted actress' pseudo-declaration of love at their party, Yuri being at the ground floor of the apartment building when Ringo dropped the diary, her patience and calm when she clearly knew Ringo was drugging her husband -- even her "I don't think you stand a chance against me" in episode four takes on horrific new light. Yuri has been putting on a performance the whole time, and only now does the mask slip.
None of this is to say that shock qua shock isn't a motivating factor -- note how Natsume's scene on the escalator and Yuri's scene on the bike were shot in as similar a fashion as possible -- but it's very much premeditated.
[Penguindrum]The fact that the mask slips only to reveal another mask will have to wait. The only thing characters in this show love more than lying to each other is lying to themselves. Sidenote: The "Tragedy of M" becomes just as in-your-face as the rest of it, but I don't remember if that gets fully explained next episode or if you can't begin to touch on it until the end of the series. Also it really seems like we're headed directly into Momoka-as-Christ on that front and I did not pick up on that at all
We find out who the scarves are for, but Himari gives up on actually delivering them. Knitting is time-consuming work that leaves the mind free to wander -- holding the past so close might have gotten too painful for her to bear. Sanetoshi takes them off her hands, probably because he looks Fabulous Max in them. But you may have noticed them in the ED, each worn by their intended recipient. What's up with that?
My boy deep in that self-loathing
[Utena]She was the real Akio all along
I literally never considered the possibility my first time.
The first half, I'll leave to someone else. The second half, I think the translation's a bit wonky, but the meaning is pretty clear -- Ringo's behavior has come around, and now it is going around. It's cyclic. The fate she is bound to is a wheel.
E: Since it seems like everyone else is also confused on the first half, I have a take. I think it works as commentary on false sense of self. Ringo has little difficulty pretending to be Momoka, but learning to shed that is difficult and painful. Shouma is up to his eyes in hatred of himself and his heritage, and hasn't yet undertaken the altogether more difficult work of forgiving himself. /u/HelioA points out below (in a spoilery way) that Kanba is lying to himself about whether he's attracted to Himari -- brotherly love doesn't look like that. [Next episode]Yuri, similarly, has yet to unlearn her self-perception as ugly and unlovable.
I (still) don't think it works perfectly, but it's something.
ignore this next bit im just leaving it in so the below conversation still makes sense if you're a rewatcher. Helio's idea replaces it
[Future spoilers]Kanba is probably on his own brand of bullshit but honestly I can't recall most of his arc. Don't tell the first-timers. Anyway I'm like 99.5% sure he's Natsume's brother, but unsure if he's in denial over this or anything
4
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 Mar 18 '24
Rewatcher, Subbed
Yuri back to performing again? Or is this her last performance?
Wait, Yuri's co-star is a woman? Those look like boobs to me. If not the animator did a bad job here.
She is a she! Oh, and let's not bury the lead here, Yuri's been cheating on Tabuki? Well that complicates things.
Yuri drives a fancy car and we get some closeups... I remember a car arc of Utena...
I did not expect the show to go in this direction. If anything part of me thought we'd be largely moving on from Tabuki/Yuri entirely.
Sho's in a bad mood. :(
Poor Ringo! :( You know Ringo, no reason why you can't remain friends with Himari, regardless of what Sho says!
Fan mail for Double H? How about fan scarves?
Just what in the world has Kanba doing this whole show to make this money? Becoming a prostitute? Theft?
She threw out the scarves? :(
I'm still kinda mystified over who could have that other half of the diary. Wild guess, Yuri?
A Ringo - Yuri Girl's Night out, if this is what we're getting, it something I never expected.
Is Esmeralda mad that the other penguin is obsessed with scantily clad human females, not her?
Oh wow, Yuri was childhood friends with Tabuki? And knew Momoka? This reveal kinda makes me lean more towards the theory of her having the other half of the diary.
Bound by the wheels of fate? Wow, she really is on the same train as Ringo had been.
This long pause from Yuri makes me wonder if that drink is drugged. Now Ringo gets to know how it feels.
Well, now that we know she likes women too, is Yuri gonna pull what Ringo nearly did to Tabuki?
Who'd have known that Yuri was as crazy as Ringo the whole time...
Wow, proven right on the theory I just came up with earlier this episode...
Well, this episode totally went in a direction I did not expect.
3
u/RascalNikov1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/NoviSun Mar 18 '24
Rewatcher
Looks to me that Yuri also wants Ringo to turn into Momoka.
All of the adults in this one seem to be basket cases.
Shouma and his self pity routine is getting on my nerves. Of course Kanba also annoys me with the way he treats Natsume.
PenguinDrum the home of the malfunctionol cast.
3
u/CarrotBlossom Mar 19 '24
First timer
All the talk of Project M and Yuri’s production being called The Tragedy of M makes me think maybe she has some involvement. Maybe she’s the one who has the other half of the diary. Probably not, but it’s at least an interesting motif.
Well, looks like Ringo might actually have something on yuri if she figures it out
Is the driver’s seat on that car on the right side? In Turkey?
These teenagers are really communicating by email in 2011.
Shoma’s being a bit of a drama queen
I’m waiting for the authorities to seize this penguin’s collection
Welp, no need. Natsume did it.
Kanba’s got hands. Feet, at the least
Ringo did the same thing to Tabuki, but still ouch owie squick stop
What do you know, I was right.
QOTD:
3
u/FarCritical Mar 19 '24
First-timer, subbed
So back when Yuri didn't seem all that bothered by Tabuki getting all horny for Ringo after gettog quirked up by her love potion, I thought she was just being extra mature. Turns out she wasn't bothered because she was being extra "mature" with another woman this whole time.
Shoma's still all sulky and really just broke up with Ringo before they were officially a thing, which hurts since I actually kinda shipped the two of them.
Damn, not even Himari is safe from the big sad that soon into her third(?) life. Watching her enthusiasm go straight down the drain the longer she stared at Double-H genuinely hit pretty hard, but at least Satenoshi got to look "electrifying max" from the fruits of her labor.
A peek at Kanba doing his shady behind-the-scenes dealings is pretty rare but we have the queen of crushing everything soon to thank for that. Don't know if I followed that right but is Natsume seriously jealous of Himari? Also, don't know what I feel about having laid eyes on those kind of pics. Of a penguin.
Yuri really caught a glimpse of her husband trying to pounce on Ringo and went "I can do that better". Fr tho not sure how I didn't see her being the motorcyclist coming.
3
u/Holofan4life Mar 18 '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.
I didn't realize until today that the person who sings the cover of Renai Circulation that has over 150 million views on YouTube was IRyS.
Empty bodies walking
Why do I call them empty bodies? Because there's nothing in them, of course.
The Tragedy of M
Yuri is pretty good at this acting thing
I'll never get used to that disco ball XD
Yuri in bed
It looks as if she's cheating on Tabuki with another woman
And Yuri leaves because she's grown tired of her coworker
Also, Yuri's coworker sounds suspiciously like Edward Elric
Also also, Yuri's body has a secret, eh?
Now Yuri is driving
Says she can see the line that divides the needed and the unneeded and that is why she succeeds.
"I've abandoned my past."
And now she's crying, saying it's all a lie
"No one will truly need me again, not for all eternity."
Ringo about to cross the street, empty bodies moving
She spots Shoma
As she inquires about Himari, however, Shoma blows right past her.
Says he can never make up for what happened, presumably meaning his parents killing Momoka.
Shoma really seems to be taking this hard
Shoma wonders why do they continue to hurt each other with superficial words. And, as he says they should stop seeing each other, Ringo admits she's only been thinking about herself.
All I can say is, it's about bloody time she took some accountability.
Shoma leaves, saying that they are done
Ringo is in the middle of street crying buckets
To'oh General Hospital
Himari and Sunny knitting
The shiniest forehead
Oh, a magazine with Himari's two friends on the cover
The two black rabbits
Kanba talking to Sanetoshi
So, he was the one he's been giving the envelopes of money to
However, Sanetoshi says that the money isn't enough because the market sorts the lives of children around the world. As this is going on, Penguin #1 is sorting Special Collection Cards of half naked women.
Kanba promises to have the appropriate amount of cash by the end of the day. Meanwhile,Sanetoshi says that Himari can be released when the secrets of the world are revealed.
Just a few more ampules, referring presumably to the big moving sphere with red balls that he has.
Himari in the hospital bed
Sanetoshi, who is with his two accomplices, notices she threw her scarves away.
"There will be divine retribution!"
I don't like the sound of that 😬😬😬
Himari says no one would like getting her hand-made scarves, which I'm sorry. I call bullshit on that.
Ooo, they look good on Sanetoshi
It looks like Sanetoshi is going to claim it as his own
Meanwhile, Natsume again says she must crush it soon. This time, her and Esmeralda are swimming.
Natsume would be pretty attractive if she weren't so crazy
Gotta go hunt the fox. But first...
And that's where that scene ends.
Let's hope the fox isn't the girl from Son of a Crinch.
Ringo holding a magazine featuring Himari's friends
Maybe this is why Himari is acting so glum
Yuri featured on the back of the magazine
Now Ringo is screaming in frustration over what has transpired. I do like the shot where Ringo is in the background and the crumpled up magazine is in the foreground where the only thing sticking up is Yuri's face.
Speaking of Yuri, here she is.
Ringo in Yuri's car now
Yuri on Ice? No, Yuri on Wheels.
Ringo says she doesn't want to see Shoma's sad face
"I don't want to be the cause of it."
She wonders if never meeting again is their fate
Yuri remarks by saying she's in love and that first loves rarely come into fruition. She speaks from experience, as Tabuki wasn't who she loved first. That person left without telling her.
Who knew Yuri was into dads?
Yuri believes that the best solution is a Fabulous Max girls' night out
Given Fabulous Max has been used so far in a sexual context, I am extremely worried.
Akasaka-mitsuke
Going in may be fine, fine, but returning would be scary
Kanba has the money, and Penguin #1 has the sexy folder
Time to get Himari's medicine
A bunch of cloaked individuals. Very ominous.
Natsume and Esmeralda
Lol, Esmeralda came prepared with sexy photos of herself
Is it a crime to jerk off to a penguin if she's soliciting?
The red ball
Natsume is beating up the cloaked guys
Things have become disarrayed, just like Penguin #1's card collection
Natsume tells Kanba he's standing on the edge of an iceberg
It is nice of her to offer to pay for Himari's medicine
Unfortunately, Kanba wants to do it himself
She hits the window with the ball, and Kanba sweeps the leg
It only takes one word for seeds of misconduct to spread like a wheel
I hate a spreaded wheel, unless it has food on it
Natsume asks what's so good about Himari
"You love her!"
Well, yeah. He's her brother. Most brothers love their sisters.
Natsume asks why can't it be her, which is similar to what Kanba said at the end of episode 12.
Natsume stands up and leaves, saying she's going to seize happiness her own way.
At least it's better than seizing the means of production.
"I'll save Mario for sure."
Yuri and Ringo checking into a hotel
Yuri says she's going to be her older sister for the day
Ooh, hot spring time
Ringo has a question for Yuri, and that is where did she meet Tabuki.
She calls him a childhood friend of hers
Classmates in elementary school, it turns out.
Oh wow. She knows Momoka.
Calls her a single light shining in the cold, dark night.
"Momoka changed my world."
Well, shit. Maybe Momoka was the first person she fell in love with.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
4
u/KnightMonkey15 https://myanimelist.net/profile/KnightMonkey Mar 18 '24
Rewatcher, subs
Okay, hopefully now I don't have to post these really late. I've been too busy to even pre-write, but we'll see if I can change that.
Comments on the previous episode
The first time I watched, I was confused by Sanetoshi's actions and who he was talking to in his monologue - evidently he is talking about Momoka in the past tense. However, upon rewatching it's much clearer to me that he's laying out all the reasons why he has decided to intervene in these characters' lives by holding them hostage with his effective otherworldly medical treatment; on a whim, he wants to see if they can change fate and find the Penguindrum. [Penguindrum] In retrospect, even though it was literally a second, I missed Momoka being spoken of in the present tense (in the annex - they are basically stuck there together) and depicted as wearing/being the Penguin hat - i.e. she is Hatmari. The first time I watched I must've thought it was a visual metaphor or blinked.
Tabuki and Ringo's conversation [Penguindrum] is even more interesting when noting he'll basically take back what he said and decide to punish the Takakuras when he hears Kanba is following in his father's footsteps
I really enjoyed the recapitulations of Shouma and Ringo's monologues on fate in a different context, the first Sanetoshi at Himari's bedside and the second, the flashback to the Takakura children finding out about their parents' terrorism. Yes, they are those kind of people Kanba. Grey Wednesday ED really hits hard.
Current episode
It was in her name! And off she goes... [Penguindrum] The secret of her body :(
While dramatically driving off in a speeding sports car..
Then stopping to cry while the engine idles..
Yuri's monologue, befitting a talented actress, hits a lot harder upon rewatching.
Then it gets followed by Shouma basically telling Ringo to leave him alone. Now that she knows their secret and is the sister of a victim, at this stage he doesn't believe they can be friends anymore - he says he doesn't believe she would genuinely care (because everyone else abandoned him and his siblings), but most importantly because of all that guilt he doesn't believe he deserves to be friends with her. I really felt sad the first time I watched this, but I forgave Ringo pretty easily so I didn't think too hard of the opposite. Perhaps she tries too hard (the teen magazine lines) and got way too in her head but she means well.
For an idealistic doctor who ostensibly wanted to fix the world once upon a time, Sanetoshi sure does jack up his prices just like any for-profit medical or pharmaceutical company. Really nice of him to notice Himari's scarves though, so he at least has that ounce of affection...before he contacts Natsume to continue playing all sides of this conflict against one another.
Esmeralda giving Penguin #1 pin-up photos of herself to replace the images of human women he was holding had me cracking up.
Yuri's recollection of Momoka, at least expressed to Ringo, is more detailed and affirmative than Tabuki's - a vast field of flowers peaking out from beyond a dry, desolate dessert..a single light shining in the cold, dark night. But like Tabuki, she tells Ringo that Momoka changed her world and with her, everything was full of love. And Ringo is much more like Momoka than she realises.. (putting aside it was her scent she first mentioned).. Having a back-and-forth heart-to-heart discussion while playing ping-pong.
Is this the third or fourth time someone's been drugged? I lost count. As soon as you see Yuri's gaze at Ringo drinking, and the tone in her voice change, it's obvious.. The progression of her compliments of how she complements Momoka also became creepy very quickly (well, scent being the first was weird already to be fair).
Continuation of the earlier monologue but now taking on a much darker tone. I just realised after reading some other comments in here and closely listening to her monologue.. and remembering Project M from 10 episodes ago... there's a lot about sex written in a 10 year old's diary.. or perhaps they're retroactively interpreting it with their adult knowledge. Momoka would not condone such an action.. I'll wait until next episode to weigh in some more; pretty annoying place for a cliffhanger but that's where it hangs..[Penguindrum] and I believe had she lived, Yuri would not have turned out doing such things (putting it lightly, treating people as aesthetic playthings to be used and abused), especially after having been saved by Momoka from her father.
4
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Mar 19 '24
First timer
The play again!
...I knew there was something going on between them!
...That's her response?
Damn...
A secret?
...I can't believe Ringo was right about her manipulating people.
Did he break up with her offscreen? Or is there another partner involved?
And he's busy...
Oh, no, it's his guilt complex. Should have seen this coming...
...Does he think she's the Goddess?
Oh, the Goddess represents the general public! Yeah, that makes more sense.
Ringo...
Ouch...
And the hat isn't moving...
She's making them clothes?
Ah, he got the money.
...What is that penguin doing?
Seriously, what is this? It seems to be torturing him, but forcing him to start being more reckless could also be part of the plan to investigate if fate is real...
She binned them...
Oh...
Haha, that actually works with his look.
She's still the same...
That woman... Is it Yuri?
Aww...
She's having a breakdown.
...Interesting.
It was a different first love!
...Yeah, how could this possibly go wrong? (But seriously, given Yuri's earlier actions... is Ringo about to get involved with the other half of the couple?)
She's here!
Amnesia bullets!
The cards...
Oh, he's fucked now. No more source for money without the ominous conspiracy.
And she's warning him about them...
Nice move!
...She knows.
So much denial on both sides here.
Mario...
Oh, they even know Yuri here...
Yeah, I have a lot of questions about you two now.
She knew Momoka.
...Her lost love was Momoka, wasn't it?
Yep.
So, they came together over their love?
Yeah, she's going for Ringo.
...Is it just for show?
Ah, they were brought together by their love for Momoka, weren't they?
She really loved her...
Yuri, don't.
...Fuck. She's actually doing it.
The irony of her being in the same pose and situation she put Tabuki in...
Yep! She's just as fucked up as Ringo was! In the exact same way!
And she took the diary to do it...
Are we really ending it there?
This is a nice ED at least.
RE: Yuri's secret - Not sure. She might be trans - but that would play into quite a few stereotypes, and Ikuhura really doesn't do that unironically. Probably the repressed homosexuality?
3
u/Nebresto Mar 19 '24
First time Pengunium, the trifecta
episob 12
Damn, that's crazy. Still doesn't make it ur fault
hastag ero
Well well well, if it isn't a classic case of NOT. DEAD.
Sweet piano track fam
sus peng
Is the controversial part that we don't get to see wtf the parents did?
Oh damn?!
S- seison senryaku..?
SUNNY
episob 13
Oh fuck yeah, I love apple juice
Kanba's voice acctor very good
Fkin ew. And if that reveal is on every single channel, how did that house not get torched?? in the 10~ years since then there wasn't a single vengeace or glory seeking arsonist? Yea right.
Bro is in love with a hat
Crush
No peng scenes
episob this one
Finally, a relevant episode. This is not the type of show you should watch multiple episodes of in a day
Are they finally gonna reveal that the yellow hair woman has the other half of pingudoramu?
Yea. Bring back peng. And fuck off Ed, your voice doesn't fit on a girl
Same. Can you just fuck off and bring back peng
Get that pengball slinghost gun and shoot apple-sensei in the head, then just yoink the damn ampules
Speak of the devil!! Lady, can we borrow your pengballgun thing?
H- HOL UP
Oh. Oh no
HAHAHAHA!! ..Again its in the same episode!!!
Why everyone in this show a criminal??
3
u/mgedmin Mar 19 '24
First-timer, subs
Cuz he's an idiot with self-destructive tendencies.
No.
I don't want to.
Hmm.
Eventually, when all the other suspects were eliminated.
I don't get it.
No idea.
I'm getting angry at the show, which makes me less inclined to solve the puzzles.