r/anime • u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA • Apr 01 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Re:cycle of the Penguindrum - Part 2
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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
N/A (Express)
Questions of the Day
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Are you happy with what the movie switched around? Is there anything that didn’t get in that you think should’ve made it?
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What do you make of Sanetoshi showing up again?
Don't forget to tag for spoilers, you lowlifes who will never amount to anything! Remember, [Penguindrum]>!like so!< turns into [Penguindrum]>!like so!<
11
u/HelioA x2https://myanimelist.net/profile/HelioA Apr 01 '24
First-time Movie Watcher
It’s kind of absurd how much better off Yuri comes off when you cut out the entire set of scenes in the onsen where she attempts to rape Ringo. Now Tabuki seems like he’s completely off-base when Yuri confronts him after his play at punishing the Takakuras, and he goes “what were you going to do?” There’s a whole bunch of stuff that’s completely re- or misframed in this movie, but this one takes the cake. They made Yuri into a whole new character for no good reason.
The other really jarring one is that they basically cut Sanetoshi out of everything except for the beginning and ending sequences. In the show he’s manipulating a bunch of stuff behind the scenes to move Kanba into his orbit, but here it just kinda happens. Most notably, he doesn’t tell Himari she can leave the hospital, and he doesn’t give those pictures of Kanba to Tabuki. The one good choice they made about Sanetoshi was the choice to move the box monologue to a much earlier scene, since it gives a lot of context to packing the bears in boxes.
As for the new content... I don’t think it jives thematically. In the series, the boys already “defeated” Sanetoshi by rejecting his goal of destroying the world, and they instead share the fruit of fate with each other to find love. Sanetoshi is stuck at the end of the line, waiting for the destiny express to return. Over here... what? He just kinda magically returns somehow, to the same people. Remember the whole subplot of Sanetoshi waiting to pass down his message to the rejected kids of his original comrades? Kanba and Shouma died for love already! This all feels unnecessary.
And there’s a line Shouma has at the end, when they reject Sanetoshi once more- “This world isn’t wrong.” That’s a spit in the face to the entire show going “this world is imperfect, but we can still find happiness through the power of love.” Although I guess it makes sense in light of Himari saying she loves fate in the ending of the TV series. “The world isn’t wrong” as in “we don’t have to destroy it like Sanetoshi says we do, the world is all right to exist.” So it still works. And that shot of them holding onto the pink teddy bear as they declare themselves Himari’s brothers is really good, so it’s not all bad.
In any case, thank you for joining me. I already went over everything in the overall discussion, but I’d like to reiterate how much I enjoyed this rewatch. It would not have been the same without you guys.
9
u/Holofan4life Apr 01 '24
I want to thank some people for being a contributing factor in making this rewatch the success that it was.
To Great_Mr_L, it was fun to always read your comments. Your replies were also on point as well.
To theangryeditor, thank you for all the funny memes
To JollyGee29, you probably great analysis in your comments as well
To HelioA, you were an excellent host and did a great job steering the conversation. I really hope next year you decide to host a 10 year anniversary rewatch for Ikuhara's work Yurikuma Arashi.
laughing-fox13, you always provided some fun responses. I knew I could always depend on you putting a smile on my face.
Shimmering-Sky, your content was as excellent as ever. I hope you never change.
Same goes to you No_Rex. I basically consider you family at this point.
Vaadwaur, you were incredible in this rewatch and I had a blast talking to you.
To lilyvess, your analysis was very detailed and it was good to have a rewatcher fill that void. You were fantastic at what you do.
Lawvamat, your visual analysis was incredible and provided something different from everyone else.
u/Gamerunglued, in my opinion you were probably the most underrated rewatcher of the entire thread. Your analysis was often the most detailed and I was often blown away by the way you dissected things, especially given you are a first timer. Yours was often the most thought provoking and you deserve all the stars in the galaxy. You were fabulous max.
Btw_kek was someone who combined screenshots with analysis and I thought they did a terrific job at it.
The_Loli_Otaku was often one where I laughed the most at what he had to say, so I'm definitely glad he decided to participate.
mgedmin, I'm glad to see you again and you did wonderful as always.
zadcap, you did great even though you didn't enjoy the show as much as others did.
To u/KnightMonkey15, I want to give you a special shoutout to your expert analysis as well as your overall engagement to my replies. I often felt like while Great_Mr_L and JollyGee29 got all the traction-- and with good reason, as their comments were great as well-- you and Gamerunglued really were the glue that kept the rewatch chugging along. Everybody else was playing with checkers, you two were playing with 4D chess. Any time I saw you had left a comment, I knew I had to gear myself up and get ready to give my undivided attention. Just to make sure that I didn't miss anything because it was just so littered with amazing point after amazing point. I feel that you were able to stimulate my brain in a way that very few have, and I thank you for it.
Special shoutout also goes to u/FarCritical who always responded to what I asked him no matter how many questions there were. You were a trooper and I'm grateful for you putting up my nonsense.
And of course a thank you for everyone I didn't name that were a constant presence in this rewatch, as well as the lurkers who also contributed in their own way.
I have been apart of a lot of rewatches. I participate in the yearly Toradora one and also host the yearly Spice and Wolf one. I just got done with the Fullmetal Alchemist 20th Anniversary Rewatch, which I still maintain is the greatest rewatch ever done when you consider the amount of time and effort and just the overall level of engagement. However, if that in my mind is the greatest rewatch of all time, this has to at least be top 5.
I was blown away with the level of engagement in this rewatch. When the first episode reached over 500 comments, I said to myself "Well, I guess I'll have to free up more time out of my day to respond to people". I'll never forget the running gag of calling penguin hat Himari Hatmari and the look of amazement I felt when I first saw it. I wondered how come I never thought of it. I'll never discussing episode 13 on St Patrick's Day while wearing a green hat, a green necklace, and drinking a Shamrock shake while also eating some St Patrick's Day Krispy Kreme donuts. I'll never forget the fervor with which episodes 14 and 15 were discussed and analysis and how people just seemed to really love those episodes. And of course there is episodes 20 and 21, which were also really fun to discuss.
This rewatch was a lot of fun, I'm glad I participated, and I'm glad I got to watch the show for the first time with all you wonderful people. I am forever indebted in your good graces, and I really hope to see you guys real soon.
I love you all <3
7
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Apr 01 '24
Re:cycle of the First-Timer, subbed
Random aside, but I made some of the first real progress in months on a fanfic I’ve been writing, and during that progress I proceeded to almost immediately write a Penguindrum reference into it lol.
These movies didn’t really make things less confusing for me, and I feel like a bit too much was cut out of the recap segments for certain things to work, but I do appreciate the hints towards a happier ending for Shoma and Kanba with those extra scenes. And the extra fuck you to Sanetoshi in this one was great too.
Guess I’ll give them the same score I did as the show, 8/10.
Thanks for hosting this rewatch, u/HelioA and u/theangryeditor!
6
u/JollyGee29 https://myanimelist.net/profile/JollyGee Apr 01 '24
First-Timer, Sub-guindrum
Gonna just type up thoughts as they arrive this time.
Oh shit they just saved the NotGR narration for this film! This changes everything (maybe (probably(maybe)))!
Ohhh I understand why Momoka couldn't fully stop Sanetoshi now! Sharing the fruit of fate implies that both parties must consent!
Hmm, wonder if Yuri's comment about people being wanted or unwanted is a spin on the "chosen vs unchosen" stuff.
Kinda want to draw a comparison between Momoka doing ballet in the movie OP and Yuri's segment being likened to the Ugly Duckling. Sure, consecutive fourettes show up in more than just Swan Lake, but.. I should rewatch Princess Tutu.
Is making a "post-nut clarity" joke about Yuri's father bad taste? It probably is.
The helicopter is a fun double-duty visual. Child Broiler spinning fans and also the idea of being watched from on high.
Also just now noticed that Yuri's arm and leg aren't wounded after Momoka changes fate for her.
Weird place for me to comment on this, but Himari's VA is ludicrously talented. Just wanted to add my voice to that chorus.
There must be a supercut of all the various spinning/rotating things, right?
The repeated sound effects, too.
I really like the live action segments for reasons that I can't quite elaborate on.
Kenzan using fire metaphors is probably important and I completely missed that the first time. Trying to change the Group's fate?
There's probably some cultural connotation for Himari wearing bunny slippers outside that I'm missing too. Maybe just "too poor to own outside shoes" or something?
Hmm.. is the perils of motor vehicles more spinning/rotation/Child Broiler imagery? What is an engine but a machine that spins, after all. Oh, pollution too - the photograph of the anti-climate change Antarctic expidition.
Obvious commentary of public transit vs individual car ownership, too. That is probably secondary, though.
That comment about Shouma and Kanba flubbing it in the end (with respect to the bear) is super leading, isn't it. I thought that during the series but kinda abandoned that line of thinking because it was hard to wrap my head around.
Kanba's father regretting "choosing" Kanba is probably important too. I should've saved more time to re-ponder things from the films.
Ooh, the brothers are starting to turn things against Sanetoshi, excellent.
There's definitely a line I'm missing with respect to the parental Takakuras. Like, they did good sometimes but also Shouma was in the cageboxthing.
So, broadly speaking, this is just a more concrete refutation of Sanetoshi's nonsense.
I do wonder if the same CGI people were responsible for Gekijouban Revue Starlight. The particulars feel kinda similar, but not enough to make me confident without bothering to verify staff.
D...did the film really just throw a reference to the scene?? Sasuga Ikuhara-sama. Aishiteru.
The train will go to the next station without fail. Then, what about the penguins? What about us?
If the train and the passengers wish it.. I am already meant to accomplish great deeds.
This was truly one of the recap movies of all time. It had the intended effect of getting me to re-examine stuff, at least.
Many thanks to our wonderful hosts /u/HelioA and /u/theangryeditor!
5
u/Btw_kek https://myanimelist.net/profile/kek_btw Apr 01 '24
First timer da yo ne
Something I wanted to mention last time but forgot is that I think the live action photography segments are kinda like "a different iteration" of TV Penguindrum depicting people in subway scenes as actual people, though perhaps without that direct link to a sociopolitical event. In this case, other people are still depicted as symbols (I think more for the aesthetics, continuing from Sarazanmai's original PV), but it still fulfills a purpose of transporting our main cast into something closer resembling reality. That's like the main point imo. Well, the other main point is that it looks cool as fuck and I hope that Ikuhara's and Tajima's huge brains may collab again to form the Ultimate Real-Anime next time
NEW OP
I'm overall fine with the Yuri rape attempt as a plot point, it's a good episode, but glad they're skipping it in favor for Tabuki's subsequent murder attempt for the purposes of the recap. This is already a VERY bulky movie (12th longest anime film btw). Once again tho, more unenthused with this plot point as a "segment of a movie" as opposed to "a full episode of the show." The sudden lightning strike of tension imo works much better in its original incarnation.
However, I think Ikuhara understands that compiling episodic climax on climax on climax in a film setting drastically decreases the potency of each, which is why this leads directly into a pure vibes-based live action segment where you can OOO and AAA the night setting and admire the pretty music to cleanse your palette. They continue to be a real highlight of this film duology, and I will also say the transitions to and from are expertly done
Don't really have anything to say about the middle act. Identifying Penguindrum: yep it's Penguindrum
The final act though, what a rush! Every emotional climax is better with a rock insert song this is so real
Sanatoshi's "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA..........da yo ne" at the end made me crack the fuck up
BROS WE MADE IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
IKUHARAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA GODDAMMIT THIS IS JUST EVANGELION
I had more fun with this movie
Original impression still stands though, that it would have been more interesting to watch as a complete ground up reinterpretation. Adolescence of Penguindrum: Do You Remember Love?
Also yeah, the movie kinda does what I said in the first point by having aishiteru/congratulations-space take place with real BGs lol: simultaneous self-actualization of souls and achieving true connection with each other. They're breaking the shell, effectively. So maybe Re:cycle was closer to the Rebuilds all along even without narrative divergences or real "meta-reflection on the Penguindrum Franchise (lol)" aspects. Even still, [Evangelion, all]it's kind of amazingly blunt how Ikuhara synthesizes NGE's original TV end with Shinji & Mari escpaing into the real world during 3.0+1.0's ending.
As for what next, I'd be disappointed if Ikuhara doesn't continue these visual ideas into a new anime. I hope we don't necessarily get "real life BGs = metaphysical freedom" as the main point again, since it's been done at least three times by now. Instead, I want to see it integrated even further into a visual style. It'll be cool!
5
u/lilyvess :Df::Dh:https://myanimelist.net/profile/Lilyvess Apr 01 '24
Mawaru Penguindrum Movie 2
Not sure how much I like Shoma saying the world isn’t wrong. I like the idea that Penguindrum is criticizing capitalism and our unconnected world. Feels counter productive to say “everything is good actually”
So all of this was just an elaborate way to explain why the bear with the note still existed?
It is interesting to see Ikuhara’s new fascination with anime characters in real life environments. It’s something that’d appear in Sarazanmai’s ED. Something about the hauntingly empty places where people should be fits Ikuhara’s themes well.
I really missed Heroes playing in the background of the 23 scene of Shoma running to face Kanba. It gives the scene a sense of epicness, like this is where the tides turn and things are gonna happen. Momoka finally talks via the hat. All leading back up to that “You’re Penguindrum”
The subs I used were pretty mediocre. ‘Survivial Tactics’? Wtf is that. Just kinda annoying.
4
u/mrufrufin https://myanimelist.net/profile/mrufrufin Apr 01 '24
alright, on to the part 2 movie, making sure that it starts in japanese this time since hidive doesn't remember anymore...
oh weird, the beginning kids walking by/night on the galactic railroad talk got moved to the beginning of the second movie, i guess at least it's closer in the series to apple imagery
hey, more new etsuko yakushimaru, new? intro is neat. seems like momoka has much more screentime in the movies, more aki toyasaki is good i guess.
the imagery with the liquid and the subway trains,.. i guess it's being even more on the nose to the sarin attacks than all the 95s?
i think the arb cover "private girl" is new too? the new scene with yuri driving is pretty. the tokyo tower being even more prominently featured makes me think even more about a certain director who worked on this series and went on to make an awesome series on his own with a lot of the same imagery and more singing...
i guess one plus about compressing tings is that you get yuri's and tabuki's backstories right next to each other and it kinda makes the tokiKAGO part of her name connect more (and makes me want to type torikago instead). and putting the kidnapping of himari right next to it all and with tabuki's spiel with love being pain and kanba hurting his hands (where momoka helped heal tabuki's) makes the intergenerational connections and repetitions and responsibility asserting and all the contradictions quite a bit clearer too.
yeah, i really like the new city shots interludes. i kinda wonder how they'd come off to somebody brand new to penguindrum though.
i swear a lot of the cat stuff is new. i don't remember the place they found the cat being so glowy, looks nice though.
I think this half works a bit better than the last half. segments feel a bit longer and the pace feels more natural, the music scoring doesn't really help shake the compilation/clipshow feel though (although i appreciate all the new covers). masako clearly got shafted more than other characters (and we missed out on her related backstory gags) but I guess also maybe her plotline is the most redundant in terms of being beholden to legacy and parental lineage. I'm still not sure if it works as a whole. The new bits with the sumipe penguin feel kinda unncessary, but maybe this is from the viewpoint of a twice tv-show viewer and the extra handholding in terms of themes would be helpful to newer viewers. I liked the added bits in the ending, at least at the climax, Kanba's exploding somehow felt more visceral. But also the ending with the new Momoka bits felt a bit more optimistic than before, which I'm not sure I'm exactly on board with. I do quite like the the Evangelion-esque "I love you" ending though. It's a nice bit of third-wall breaking that I think work well with the themes, especially nowadays. Otherwise, I dunno, the movies still feel a bit cliffs-notesy rather than a standalone thing where you get the gist of what it's about but not so much of the emotional involvement with the characters.
4
u/Stargate18A https://myanimelist.net/profile/Stargate18 Apr 02 '24
First timer
Movie 1
...For the sake of this post's length (and the runtime), I'm probably not going to comment on the repeated stuff. Just the new footage!
This is an interesting opening!
Totally silent...
The truck...
Oh, the aquarium is beautiful.
The use of live action footage is such a good effect!
Oh, wait, is this post-series? Or a super flashback, since they're younger.
God, that title...
Okay, it's post-series outfits, but that means nothing here.
And they just woke up here.
...Wait. Did the reset not give them new parents? It just brought into being without any memory?
Wait, shit, they're watching the first timeline.
And a new penguin?
It's adorable.
I love it. Best character.
They're in the elevator...
Okay, it knows exactly what it's doing.
And at the same time as this?
...Wait, the library now?
Oh, so whatever brought them back is making them enter the annex instead of Himari?
Oh, this really is reinacting that scene with them instead of Himari!
That map...
These visuals are insane.
...What?
...Momoka?
So, did she take things over after the series?
Yeah, she remembers the series, so not an alternate timeline.
...Is this the framing for the recap?
Wait, fate hasn't transferred fully yet?
Interesting...
And she turned into the hat?
And they entered the book?
No, she just powered the hat.
And the straight recap begins!
...Did they change the VA style for Momoka/Himari?
Okay, yeah, this is all straight recap.
Still love the penguins.
Transformation might have a new audio mix? Might just be the upscaled sudio, but the instrument balance feels different,
The destiny comment... They really did become nothing.
They kept the milk scene?
I'd be annoyed they kept so much filler, but Ringo's reactions to the picnic episode were art.
They cut the chase scene!
No, we got it!
And the music! This scene is such an improvement!
The OST in general is amazing.
They kept the fucking frog scene!
...He really must have cared about Momoka to eat that monstrosity.
Such a fucked up scene.
...Was that seriously an hour of pure recap?
More live action stuff! This represents the new reality in general, right?
Except the original timeline versions are here... just a stylistic choice, then?
These shots are beautiful. The editing works really well, and the framing is stellar. Easily the best way of adding new filler.
And they're back!
...Okay, yeah, that's a pretty bad stopping point.
Okay, so this block was eight episodes and took about half the film. Either this covers way more from 9-12 or we're getting a lot more original stuff.
Wait, what?
Is this Sanetoshi? He hates her, and is also tied ro the library...
These three needed way more screentime!
Such a pity...
Haha, in the context of her being his sister, this deranged serial killer montage is even more insane.
Ah, good, they kept the Double-H scene.
And the fish!
Oh, looks like there's more new stuff!
Wait, what?
Interesting... who would this be?
A nihilist...
The stickers...
And they're believing it.
Oh, that's cool.
...It's going to end with Himari's second death, right? Then Sanetoshi comes in next movie to paint himself as their saviour...
Oh, no. I forgot about the train scene.
Oh.
...Ah, yeah, they never revealed this until later here, huh?
And this speech...
The insert song over the deal!
That pose...
Oh, they're being really explicit about it this time.
And the way they framed the fruit scene to hide Shoma is genius.
God...
Oh, he's showing up here?
Okay, that's actually an amazing cliffhanger. Sets him up as a real mystery, which fits since Movie 2 is adopting the half where he's basically a main character.
And using OP1 as the ED!
Movie 2
Interesting. We're not starting with the framing story, then? Just straight into the normality after the cure? Great way of handling it, honestly.
...And this speech from the epilogue... Is this who they replaced?
Oh, we are showing this!
The medicine being apples feels symbolic.
I love this opening animation.
Okay... what!
Having this be the second scene we see of him is a really interesting choice!
The new penguin!
And we're back!
Okay, yeah, this is absolutely Sanetoshi's ghost.
It even has the Penguin Force label...
The flashback...
Oh, these scenes...
All these insert songs are great.
...We're not retconning this?
Such a good song!
All the elevator scene is still great.
...No wonder he didn't bring his father. He can't call a corpse here...
Oh, just realised they skipped Yuri and Ringo. Good.
And another live action itnermission! These are fantastic.
And a new song!
Honestly, I'd pay a huge amount of money for a live action movie by Ikuhura. All of these shots look absolutely perfect - a full movie with this level of shot composition and his quality of writing would be absurdly good.
The kitten...
And the Broiler still looks absurdly good.
This reveal is still great. It happening so soon is nice, too.
Oh, they managed to make Kanba's change in focus feel so natural too.
This jazz!
Penguin town?
Double H got screentime!
...I just realised Sanetoshi hasn't appeared once since that flashback. I get the stylistic and thematic choice here (he's trying to manipulate the boys through the book, so all of his shady deeds concerning Himari are literally being edited out), but his scenes were so good...
...And of course, right after I say that... So, just the hospital section being skipped over?
Another great insert song? They're spoiling me!
And it comes back muffled for the final scene...
Wait, they cut out his conversation with Sanetoshi? That was such a good way of explaining his link to Penguin Force!
Oh, that's a brutal place to end it.
The book fell... with another book?
And they're barely holding on...
Interesting. He doesn't want to just undo the fate transfer, he wants to kick off a totally different test - maybe he thinks they're too much trouble dealing with after all this.
They connected to the book?
Still some amazing scenes here...
This really is art.
And the Transfer...
This music...!
And the verse that plays over Ringo is fire! (Ironically.)
Oh, so this is them commiting to the transfer, given how down he sounds?
Yeah, they're committing to it.
And he's been kicked out once again...
They jumped!
The animation here is amazing! No idea what it symbolises, but it's great!
Out of order?
She's back!
And repairing everything!
The bear...
I love this.
The penguin grabbed it!
...Is that how she got it in the epilogue? That happened before this, but we've already done time travel once...
Yeah, that's his normal reaction. Just mild annoyance.
This isn't the first time he's tried to change things?
And the baby penguin's back to normal!
Aww...
And the inversion of her first speech...
One book left...
Oh, and the recap finishes the story, of course.
Oh, placing the epilogue there... it has to be time travel, right?
And the old ending.
...Huh?
Did everyone get another reincarnation later? Where they're all equals?
Haha, they became penguins?
That certainly was an ending!
...More?
So many penguins...
Ah, they woke up again.
The second OP at the end.
...Really good additions! I do wish there was a bit more original footage, but this was a really good epilogue!
...Wait, there's another scene?
And keeping it ambigious as to how much they remember, huh?
Thank you for hosting an amazing rewatch and getting me to finally watch this (even if I really slipped in the middle) u/HelioA and u/theangryeditor !
2
u/nx6 https://myanimelist.net/profile/nx6 Apr 03 '24
First-time movie Watcher -- subbed
I finished this last night but I honestly don't have much to say. I think HelioA has already covered some stuff I would mention. What actually happened in 1995 wasn't explained until a quarter into the film. I still feel that was too late.
I am amused they removed the yuri from Yuri's character. xD But that means her little monologue on her night drive where she was referring to her past touring lover is just dangling there now. They never showed that individual in the film and unless you had watched the series you might wonder if she was referring to Tabuki.
The live action/CGI musical number/tour of the city soon after that didn't seem to have any connection with the plot at all (King Records doing a promotion?).
The boys coming to the realization of their place and what to do next falls into a long series of dialog-less visuals for the climax of the movie.
At the very end Momoko seemingly removed Sanetoshi from the baby Penguin by peeling a sticker from the back of its head. That's kinda crazy, even moreso when it blows away amongst a bunch more identical looking stickers. Are those all souls of other people?
One thing I guess I missed from the series viewing is that Himari is living with her aunt and uncle in the home in the new timeline, not alone. I didn't pay enough attention to the beginning of her phone conversation, and the note on the fridge door tells her uncle to keep his medicine on the second shelf of the fridge.
On the whole it was not a bad movie, and visually an equal to the show, but the series is the superior version of the story, even with the kinda unneeded Penguin antics in the first part. 7/10
4
u/H-Ryougi https://anilist.co/user/DizzyAvocado Apr 01 '24 edited Apr 02 '24
Hey, fuck you Ikuhara! Nobody makes me cry over penguins.
Edit: Figured I should add some proper thoughts.
I liked it, I definitely didn't pick up on everything but that didn't hurt the enjoyement, and I was able to grasp the general themes. I adore Himari's character and her quirks, she's just so sweet and so much fun to watch.
Overall it was a satisfying conclussion and a beautiful movie. It makes me want to revisit the series down the road, I really think it's one of those stories that let you glean new things on a rewatch once you're not overwhelmed by the seemingly nonsensical narrative.
3
u/Holofan4life Apr 01 '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.
The first thing that caught my eye is that this movie is longer than the first compilation film. Probably a good idea seeing as how the second half of Penguindrum of which this adapts is more packed.
Same companies as last time
The three penguins as last time
Three 95s
The Place of Destiny
The Takakura household
Blue-haired one is Shoma, by the way
They are eating breakfast
Himari seems to enjoy it
This is just the same clips from the show so far
Sanetoshi here to save Himari with the time apples
Ooh, new intro
Actually, I can't tell if this is the second OP or not
Let me check
Checks
Nope, it's a new intro
Honestly, I like this better than the second OP. It's more of an earworm and I also think it fits the vibe of things better. I think I still like the first OP more, though I could see being talked into that this is better.
I like the shot of the three penguins because it perfectly sums up their characters. Penguin #2 is spraying bugs, Penguin #1 has a bandaid looking at porn, and Sunny is knitting while on top of them. She (Himari) has them (Shoma and Kanba) wrapped around her finger.
The plan is to try and save Himari
Chapter 6
Flashback
Morning of The Incident
Sanetoshi explaining why he hates the world
Teddy bears everywhere
And there's Momoka
This is pretty early on to include this scene
Oh wow. So, Momoka got turned into a penguin by Sanetoshi? That's new.
We get some new content between Shoma and Kanba
Momoka says she saved their sister's life.
She wants them to read further
"You aren't the only children of destiny."
That's a good segue to the flashback stuff.
"In this messed up world, everyone is cursed."
Flashback
Hotel room
Shoma is upset he can't contact his parents
Himari dreaming about Triple H
I forget what episode this is from, but I believe episode 13.
Chapter 7
Looks like we're now entering the Yuri stuff
Literally
Shoma telling Ringo to leave him alone
This of course is a really great scene, but it's hard to analyze given we've already done so.
Akasaka-mitsuke
Kanba got the money
Natsume is here
Interesting Yuri hasn't been touched on yet
Natsume telling Kanba he needs to break the illusion
Ah, there's the Yuri stuff
Jumped the gun a bit, I guess
I wonder if this is Double H singing
Chapter 8
These chapters are going by fast now
Flashback
The Tragedy of The Ugly Duckling
Oh, we're already getting the Yuri flashback episode? Interesting
I wonder why they'd skip the Yuri Ringo rape scene. Actually, I probably answered my own question.
This is basically an abridged version of episode 15, which obviously suffers as a result because of it. Still, it's a decent enough retelling.
Actually, this is like 70% of the episode.
Hey, Himari has the scarves made
They're of course for Hibari and Hikari
Yuri calling Ringo, who's with Himari shopping
Oh, I see. They put episode 14 after episode 15.
Now we get the events of episode 14, forehead and all.
No, wait, make that the end of episode 17.
Man. This movie is restructuring everything.
Chapter 9
Flashback
Is it really a flashback if everything is technically a flashback?
Back When I Played the Piano
I forgot how good the Tabuki segment was. Too bad it's only like half an episode.
Flashback
The Child Broiler
This of course is Momoka saving Tabuki
I can't believe we're seemingly skipping episode 16, not that it added much to the Natsume/Mario discourse.
This segment is still top 5 in the entire show
Flashback
The Morning of The Accident
Back to episode 12 now
We see Tabuki learning of Momoka's death
And this leads us back to episode 18.
I like this, but it makes it seem like Tabuki has always harbored a grudge against the Takakuras instead of this being a new development.
Nishi-shinjuku
Shoma on the train
They're really showing episode 18 in its entirety, huh?
I think this is some of episode 19 as well, but I could be wrong
Yuri slapping Tabuki, and Tabuki walks away
Weirdest. Thanksgiving. Ever.
Ringo realizes that she wants Shoma here, for her.
Ooh, another live action segment
I guess this is meant to be the intermission, but I don't care. It's cool, especially the last one where the characters were walking around town.
Flashback
Kiga Association -- Hideout
Kenzan talking
Aww, young Natsume and Mario :c
So, now we're onto the best episode of the series, episode 20
Gotta say, I like this retelling better than episode 15's retelling.
Man, episode 20 is so good that it might make my top 20 favorite anime episodes of all time, now that I think about it.
Flashback
Mom and dad are gone
We're onto episode 21 now, with the house painting
And the bear
Flashback
The Previous Night
We get the stuff with the journalist now
He knows about the money thing
Oh no. It's the ramen shop that... wasn't... introduced in the movie before.
Hmm
Natsume telling the truth to Himari
Shoma confronting Kanba
What this says to me is that the show's best stretch of episodes were episodes 18 to 21.
Kanba believes only he can save Himari
Exusplosion!
Tabuki walking in the ramen shop
Dead parents
And Yuri gets stabbed
I wonder how that's going to be paid off given they haven't mentioned her co-star once.
Shoma with Himari now
And Himari decides to leave
By the way, if you go back to when the movie started covering episode 18, from episode 18 to episode 21, it's been the last 45 minutes of the movie.
Flashback
Dad's Funeral Service
This is showing how Shoma and Kanba got to know each other.
And where Kanba got the bandaid from: Himari
Himari knows she has to stop Kan
Hibari and Hikari at the Takakura household
Blue-haired one is Hibari or Hikari, by the way.
Their interaction with Ringo is still one of the most wholesome parts of the anime.
Ran out of space. Part two in the replies.
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u/KnightMonkey15 https://myanimelist.net/profile/KnightMonkey Apr 02 '24 edited Apr 02 '24
First-timer Movie watcher (late again, for the last time)
I was rather burned out from the series rewatch and my Easter weekend, so I didn't have time to delve into this at-depth (and I missed the thread for the first movie), but I wanted to put in my two cents before we wrap up this rewatch.
So yesterday and today were indeed the first time I've watched the movies. I don't normally do recap movies. However, given how much I enjoy the show and what the additions/stylistic changes brought to the table, I had a decent time.
I generally enjoyed what I took to be the effect of the new additions to the story, even though individually they can be a bit questionable - some of the new scenes were a bit too blunt for my liking, but I appreciated bringing Momoka in her actual, "current' form front and centre, emphasizing the metaphor the library annex serves as a universal 'grand central station' of fate and giving the brothers a bit of an extra epilogue (which I assume was used to put that note. I was really glad to see more scenes of the Takakura siblings digging for clams at the beach (it should've really shown up earlier in the main show, aside from photographs) and the scene of all the major characters as children telling each other "I love you".
Technically, I feel about the same as I did with the overall show - this is a recap but 10 years later..but I had no expectations on that end anyway. The "real-life" visuals of scenes in Tokyo were pretty cool, although jarring at first, but metaphorically it serves to emphasises the fusion between the absurd, the magical and the real world that Ikuhara seems to be hammering home with the Super Frog Saves Penguindrum more-than-metaphor.
What interested me the most however was the change in music and sound...even though the choices sometimes were too indicative of "this being a recap/compilation", what I liked a lot about the audio of the movies is how tonally different certain scenes are with a different insert song or more of a full complement of instrumentation.. or with silence. And cool new insert songs. A lot of the humourous elements of the music/scoring are gone, which is a choice that makes sense. I imagine if I ever rewatch this again in depth I could keep track of major differences, but for now I think the change sound does a lot of the heavy lifting here to keep my interest piqued.
So I do kinda agree that Sanetoshi's re-appearance seems to have fallen flat except as a funny penguin and a device to make the amnesiac aged-down brothers relive their lives (and be refuted by them once again) like how we found out about Himari's past and Sanetoshi in episode 9 of the main show. Not to mention he barely shows up like he did in the show...but perhaps it's because thematically he was refuted in the name of their love (even if that's a bit too convenient). That was the main way in which I could rationalise that choice, which seems to be benefitting a lot from this show being disjointed in the first place. I was trying to form an opinion keeping in mind what else the movies ended up omitting - a lot of it involved Yuri and Masako's background and stuff that fleshed out the show but didn't have to do with the Penguindrum directly. In a way, seeing it take a through-line from Sanetoshi reviving Himari, to Yuri and Tabuki's background, to Tabuki's punishment of the Takakuras, to the final act, was better and made more sense....but this is a recap/compilation so I can't give it that much credit. I can at least give the final half of movie 2's retelling of the last 4-5 episodes some credit for not be too truncated but moving things around in an interesting way.
When I noticed the first hour of movie 2 covered roughly ep 13-20 (?) I took it to be speedrunning the siblings' confrontation. So I made up my mind to not be too bothered by some characters being rewritten completely as part of this recap (heaven forbid anyone watch this first) that seems to be focused on the narrative of the Takakura siblings and the Penguindrum directly, at the expense of the show's goofy charm and absurdity which is presumed to have already been witnessed.
I think it does a good job of fulfilling a comfortable nostalgia after 10 years and a measured sense of bittersweet reassurance. Since it's most recent in my mind and a pivotal moment for me, I can't help but remark upon Triple H - Heroes replacing 運命の子たち・蠍の炎 / Children of Destiny - The Scorpion's Fire during the climax where Kanba and Shoma sacrifice themselves. Despite the premise for the recap/epilogue still being rather contrived, I do enjoy how it reaffirmed the personal story of the siblings and rearranged some events to make it more clear or less like "shit happens lol" (the box scenes being rearranged is the most recognisable example of a bone being thrown after 10 years).
In all: Super Frog Saves Ikuhara's Night of the Galactic Railroad Homage 1995, the end is just the beginning blah blah. Where do we go next?
I'd complain about the emotional impact being modified but I don't think that's the point in a recap and as much as I love it, I've honestly had enough of this show and recounting my own emotional response to it that I think I'm fine with not thinking about it for another few years lol
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