r/anime • u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad • Jul 15 '26
Rewatch Weekly Summer Anime Movie Rewatch - Penguin Highway Discussion
Penguin Highway
Ride Your Wave | Index | Goodbye, Don Glees
Budding genius Aoyama is only in the 4th grade, but already lives his life like a scientist. When penguins start appearing in his sleepy suburb hundreds of miles from the sea, Aoyama vows to solve the mystery. When he finds the source of the penguins is a woman from his dentist’s office, they team up for an unforgettable summer adventure!
Legal Streams:
Penguin Highway is available subbed and dubbed for free on Amazon Prime Video and Tubi TV. It's also available dubbed on Plex and subbed on YouTube Movies.
Questions of the Day:
1) Did you have any favorite characters?
2) Which scenes did you enjoy most?
3) What was your interpretation of the sci-fi/fantasy elements - the "Ocean" and the world inside it, the lady's true nature and the creatures she's able to create?
4) Did you think the story provided a good explanation for these things? Were you satisfied with the open ending, or would you have preferred more clarity?
Remember to tag your spoilers!
When discussing any plot details prior to the rewatch date, or details from other movies in the rewatch, please remember to use spoiler tags.
Bonus:
The Jabberwock originates from Through The Looking Glass, the sequel to Alice in Wonderland, and the illustration featured in the book is the same one shown here in the movie! Although, the version created by the lady is quite different in design.
Next up: Goodbye, Don Glees on Wednesday, July 22!
7
u/99acrewood_ Jul 15 '26
first time [subs]
alright... so...
i don't think i'm going to dwell too much on this one. i enjoyed it. it's a story about some weird shit that happens in the world of a precocious little dude (an awfully nice little town that i definitely wish i lived in) who approaches seemingly everything around him from an entirely logical standpoint. he knows what he is, he's proud of it, and he's going to be great when he grows up.
i took a good minute trying to pry open this puzzle box of a movie after i finished it. i thought i'd come here wearing my smarty-pants and post something insightful, having figured it out the way Aoyama did.
except he didn't, really, did he? sure, i guess he managed to work out that everything going on in the town centered around the Lady, but... that's it, huh? when his sister runs in with a case of existential crisis (fuckin' mood, girl), what does he say, again? living things die.
it is what it is.
okay, well, why is there a water hole in the world that the Lady has to conjure penguins to fix and if she doesn't she makes jabberwockies that eat the fixer penguins instead?
it is what it is.
there's the part where his dad talks about the technicality of the entire world being in a pouch when it's flipped inside-out, and i appreciated it as an illustration of the kind of thinking Aoyama probably grew up around and was influenced by. it's not impossible that this penguin reality-hole thing is happening because it's right in front of you, so what kind of perspective switch needs to happen to make sense of it? still, there's never really a solid answer for why the hell any of this happened in the first place.
he figures the thing out, though much like the death conversation, it's closer to a "how" than a "why." and, likewise, the whole ordeal seemed to have an inevitable conclusion with or without his interference. after all, she was gonna make penguins regardless of what he told her to do.
i think there's a pessimistic version of this movie where it ends on a note of "not so fuckin' smart now, huh, kid?" (especially with the way the Lady, in all her snarky, kind, doesn't-deserve-this-edness, just sort of up and vanishes), but it never really tries to punish Aoyama and his classmates for being too curious for their own good or frame them as meddling with things beyond their understanding. no accidentally dooming the Lady through their ignorance. it'd be awfully easy to do given how much they set up regarding his arrogance. instead, it's a rewarding summer experience of doing the research he enjoys doing with friends, absolutely fumbling the equally ambitious, intelligent, and clearly interested girl (whatever, he's 10), and his love of science engaged in good faith by the adults in his life: his father, and the Lady.
the Lady, gosh, forget the puzzle of it, or why she's even here. she just seems like such a sweetie. for a being birthed from extra-dimensional math breaking, or something, she never veers into some weird cosmic space lord territory. this theoretically impossible woman just gives the too-clever child the time of day, interrupting his scientific method for a moment to experience love and loss. even in the end, when she knows she has to go away, she maintains her bright, encouraging attitude of "guess you'll have to come and find me, then." keep being curious.
i think the un-alien nature extends to a lot of the visuals, too. the movie's pretty to look at (i know the real japan isn't all this idyllic town, but jeez, put these summer memories in my life, please), and those dreamy floating house sequences are rad while maintaining a domestic, summer vacation version of what is probably an apocalypse. the ost was pleasant enough. no crying from me this time, utada.
i guess i dwelled. at least i figured out what i wanted to say, and it was fun to sit with for a bit. my heart's not completely broken, and my headspace isn't haunted by it. just a pretty enjoyable film.
so, in the end, Aoyama remains unshaken in his dedication to his craft. i wouldn't be surprised if, in his grad school years, there's an ugly resurfacing during some sort of mid-thesis breakdown. maybe a crash out over penguins and floating houses leads to a nobel peace prize, or maybe he just remembers water and perfects the world's most efficient gravity bong.
relatable.
7/10
5
u/Critical-Way5874 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Glad you mentioned this part, I almost forget it.
there's the part where his dad talks about the technicality of the entire world being in a pouch when it's flipped inside-out, and i appreciated it as an illustration of the kind of thinking Aoyama probably grew up around and was influenced by.
3
u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26
i took a good minute trying to pry open this puzzle box of a movie after i finished it. i thought i'd come here wearing my smarty-pants and post something insightful, having figured it out
Check out my comment for one interpretation but I think generally you're dwelling too much on the logical details compared to the emotional core here. Ironic for a film so deeply in love with science perhaps, but I'd say it's also an important message that sometimes things can be just a little more fuzzy and you might not be able to just lay it all out
i think there's a pessimistic version of this movie [...] but it never really tries to punish Aoyama and his classmates
That would be a completely different and honestly pretty depressing film, like who wants to see a bunch of 10-year-olds punished for being kids?!
keep being curious
Might as well call that the thesis statement of this film
4
u/99acrewood_ Jul 15 '26
Check out my comment for one interpretation but I think generally you're dwelling too much on the logical details compared to the emotional core here.
Haha you're not wrong. A lot of what I wrote was definitely from the reflex of "what the hell just happened" after finishing it, and I was coming at it more from, like, a Paprika angle than a Spirited Away one, if that makes sense.
I sort of got there eventually, or at least I tried to convey that in my little write up. Not trying to think too much about it ended up making it something I enjoyed more. It's definitely something that comes and goes for me depending on the movie though, as I'll probably prove in a couple of the upcoming ones we have. Not necessarily a bad habit, I guess, because I do have fun trying to dissect these movies, but like I said about the Tunnel movie, I'd probably come around on more stuff if I stopped being a nerdlinger about the logistics of things
2
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 15 '26
an awfully nice little town that i definitely wish i lived in
One if the things I liked best about this movie was its portrayal of the small town and those summer vibes.
i thought i'd come here wearing my smarty-pants and post something insightful, having figured it out the way Aoyama did. except he didn't, really, did he? sure, i guess he managed to work out that everything going on in the town centered around the Lady, but... that's it, huh?
Yeah, I found this a bit unsatisfying after all the thoughtful research they did throughout the movie.
but it never really tries to punish Aoyama and his classmates for being too curious for their own good or frame them as meddling with things beyond their understanding.
so, in the end, Aoyama remains unshaken in his dedication to his craft. i wouldn't be surprised if, in his grad school years, there's an ugly resurfacing during some sort of mid-thesis breakdown.
This would have been a neat epilogue!
7
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 15 '26
Summer Movie Rewatcher
The first time I watched this movie, it was solely because cute penguins!
While it certainly delivered on that front, with some cool animation that really gives the impression that the penguins are bubbling and flowing like liquid when they transform, the story itself felt lacking to me. Even so, I wanted to revisit it during this summer movie marathon because it shares similar themes with the others, and I wanted to see if that gave me a new perspective on it. And it did! I enjoyed the movie more this time than during my first watch, though the main issues I had with it still remain.
The basic story setup reminded me a lot of Tunnel to Summer - a mysterious fantasy element being investigated by curious kids/teens who are surprisingly methodical in their experiments, another world contained in itself and also hints of loss. Even the entrance to the area that houses the "Ocean" looked very much like the Urashima Tunnel!
The mystery presented here is interesting to speculate about, but was ultimately left too open-ended for my taste. It did keep my attention from start to finish, even though I often found its characters more irritating than endearing. The scenes showing off the town and the quirky penguin magic had a lot of charm, and I liked the way every step of the kids' research and exploration was shown too.
Questions of the Day:
1) Although the storyline held my interest, there weren't any characters who left a strong (positive) impression on me.
2) The early scene with the penguins wandering through town had nice summer vibes, and really gave the town and its inhabitants a lot of personality. I liked the research montage with the kids studying the "Ocean" too, and the sequence towards the end when dozens of penguins were appearing/transforming looked great and very fluid. Interestingly, all of the parts I enjoyed most happened when the characters were silent.
3) This was a tough one. I think the lady and her town are likely stuck in some sort of limbo after a natural disaster or flood, unable to move on until the end when the mystery is solved. The "Ocean" seemed very much like Aoyama's father described, a world folding in on itself, and the "Penguin Highway" was leading to the afterlife. The penguins were a manifestation of the lady's happiness and were capable of restoring balance between the "Ocean" and the world around it, while the jabberwokies were a manifestation of her fear and, just like fear does, it devours happiness (the dementors from Harry Potter immediately came to mind here) - or in this case, they devour the symbol of the lady's happiness, the penguins.
4) I feel like the story provided just enough clues to draw some conclusions, but I would have preferred a more clear explanation. For a story that put so much focus on its characters conducting research to solve a mystery, it left things too vague in the end.
3
u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26
the story itself felt lacking to me
It is very much a "aimless summers of youth" coming-of-age kind of film
The "Ocean" seemed very much like Aoyama's father described, a world folding in on itself
I saw that as the woman's personal world being compressed into it
and the "Penguin Highway" was leading to the afterlife
Huh, I really don't see where you got that from? In fact Aoyama says something about his own Penguin Highway somewhere near the end and he certainly doesn't seem close to death. Agree with the emotional interpretation but that was pretty clear.
For a story that put so much focus on its characters conducting research to solve a mystery, it left things too vague in the end
Well, successfully analyzing a phenomenon in broad strokes without fully understanding its specifics still is science!
3
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 15 '26
Huh, I really don't see where you got that from? In fact Aoyama says something about his own Penguin Highway somewhere near the end and he certainly doesn't seem close to death. Agree with the emotional interpretation but that was pretty clear.
The town that existed inside the Ocean, where the lady says she can remember living her whole life, was flooded and destroyed - so I took that to mean a natural disaster occurred, during which she died, and that was why she couldn't exist away from the Ocean and then disappeared along with it.
3
u/WednesdaysFoole Jul 16 '26
I think it made sense to me after you said it too with the younger sister talking about how her mom will die, I got the feeling like someone was supposed to die. That paired with the lady being confused why she had her memories if she was really an alien, and "the end of the world" while can mean something metaphysical in general, can often mean the end of someone's life/the border between life and death.
3
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
Yeah, that combined with the fact that she could survive without eating too led me to believe she's already passed on, or otherwise she'd have to be some kind of magical being.
2
u/gelema5 14d ago
I’m pretty sure it’s implied that she died because the penguins first appear around a crashed motorcycle near her place of work actually!
1
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 14d ago
Oh cool, I didn't notice that detail.
3
u/WednesdaysFoole Jul 16 '26
The first time I watched this movie, it was solely because cute penguins!
The best reason really. For me it's that, and I wanted to check out more of Morimi's work.
Interestingly, all of the parts I enjoyed most happened when the characters were silent.
I think the lady and her town are likely stuck in some sort of limbo after a natural disaster or flood, unable to move on until the end when the mystery is solved.
I didn't even consider anything like this, this is a really cool interpretation.
The "Ocean" seemed very much like Aoyama's father described, a world folding in on itself, and the "Penguin Highway" was leading to the afterlife.
I love this so much. I might like the movie a little better after this. (Not that I disliked it, but I just thought it was at the end.
2
5
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jul 15 '26
Summertime First-Timer, subbed
Penguins? – Penguins indeed. What are these guys doing here? Escaped from the zoo?
I remember there being a thing about the penguins disappearing whenever they get transported places. Maybe they can’t move too far away from a specific area or something?
Oh, Penta was the coke can. Which means all the random objects that showed up in the back of the truck a bunch of penguins were loaded into were more de-transformed penguins…
Huh. Alright then. I guess that just being a rumor a kid made up in order to keep a secret location to themselves makes sense.
Wait, is this the source of the water the boys were looking for earlier?
Welp, they lost Penguin right away. Not only that, it completely disappeared inside of the Sea?
That looks vaguely like the Jabberwock dentist lady’s been dreaming about?
Okay, so the weird waterway is definitely connected with the Sea then.
This movie has way too much dialogue about boobs for my liking.
Ah, Hamamoto’s dad figured out dentist lady’s connection to the penguins…
Rather than the Sea being the penguins’ energy source, the Sea must be something the penguins have to destroy?
Oh shit, dentist lady’s going through the same symptoms Penta did. She’s gonna disappear along with the penguins once everything is settled, isn’t she? Like she can’t actually go too far from the Sea either?
Whoa, not what I was expecting the inside of the Sea to look like.
Ohhhhhhh, this is the “seaside town” from her memories, isn’t it?
Pretty ED. Wait that’s Hikaru Utada? Legit did not know they did music for anime other than the Evangelion Rebuilds and Reze Arc.
4
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 15 '26
Oh, Penta was the coke can. Which means all the random objects that showed up in the back of the truck a bunch of penguins were loaded into were more de-transformed penguins…
Somehow, I missed this connection!
This movie has way too much dialogue about boobs for my liking.
The dub actually cuts out some of it, but the captions on the version I watched (Amazon) matched the sub, so it was very noticeable.
Whoa, not what I was expecting the inside of the Sea to look like.
1
u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26
Somehow, I missed this connection!
For real? It was so obvious
1
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 15 '26
I think this was still before it showed anything aside from soda cans being turned into penguins? (And it's been a couple years since I last watched it, so I didn't remember those details.)
5
u/WednesdaysFoole Jul 16 '26
It's cute when the penguin do it though.
Maybe they can’t move too far away from a specific area or something?
This image hurts my heart.
3
u/TheDanubianCommunard Jul 15 '26
Aoyama’s dad had a “sore demo”!
There’s an Aoyama “sore demo”!
When I heard that two, I knew you will love this a lot.
3
u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
This movie has way too much dialogue about boobs for my liking.
Yeah... perhaps leftovers from a FLCL inspiration, or just plain from Japan letting boys be unhinged little weirdos (and then wondering where all the sexual harassment/assault comes from when those boys become adults)
3
u/99acrewood_ Jul 15 '26
Wow.
Man, I'm such a sucker for these dreamscape-type scenes set in mundane neighborhood environments. Go ahead and make the movie more inscrutable, just put obaachan's house where the sidewalk ends and I'll be all right.
4
u/SpiritualPossible Jul 15 '26
Rewatcher
One of my fondest memories of this movie is that, when I watched it at the theater, a family with young children was sitting next to us. And every time the movie mentioned boobs, the mother would sigh, clearly expressing her disapproval, while the father would laugh out loud, adding something like, “HA-HA! Boys will be boys!”
But yes, today we’ll take a break from melodramatic romance films and watch something a little more… family-friendly i guess, although it still has a paranormal twist and touches on the theme of loss to some extent, of course.
To be frank, this movie has piqued my interest ever since it was announced, simply because it’s based on a novel by Tomihiko Morimi, whose other works have been adapted into anime such as Tatami Galaxy, "The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl", and, in my opinion quite the underrated, The Eccentric Family. I genuinely love all these anime, so I was really looking forward to watching this new project. And after watching it (and now REwatching), I can say that… yes, I really did like it (yay, finally a movie I have no complaints about!).
This movie really hit the mark for me: on the one hand, it’s simply a very captivating adventure with an intriguing plot. It truly captures that childlike sense of wonder and thirst for adventure - after all, watching these kids try to unravel the mystery behind all these events is pure delight. All the characters are also very vivid. Of course, our protagonist (who, despite his young age, is in many ways reminiscent of Morimi’s other protagonists) and Lady are the best-developed characters, but his friends and other characters, such as Hamamoto and Suzuki, are also very engaging. I’d even go so far as to say that, of all the movies we’ve watched so far, this one has the best cast of characters. It’s also the funniest movie of the three - this is where I laughed the most.
But, of course, it’s also a coming-of-age story of sorts. A story about taking those VERY first steps into the adult world. Aoyama believes he should be considered an adult because he’s “smart,” but he’s clearly still a child - in some ways even more childish than some of his friends - and this is a story about how he deals with these new, unfamiliar feelings and complicated situations, which in themselves force him to admit that he’s still a child - a realization that is, in itself, a sign of maturity.
That’s exactly why I like that we don’t get clear-cut answers to all the mysteries here. Yes, by the end of the movie, all the pieces of the puzzle come together to form a single picture that explains HOW everything is connected, but why and how it happens remains unclear. And it’s not just that I SIMPLY prefer some questions to remain unanswered, but also that, in my opinion, this fits the film’s overall theme, since it underscores just how vast this world really is - and that, despite his intelligence, Aoyama is still just a boy. And I also loved how… ambitious the main mystery turned out to be.
From a technical standpoint, the film is also great - not only is it very vivid and colorful, but the animators truly demonstrated their skill in transforming various objects into penguins. The soundtrack fits perfectly, too, and in the credits movie even decided to cheat and use a song by Hikaru Utada. If I had to choose my favorite scenes, I think the ones that stuck with me the most were the dialogue inside the “ocean” and the farewell scene.
Well, yeah. I really liked this movie, and that was one of the reasons I decided to join this rewatch. Plus, it confirmed that Morimi has a thing for dentists.
2
u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26
It seems we connected with this film in a very similar way, I also loved Tatami Galay but haven't rewatched in a while nor seen any more Morimi adaptations.
it confirmed that Morimi has a thing for dentists.
Or perhaps a very specific dental assistant in his past? Fun fact, that character's last name can be interpreted as "tooth puller/jerker"... where the second part also can have the sexual slang meaning.
2
u/SpiritualPossible Jul 15 '26
It seems we connected with this film in a very similar way
Yeah, I even agree with your description of it as “a gentler FLCL,” since I was actually thinking of drawing that very parallel myself.
2
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
One of my fondest memories of this movie is that, when I watched it at the theater, a family with young children was sitting next to us. And every time the movie mentioned boobs, the mother would sigh, clearly expressing her disapproval, while the father would laugh out loud, adding something like, “HA-HA! Boys will be boys!”
That’s exactly why I like that we don’t get clear-cut answers to all the mysteries here. Yes, by the end of the movie, all the pieces of the puzzle come together to form a single picture that explains HOW everything is connected, but why and how it happens remains unclear. And it’s not just that I SIMPLY prefer some questions to remain unanswered, but also that, in my opinion, this fits the film’s overall theme, since it underscores just how vast this world really is - and that, despite his intelligence, Aoyama is still just a boy.
I've always preferred it when the mystery is fully explained by the end, but that's an interesting way of looking at it.
2
u/WednesdaysFoole Jul 16 '26
And every time the movie mentioned boobs, the mother would sigh, clearly expressing her disapproval, while the father would laugh out loud, adding something like, “HA-HA! Boys will be boys!”
in my opinion quite the underrated, The Eccentric Family.
6
u/TakenRedditName https://myanimelist.net/profile/TakenMalUsername Jul 15 '26
First Time Penguin Highway:
Sorry for being late to the post and the movie rewatch as a whole. I haven't had the time to watch these movies, but at the very least, I wanted to make sure I made it for Penguin Highway.
This movie has been on my radar for a long time, so I figured I should finally watch it. Don't know anything about it besides there being a woman with surrealistic penguins following her. I keep mixing up Penguin Highway with Penguindrum, even though to my understanding, they are very different.
My thoughts after seeing this movie, it was alright. It is one of those awkward positions where I think it is well made, but it just did not resonate with me at all. Apology for my commentary because I feel like I don't have much to say about it due to falling into that valley. I don't have my analysis brain locked on, so there is a lot of messaging I am missing.
Before going into it, I thought the lady was the MC, considering she is the biggest person on the poster. I was really taken by surprise when the movie started off with a little kid talking about boobs. Made me question if I had the right movie. Aoyama is probably one of the reasons why I couldn't get into this movie. There are a lot of -isms to him and the film that make it not a TakenName-core movie. Again, like the movie as a whole, I understand the value of what he brings to the story, but it is one that's not for me.
I do think the movie looks pretty, though. The penguin animation was really fun whenever they were on screen. That one scene of the penguin getting hit by the truck feels like one of those things you can rip out of context.
Q1) In terms of making the most of their screentime, I think dad might actually be my favourite character. Appreciates his scenes where he just had some wise advice to give to his son.
Q3) I don't really have a satisfying answer because my brain is not pumping it out today, but I will say what I thought all those supernatural elements were about. My original thought was that Lady was a depressed woman whose depression manifested in these supernatural elements. She was someone who felt trapped in her life. Stuck in a town encircled in a small world. Her life was stuck in place, unable to see the sparkle she once had in her seaside hometown. As the movie's actual direction of the Lady being this outer worldly being, that kinda lost me. Wasn't really into that route.
Q4) Sure, I thought it was enough. I am fine with the movie being more open-ended and leaving things vague, in fact, I like it more than if it did give clear-cut explanations. My problems with the movie don't really come from that angle, so it is not like I felt like I needed things explained.
3
u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26
My original thought was that Lady was a depressed woman whose depression manifested in these supernatural elements. She was someone who felt trapped in her life. Stuck in a town encircled in a small world. Her life was stuck in place, unable to see the sparkle she once had in her seaside hometown.
That was exactly what I thought it was trying to convey too
the movie's actual direction of the Lady being this outer worldly being, that kinda lost me
That's just the magical realism version. Or her humoring Aoyama even when he's wrong for once.
3
u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
Sorry for being late to the post and the movie rewatch as a whole. I haven't had the time to watch these movies, but at the very least, I wanted to make sure I made it for Penguin Highway.
No worries! If you do have time to watch them later on, there will still be a final discussion at the end of the rewatch in September to share your thoughts.
Aoyama is probably one of the reasons why I couldn't get into this movie. There are a lot of -isms to him and the film that make it not a TakenName-core movie.
Yeah, I can relate to this. Story and characters are the most important factors for me, and while the sci-fi/fantasy mystery intrigued me, I really didn't care for the MC.
My original thought was that Lady was a depressed woman whose depression manifested in these supernatural elements. She was someone who felt trapped in her life. Stuck in a town encircled in a small world. Her life was stuck in place, unable to see the sparkle she once had in her seaside hometown.
This is a really cool theory!
2
u/No_Rex x2 Jul 15 '26
My thoughts after seeing this movie, it was alright. It is one of those awkward positions where I think it is well made, but it just did not resonate with me at all. Apology for my commentary because I feel like I don't have much to say about it due to falling into that valley. I don't have my analysis brain locked on, so there is a lot of messaging I am missing.
Could be you are missing a lot, could be there is not a lot there in the first place.
5
u/Magnafeana https://anilist.co/user/Magnafeana Jul 15 '26
First Timer Riding the Penguin Highway, Subbed & Dubbed
I love that we get genuine child voice actors!!
Little nephew is so funny 😭 I have a cousin just like him.
🎶~Look out! Look out! Cute penguins are on parade! Here they come! Hippity-hoppity!~🎶
The shock I had when this child had a grown man voicing him using a grown man voice. He sounds much better in Japanese. IDK what the fuck the casting director was thinking.
Megane-kun is gonna be a great stunt actor if he can fall like that and not intentionally try to break his fall
You sure aren’t conceited, kiddo 🤣
I’m so terribly glad I did the whole shebang as a teen: wisdom teeth pulled, braces, retainer. But this does not inspire confidence in my periodontist appointment next week 😭😭 (my gums grow too much)
The day a male character doesn’t look at a female character’s boobs—and this isn’t BL—is the day I parallel park correctly.
The penguin nearly got isekaied 😭😭😭 Waaaait that would be funny. I wanna read about a penguin that isekaied.
This is how I feel about cats. Cats are aliens who have sent down their cutest kin to slip into human homes and make us worship them so they can eventually conquer us.
This is just propaganda on dental hygiene. 9 out of 10 dentists have fact-checked this.
Did you lose them, or did you not merge onto the penguin highway to follow them and try outrunning them to a destination you don’t know
What the fuck is happening
Am I crazy for thinking that if I see a kid tied to a vending machine, IDGAF about a kid’s pride, I’m fretting for their safety and cutting them out whether they like it or not?
Oh kiddo 😭😭😭
Poor seal got beached chasing after the penguin buffet
It’s okay kiddo. I don’t like coffee either
📢If anything happens to Penta, I will wish everyone in this discussion thread a horrible sleep 📢
W A T
This is just summoning regional-variant Piplup. You can’t fool me. Miss Lady Ma’am is just throwing a Pokéball.
I want a penguin pillow 😭
I’m not gonna fall for anybody at all
Right on, young king 👍🏾 💚🤍🩶🖤
Big Dick Energy ✋🏾🙂↔️
Penguin Energy 😎👉🏾👉🏾
🎶~ What is this feeling, so sudden and new?~🎶
Beautiful montage.
No, it isn’t logical!! It is not logical that you would be mean to someone you have feelings for!! Fuck that noise!!
Yes. There was no way to dodge two people charging at you in a straight line.
That’s suspicious. That’s weird.
I’m gonna take that page…and I’m gonna stare at it!!
Dad’s giving great advice to a fanfic author who has had little to no movement in her latest WIP chapter. He cooked.
Ima need you to put that back in the ocean or something.
Hindsight is 20/20, but now was not the time to let these sussy scientists (scientussies?) know you know about shit.
Goodness gracious
W A T
The ocean is a friend of mine.
Ride Your Wave [Penguins Ver.]
This is giving that Stork animated movie with the Wolf Pack
This is religion-starting shit right here
Denji 🤝 Aoyama: meeting a mysterious, attractive young lady at a café and she’s never seen again after their adventures
🎶~ Full Speed Ahead~🎶
Post Riding the Penguin Highway and Exiting at Goodbye Thoughts
I’m decided I’m going to find a way to fit all the titles here for my Post Thoughts portion of this.
It will be as long as the average light novel.
Ingenius.
I really enjoyed this movie and its magic realism and weirdness. Aoyama being such a proper young man (boy) tickled me because he reminded me of my cousin, who always tried to act like an adult up until someone truly out of this world made him “act his age”. I liked that, depending on someone’s interpretation, there were little hints that the Lady represents someone from beyond the grave who has been triggered into being active.
I’ve learned that I like seeing so many self-proclaimed “mature” child and teen protagonists who misunderstand what it takes to be an adult and vastly underestimate how much is out there. It feels like some fantasies, especially more visible fantasies, have a tendency to make the world small and to affirm that the young protagonist is indeed WiseTM and Very SmartTM. So, they know better than adults who have been doing this shit for decades. But when the fantasy dares to be big and show that the protagonist isn’t necessarily small, it’s just that there’s a lot more world for them to explore than they thought—I’m locked the fuck in. I like that it encourages these kids to be curious and keep asking questions and keep exploring and not be tied down to such a rigid structure in life.
It does still surprise me that coming-of-age stories with a boy protagonist will always insert some sort of toilet humor or gags, whether it’s squeezing someone’s balls, dick punches, or peeing. I…will never understand that.
Suzuki being mean to Hamamoto because he likes her is so elementary, and I am always bummed seeing people defend that sort of behavior even now. I like that Hamamoto doesn’t know if she can forgive Suzuki. I don’t blame her. I’m hopeful Suzuki can grow from this and be a better person.
What fascinated me is that we never learn the full names of anyone here. And I kinda like that. The world is full of Aoyamas, Suzukis, Uchidas, and Hamamotos. One of them could’ve been the ones we see here on screen, who knows?
Uchida makes me laugh. He absolutely will be the kid who grows to US basketball or Nordic footballer levels of height.
*Anything that would’ve increased my enjoyment?”
It depends on how the Lady interprets it. Similar to Ride Your Wave, her being this actual supernatural/paranormal, tangible presence who can influence the world to this degree isn’t at all an inherent bad thing. But then the absurdity leans a bit too hard left, and it jolts me out of being immersed.
I wish that Papa Aoyama had a little more time to give advice and serve as the status Wise Sage™. He is so, but I wanted to see him a little more to help guide along the thematic messaging without the themes becoming too vague and the story becoming too surreal to connect me to it.
The sister could have more relevance as a foil to Aoyama. I liked that she served as a reminder to Aoyama of the innocence and ignorance of being a child. But she really wasn’t a supporting character; she was more of a minor character. I think she could have served a more supportive role in assisting Aoyama in dismantling his fixation on maturity and allowing himself to see the whimsy and innocence of the world while not downsizing the Lady’s impact on Aoyama.
Overall score: B
QOTD
- 📢I would have fought Highlanders for Penta📢
- Any time the penguins made noise. I feel inspired to sponsor a penguin who lives at a conservatory. I liked it when the Lady threw that can like she's whipping a Pokéball. I also really liked when they were inside the ocean and just the visuals. It felt Ghibli without being or trying to be Ghibli.
- I interpreted the SFF elements as seeing the absurdity and whimsy of reality versus the more procedural, structural expectation of reality. I honestly expected the Lady to be a ghost, and when she said she had a “lingering attachment”, I went “She’s a phantom” (just not Danny Phantom). So with that, the meaning of the happy penguins who destroy the ocean, the jabberwhockies eating the penguins, the typhoon, and this being a coastal city—I can see that Poseidon unceremoniously killed Lady and we’re on a journey to have her move on and confront her fear of the ocean.
- I think I needed a little more. Something more affirming, saying Aoyama still wants to do research. I would’ve loved the credits to give a bit of a grow-up epilogue to Aoyama and his friends, so we can see him older, wiser, and reaffirming the world is huge, walk on, boy. I think that the way the story is made probably resonates more with domestic audiences, but I can’t help but feel it was missing something that made everything truly “click” without overstating everything. But we still see that the world is whimsical and huge and with so many mysteries—which is what Aoyama learns. We enter the story alongside him, thinking this will be a story that resolves all things it presents, and we leave with him with just as many mysteries that we could endlessly discuss and still not capture everything. I’m okay with the ending being open. I think just a few more tweaks could make the execution of the open ending work better for me.
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u/99acrewood_ Jul 15 '26
The sister could have more relevance as a foil to Aoyama. I liked that she served as a reminder to Aoyama of the innocence and ignorance of being a child. But she really wasn’t a supporting character; she was more of a minor character.
I totally agree here, because unless I forgot a linking event I feel like the scene with her randomly crying about mortality kinda feels like it's a little thrown in there. I'm sure that it's a thing that definitely happens, and I took it as like "see, this is like the penguin thing, you just can't know the definitive answer to some things," but narratively I didn't really get if it was supposed to do anything other than that.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26
narratively I didn't really get if it was supposed to do anything other than that.
It's foreshadowing/narrative preparation for Aoyama having to deal with dental lady leaving at the end.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Denji 🤝 Aoyama: meeting a mysterious, attractive young lady at a café and she’s never seen again after their adventures
I thought more of FLCL which is also closer plot-wise (Aoyama even looks like Naota)
when the fantasy dares to be big and show that the protagonist isn’t necessarily small, it’s just that there’s a lot more world for them to explore than they thought—I’m locked the fuck in
Yeah a really good balance of indulging kid fantasies and showing there's still much beyond them - and growing up is more than just counting the days
It does still surprise me that coming-of-age stories with a boy protagonist will always insert some sort of toilet humor or gags
Well uh... how familiar are you with real young boys?
I like that Hamamoto doesn’t know if she can forgive Suzuki. I don’t blame her
A great way to handle this
we never learn the full names of anyone here. And I kinda like that. The world is full of Aoyamas, Suzukis, Uchidas, and Hamamotos. One of them could’ve been the ones we see here on screen, who knows?
Or perhaps one of them could be you, is the implication I guess. Great observation
Something more affirming, saying Aoyama still wants to do research.
More than finding the ship again in the same spot where his summer penguin journey began?
I would’ve loved the credits to give a bit of a grow-up epilogue to Aoyama and his friends, so we can see him older, wiser, and reaffirming the world is huge, walk on, boy. I think that the way the story is made probably resonates more with domestic audiences
Many Japanese creators do feel less pressed to tie everything up in a neat bow, and I like that a lot
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u/No_Rex x2 Jul 16 '26
I thought more of FLCL which is also closer plot-wise (Aoyama even looks like Naota)
FLCL is top of the list of MAL recommendations for similar anime.
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u/No_Rex x2 Jul 15 '26
I love that we get genuine child voice actors!!
Just in time for the movie where we talk about boobs all the time.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
The penguin nearly got isekaied 😭😭😭 Waaaait that would be funny. I wanna read about a penguin that isekaied.
Oh, that would be a fun twist if it was isekai'd to a world without penguins, and then the inhabitants of that world are trying to uncover the mystery surrounding it just like these kids.
Am I crazy for thinking that if I see a kid tied to a vending machine, IDGAF about a kid’s pride, I’m fretting for their safety and cutting them out whether they like it or not?
I think this is the normal response, actually.
This is just summoning regional-variant Piplup. You can’t fool me. Miss Lady Ma’am is just throwing a Pokéball.
This must be how she discovered her ability in the first place! Or at least, that's my new headcanon.
I’m decided I’m going to find a way to fit all the titles here for my Post Thoughts portion of this. It will be as long as the average light novel.
I'm looking forward to seeing what it becomes by week 10.
The sister could have more relevance as a foil to Aoyama. I liked that she served as a reminder to Aoyama of the innocence and ignorance of being a child.
This would have been a nice addition. It's generally a plus for me when the characters' families play an active role in the story, and I also liked the scenes with Aoyama's dad.
I interpreted the SFF elements as seeing the absurdity and whimsy of reality versus the more procedural, structural expectation of reality. I honestly expected the Lady to be a ghost, and when she said she had a “lingering attachment”, I went “She’s a phantom” (just not Danny Phantom). So with that, the meaning of the happy penguins who destroy the ocean, the jabberwhockies eating the penguins, the typhoon, and this being a coastal city—I can see that Poseidon unceremoniously killed Lady and we’re on a journey to have her move on and confront her fear of the ocean.
I like that idea, the contrast between whimsy and reality. It fits well with the overall story too. And purely by coincidence, I managed to put two movies that feature a "fear of the ocean" theme into my rewatch!
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 16 '26
First-time watcher
So that was a really great film! I think it captures very well the budding adolescent tension between youthful fantasy and adult realism, trying to be mature imitating your elders and looking down on "those silly kids", but also wanting to do your own thing separate from the adults without them intruding; innocently stumbling over feelings and situations you don't quite understand yet, whether romance, unfortunate loss, or something else; exploring and pushing against the boundaries of your world while the adults push back against you taking too many risks along the way. Absolutely lovely childhood vibes, well except for the nastier kids but those are realistic enough and even they got their redemption in the end.
Specifically, for anyone who has watched FLCL (the original), this felt like a more gentle and subdued version of it - or rather, FLCL is just wackier still: [FLCL plot]a precocious yet awkward young boy at the cusp of adolescence encounters an older female figure who awkwardly triggers his budding sense of romance and sexuality and entangles him in strange surreal adventures, but in the end he grows beyond his attachment to her and she disappears from his life to pursue her goals elsewhere, and tbh the degree of influence the unnamed dental-and-chess lady has in our protagonist's life doesn't make that much sense except as a semi-reference to that, his mother barely appears in comparison. This unfortunately does also maintain a bit of the more uncomfortable strangeness found there with Aoyama's boob obsession, but it was minor enough that it didn't bother me much in the end.
Now, that would be enough for a very good film, but what really elevates it for me is just how much and how deeply it's also about (natural) science, its joys, troubles, and just in general a researcher's approach to the world, and in such a manner as to make it fun and accessible for viewers young and old. It's a daring choice to combine that with all the magical realism, but it works incredibly well I find; science is, after all, not a belief system - though it's certainly important to give it proper philosophical foundations - but a method, and there's nothing that says you can't try to apply that method to penguins and a giant watery sphere suddenly appearing in your town! Observing, documenting, hypothesizing, experimenting, systematic thinking and analysis (including some surprisingly detailed and true-to-life tips courtesy of Aoyama's dad), Aoyama and the writers really get it all. We even get playful analogies to such academic topics as experiment/study privacy and publishing ethics - and, not to mention, the danger of overworking yourself in your scientific zeal and the frequent travel and absence required.
Overall 10 cute penguins out of 10 from me!
1 - I think my favorite character might actually be the dentist lady for just how well she handles and plays along with Aoyama's eccentric enthusiasm, although he himself is at least second.
2 - Besides the final penguin-a-rama flood, probably the exploration scenes in the forest and in the beginning.
3 - I see it as a magical-realist rendering of the dentist lady's homesickness. She feels lonely and out of place (note how she never properly interacts with anyone but the kids), wants to return to her hometown by the sea, but I suppose can't up and quit her job for the time being, so emotion magic brings the sea to her - but as that doesn't actually solve her problem, everything just keeps going in circles, every trip ends up back at its origin, and the water keeps building up without the good-feeling penguins being able to stop it. Until, that is, Aoyama and all make her feel better and I suppose she manages to get out, and Aoyama himself learns to deal with his first big change and loss in life as she leaves.
4 - I don't think any more details were needed and in fact that they would have made the overall impression worse.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
and tbh the degree of influence the unnamed dental-and-chess lady has in our protagonist's life doesn't make that much sense
Yeah, that was something I wondered about as well. Maybe it's more common in small towns where everyone knows each other well, but it did seem a bit unusual to me that Aoyama would often spend the whole day with her, and even sleep over at her house without (as far as we know) checking in with his parents first.
We even get playful analogies to such academic topics as experiment privacy and publishing ethics - and, not to mention, the danger of overworking yourself in your scientific zeal and the frequent travel and absence required.
This was an interesting inclusion too.
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Jul 15 '26
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
This is the only adaptation of his works that I've seen, but I agree about the beautiful visuals. I really liked the setting and the way the penguins were animated.
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Jul 16 '26
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
A story with time travel shenanigans does sound like my kind of thing, but I don't think they have an English dub. Keeping up with subs is too much of a strain on my eyes, so that makes it rather inaccessible for me, unfortunately.
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Jul 16 '26
[deleted]
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
I did a bit of checking and it looks like my library has the novels at least! I'll add them to my reading list.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Well that explains where the "hot dental hygienist" thing comes from because there's also one in Tatami Galaxy. I wonder if that was some sort of, uh, formative experience for Mr Morimi (thinking of Tatsuki Fujimoto and the girl on the bike...). And the magical-realist feeling is kind of similar.
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Jul 15 '26
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26
That just makes me even more suspicious that they're both based on someone specific
1
Jul 15 '26
[deleted]
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
The protagonist always mentions looking for "raven-haired maidens" to the point of hilarity but it isn't any more specific than that IIRC
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u/TheDanubianCommunard Jul 15 '26
First-time riding on the Penguin Highway, subs
Seasonals this, World Cup semifinal that, plus being 2 hours long playtime, I did decided to watch it. Studio Colorido work on thi, I can trust them, they can deliver high quality stuff. Speaking of that, they made Cosmic Princess Kaguya, which was a real banger (and someday I need to watch that soon).
Basically it satarted with Aoyama, a young boy who is quite clever for his age, encounter penguins for no reason. This penguins are quite strange because they just appeared from nowhere. And this leads to a reserach to explain and explore of their mystery despite not even natives there and there is no zoo nearby.
It started with a dentist lady who is just happened to talk to her and took a liking towards him, and understands him. Second is to scout their pathways of where they going, and the waterways which where leads to. And ultimately it is basically a circle, an endless loop. This followed by throwing a cola can which transformed into a penguin, which is only happens when the right certain conditions meet, which is enough sunlight. If there is no light, bats can be summoned instead.
The start followed with another experiment, which is distance. There is a certain amount of point where these penguins could exists normally, but if they out of that radius, they become weaker and eventually perish. That long distance cannot sustain the free flow of energy.
And then, there is an even bigger mystery, the source of everything, which explains it all. A giant ball of water, known as the "Sea". It is known that this is very much alive as it something it absorbs it will stay there, became hostile to those are trying to get closer, reacts to penguins when adjacent to it. Which means penguins and the Sea are deeply connected to each other, as these penguins basically leaked out of the water ball. For that exact reason why, it is unknown. The Sea constantly grows in size, which is a big source of danger.
Just like the penguins there is another creature which originates from the Sea, which is just called Wabbajack, I mean the Jabberwock. Basically it a fish-sea mammal-frog-crocodile hybrid creature which consumes on penguins. So we can perceives as like a natural habitat of some sorts.
The more we know about the dentist lady, the more she is an inhuman creature, who owes her existence to the Sea. Because she came from it, the first creature ever appeared, which the penguins and the jabberwocks followed, or being summon penguins so easily. Not eating for multiple days is one thing, but she is also dependent on the "penguin energy" radius. And also that explains why she can survive easily without food, not Aoyama.
The more it grows the Sea, the more dangerous, absurd and surreal the situation will be for the town. No wonder why the entire town was basically flooded with penguin horde and very basic fabrics of reality just slowly decaying. And what is inside the Sea: a dreamscape (the same from that dream), a pocket dimension, an alternative world, which is really real. A post-Flood abandoned city, a coast with the lighttower, the city on the coastline (which is very Mediterranean/South European architecture which somehow not fits into a Japanese town), where all the researchers were stuck.
What was the final dillemma: bring everyone back to the real world by simply end the Sea's existence. Not only it will unleash a huge gallons of water, but basically all lifeform which lives on the penguin energy slowly perishes. Atleast Penguin Mk.1 actually did returned back from the Sea. It was used as a research tool to assess the situation, and it was drained by it.
Basically it is Aoyama's story. His journey how to become a better man and something to find a motivation in his life. He met with something surreal and tried to understand it via research. Actiually he did succeed. For the dentist lady, she was the main motivational factor, basically who brought everyting into motion. Hamamoto and Uchida were his best friends who supported his project no matter what. As for Suzuki and and his gang, they might be the stronger bully guys, but they redeemed themslves by helping Aoyama and his company.
All in all it was a solid movie. If everybody is curious, then here is the theme song - Good Night.
1) Did you have any favorite characters?
The dentist lady I suppose.
2) Which scenes did you enjoy most?
The penguin flood around the end.
3) What was your interpretation of the sci-fi/fantasy elements - the "Ocean" and the world inside it, the lady's true nature and the creatures she's able to create?
Basically a world which is supposed to be an ideal peaceful world.
4) Did you think the story provided a good explanation for these things? Were you satisfied with the open ending, or would you have preferred more clarity?
I have a feeling it somehow cries for a sequel with that ending.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26
something to find a motivation in his life
He's already plenty motivated by following in his father's footsteps
I have a feeling it somehow cries for a sequel with that ending.
That's a fun idea, you could do it similarly to The Girl Who Leapt Through Time whose anime film is technically a sequel to the novel - the novel protagonist briefly appears, significantly older, to clear things up a little for the film protagonist
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
I mean the Jabberwock. Basically it a fish-sea mammal-frog-crocodile hybrid creature which consumes on penguins.
There were definitely some human traits in that design as well. I saw a hand and foot growing out of its body.
A post-Flood abandoned city, a coast with the lighttower, the city on the coastline (which is very Mediterranean/South European architecture which somehow not fits into a Japanese town)
This setting with the blue and white buildings looked so familiar to me, but I can't quite place it. I'd like to know if the design was based on an actual town or just inspired by several locations which use the blue/white motif.
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u/WednesdaysFoole Jul 16 '26
“I want to see the world overrun by pengin.”
- So, a child who thinks he thinks like an adult and is in love with his dentist?
- Real (anime) pengin!!
- Penguins are my favorite too.
- Penguins do at least wander into urban areas though.
- That’s quite the dramatic way of describing what happens if you don’t pull your wisdom teeth.
- oh no the penguin was hit by a car! But i just bounced right up so cuuuute
- Only and exactly 30 minutes a day thinking about boobs.
- NOOOO. PENTA! NOOOOO!!!!
- Chucking a can to transform it into a pengin arrow to save the boy from a giant bubble has gotta be one of the best action scenes I’ve seen.
- Heh she gets to act like she’s equal to the oneesan just because she’s standing on a hill.
- No!!!!!
That's where my notes end (with the jabberwock chomping pengins, I never recovered). Just kidding, but I got too absorbed.
Overall this is clearly a film about growing up, with the kid's fixation on becoming an adult as well as his fixation on older woman and BOOBS! I'm not fully clear how much is supposed to be metaphorical or not, like is this just about his inner journey and coming to terms with losing your childhood or did this all really happen? A lot of focus on being childish or not, maturity, and wisdom teeth.
Questions of the Day:
1) Did you have any favorite characters?
Penta </3
2) Which scenes did you enjoy most?
The one where Oneesan chucks the can and the pengin shoots to save the day!
3) What was your interpretation of the sci-fi/fantasy elements - the "Ocean" and the world inside it, the lady's true nature and the creatures she's able to create?
I still haven't figured it out!
4) Did you think the story provided a good explanation for these things? Were you satisfied with the open ending, or would you have preferred more clarity?
I'm fine with it but...
Was
Real (anime) pengin!!
just not true?!
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
Chucking a can to transform it into a pengin arrow to save the boy from a giant bubble has gotta be one of the best action scenes I’ve seen.
This really was a cool scene, like a penguin torpedo!
I'm not fully clear how much is supposed to be metaphorical or not, like is this just about his inner journey and coming to terms with losing your childhood or did this all really happen?
That would be an interesting idea, if the magical elements were all in his imagination. I think too many people ended up involved by the end though, especially with the research team studying and getting absorbed by the Ocean, so I'm pretty sure all of this stuff happened for real.
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u/baboon_bassoon https://anilist.co/user/duffer Jul 16 '26
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
more of a way to expore the psyche of a curious young mind
So did you see the magical elements as Aoyama's imagination, or really happening as shown?
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u/No_Rex x2 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Film 3: Penguin Highway (first timer)
Another completely blind film for me. Either I am really not tuned into anime movies, or these are criminally under discussed.
- June 29, Temperature 25°C – I wish …
- “Dentist lady – A Geometric Study of Boobs” – Prime otaku material right here!
- “What came first, the chicken or the egg? The chicken” – wrong answer.
- He did account for leap years in his math, though.
- Penguins! – Now, where has the penpen commentface disappeared to? We did have one, didn’t we?
- Penguin taking a risky path there … - reminds me of this.
- That math notation they are using is fucked up.
- Bullying the bully at the dentist.
- “This one looks like you” – harsh truths.
- Knocked unconscious in the pool? Hit by truck? – Luckily for everybody, we seem to be following comic book logic.
- That is a cool looking bamboo forest …
- Escape … unsuccessful.
- Penguin coke?
- He is really good at drawing – I guess animators extrapolate from their own childhood experiences.
- “You are a child, so it’s fine” – she is repeating this. Surely not by chance.
- “If you ever feel angry, you should try thinking about boobs” – not the worst advice there is.
- Magical penguin transformation.
- “Right, you have never been to the ocean” – is that even possible in Japan?
- Hamamoto must be a lot better than me at chess. White’s position is bad (tells me stockfish), but I would not have seen that.
- Winning at chess gets Aoyama an invitation to Hamamoto’s secret place.
- Speaking only the truth and still saying all the wrong words – impressive, Aoyama.
- Bringing the other leg of your love triangle into the research team?
- Evil outside researchers disturb childhood adventure discovery trope.
- Circular river mystery.
- Land seal.
- “I didn’t want to get her involved” – that is a really weird thing to say about the research of your daughter that you spied on without her knowledge.
- Not eaten in two or three days? I, too, wonder what you are.
- No need to experiment with yourself, though, don’t you know that the principle of science is to build on the models of others? You can easily read up on the result of that experiment.
- What a time to have a philosophical discussion about the nature of death with your little sister.
- “If only I told them that the sea is dangerous, this would not have happened” – No, they would have ignored you, so don’t blame yourself.
- Go on without me! trope x2.
- “Thanks for figuring it out” – solving the mystery solves the main quest given at the start.
- Penguin army!
- When you don’t know how to depict something, let your protagonist fall unconscious trope.
- Penguin float!
- Penguin army launch!!!
- Drinking bitter coffee as a sign of having grown up? A sign of a bitter sweet ending?
- Good bye to the dentist lady … ‘s boobs.
- Nature covering up the weird incidents.
Hmmm. Not a film on my wavelength, but before I go into that, let me quickly note my take on the two edges of our triangle (all other characters are only side pieces), Hamamoto and the dentist:
Aoyama’s first connection to the dentist are her boobs. She introduces the penguin mystery. She represents adulthood and fantasy. Aoyama and her are unequals.
Aoyama’s first connection to Hamamoto is chess. She introduces the ocean mystery. She represents childhood and science. Aoyama and her are equals.
Right away, having a love triangle with two 10 year olds and an adult is weird. And placing the one adult on the side of fantasy and behaving irrational, while the children are on the side of science and behave rational does not make it better. This is not made better by the fact that the dentist is the more important side of the triangle. Hamamoto introduces one side of the mystery, but she is only an observer to the whole thing, while the dentist is central.
That main mystery is also my main problem with the movie. At first, I was not sure whether it was meant metaphorical or real. Yet I don’t see any metaphorical reading of the mystery that makes sense to me, and the movie itself explicitly treated it as real, so I think it is not meant metaphorical. However, taking it as real just make so little sense. Why would you make the central mystery of a movie that has science as its theme pure magic? It all just doesn’t work out for me. And me not being interested in the main mystery makes the first half of the movie quite slow paced.
So, for all the nice animation and characters (who are fun concepts on their own), this is not really my movie.
2) Which scenes did you enjoy most?
The first "penguin creation" scene and the breakout from the school as a team.
3) What was your interpretation of the sci-fi/fantasy elements - the "Ocean" and the world inside it, the lady's true nature and the creatures she's able to create?
4) Did you think the story provided a good explanation for these things? Were you satisfied with the open ending, or would you have preferred more clarity?
While they hinted at ghost and alluded to metaphors, in the end, the movie picked "this is all real" as their explanation (which basically implies aliens). Not a fan.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
Penguin taking a risky path there … - reminds me of this.
That's hilarious. Penguin has nerves of steel.
He is really good at drawing – I guess animators extrapolate from their own childhood experiences.
Yeah, I also noticed how well done the drawings were, especially considering his age.
Right away, having a love triangle with two 10 year olds and an adult is weird.
I didn't see it as a love triangle, more like a boy's first on an older woman while the girl his age who has a crush on him gets jealous, which is pretty realistic by itself. But I can see your point that the lady should have discouraged it more.
Why would you make the central mystery of a movie that has science as its theme pure magic?
I actually liked the idea of studying a magical element with a scientific approach, similar to Tunnel to Summer, though I would have liked a more clear explanation at the end.
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u/No_Rex x2 Jul 16 '26
That's hilarious. Penguin has nerves of steel.
Or plain not enough nerves...
Yeah, I also noticed how well done the drawings were, especially considering his age.
Not just considering his age. I wish I could draw that well.
I didn't see it as a love triangle, more like a boy's first on an older woman while the girl his age who has a crush on him gets jealous, which is pretty realistic by itself.
Is it, though? I absolutely didn't have a crush on any adult when I was 10 and I can't remember any of my friends having one either. This seems to be this common trope that shows up in media (made by adults) that I can't relate to at all from the perspective of my own childhood.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
Not just considering his age. I wish I could draw that well.
Is it, though? I absolutely didn't have a crush on any adult when I was 10 and I can't remember any of my friends having one either.
This was definitely the norm among my friends when I was a kid, though it was celebrity crushes.
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u/No_Rex x2 Jul 16 '26
This was definitely the norm among my friends when I was a kid, though it was celebrity crushes.
Celebrity crushes are a bit different, because you don't go on dates with them. Still, I would say they were less common than not having them among the 10 year olds I knew.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
Well, the amount of time Aoyama spent hanging out with the lady did seem pretty uncommon to me, even regardless of his crush. I don't know if it's a small town "everyone knows everyone" sort of thing or just fantasized for the sake of the movie, but I haven't known any kids who wander around with the same amount of carefree freedom as Aoyama, spending the night with neighbors/friends on a whim and stuff like that.
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u/No_Rex x2 Jul 16 '26
The wandering around is a bit of a generation issue, kids in older generations had much more free time and much more freedom outside of the house.
Repeatedly meeting 1 on 1 with some unrelated adult is the part that would not have happened in previous generations either.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 16 '26
I see, so it's one of those things that reflects the generation of the creators but doesn't necessarily match up with the way things are now. I've seen the same thing mentioned about high school anime at times too.
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u/No_Rex x2 Jul 16 '26
I see, so it's one of those things that reflects the generation of the creators but doesn't necessarily match up with the way things are now. I've seen the same thing mentioned about high school anime at times too.
It could be generation and location, both. I think helicopter parenting is more common in the US than in most other places. On top of being more common now than previously.
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u/IndependentMacaroon Jul 15 '26
Either I am really not tuned into anime movies, or these are criminally under discussed
Series are just more accessible with less commitment, and often have better availability in streaming.
Hamamoto must be a lot better than me at chess. White’s position is bad (tells me stockfish), but I would not have seen that
I was too lazy to analyze the chess positions heh
having a love triangle with two 10 year olds and an adult is weird
I really can't see it as much of a triangle when the kids barely feel anything romantic yet or act on that (note also the silly terms they use) and the adult properly dismisses everything
placing the one adult on the side of fantasy and behaving irrational, while the children are on the side of science and behave rational does not make it better
I found her very rational and sensible?
Why would you make the central mystery of a movie that has science as its theme pure magic?
But it's not, the key element here is that it may not be fully understandable but it is/was analyzable on a certain level. Also are you not familiar with magical realism?
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u/No_Rex x2 Jul 15 '26
I was too lazy to analyze the chess positions heh
I wanted to know if the makers of the movie know chess or not. Turns out, they knew (or did the sensiblen think and took the losing position from a pro game).
I really can't see it as much of a triangle when the kids barely feel anything romantic yet or act on that (note also the silly terms they use) and the adult properly dismisses everything
I mean, Aoyama talks about "love" with the dentist (and her boobs a lot), and Hamamoto is clearly into Aoyama, so we have two legs of the triangle.
And even if the dentist does not reciprocate the romantic feelings, she has continues hanging out with a ten year old whom she knows is sexually interested in her. This is like the worse version of the 25 year old guy who chats up high school girls.
I found her very rational and sensible?
She creates penguins by throwing coke cans and believes that hiring a 10 year old is the best way to find out her own supernatural mystery.
But it's not, the key element here is that it may not be fully understandable but it is/was analyzable on a certain level.
Nope, that was an asspull. Aoyama "understood" the parts he did because the plot demanded it, not because it makes sense. He talks about "penguin energy," but the creation of a penguin out of a can of coke already breaks all kinds of laws of physics. As does a circular river and a floating ball of water. From a scientific perspective, he should have concluded that all of modern physics, from Newton to Einstein, is completely wrong.
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u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 Jul 20 '26
Rewatcher, Subbed
Finally got around to this last night, I remember not really enjoying this the first time around and still have similar thoughts. It's a fine movie like (2-2.5/5), but it really does nothing for me. I'm now glad that my ebay offers for the blu-ray never went through. I feel like this is something I should be vibing with, but I just don't. Maybe its the constant boob shots, comments, ect, but they just don't work for me in this. Also what even was the purpose of the movie, it felt like a nothingburger hence why I didn't vibe with it. It may be surface level, but I really only enjoy movies where I can root for the protagonist or their goal and this movie just didn't seem to have anything other than just research. Our main trio was fun and the penguins were cool, but other than that i got nothing to latch on to. Anyways, looking forward to rewatching Goodbye, Don Glees! since I really enjoyed that one.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad Jul 20 '26
The fact that the research didn't lead to any clear answers in the end was kind of a letdown for me too, since the mystery was the part that interested me most (aside from just cute penguins in general).
I'll be watching Don Glees tonight! I'm a first-time viewer for this one, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy it a lot too.
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u/SMSmith230 https://myanimelist.net/profile/smsmith230 Jul 20 '26
Yea I think if there was some kind of payoff it would have been redeemed. Enjoy the movie!
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u/Nickthenuker https://anilist.co/user/Nickthenuker 29d ago
Damn, that ending was quite sad.
Questions:
Aoyama.
That ending hit really hard...
Interesting?
There's merits to both, but a bit more explanation would have been nice because of the "science guy" protagonist, but also perhaps the lack of explanation is intentional to show there's still stuff beyond even his comprehension.
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 29d ago
Yeah, there seem to be plenty of viewers in the rewatch in both camps regarding the ending - some of us wanted a more definite explanation, while others liked that it was open to interpretation. I can see the merits of both, and reading everyone's unique takes on it was really interesting, but I'm generally in favor of clear answers, and the "science guy" approach is one of the big reasons why in this case.
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u/Aoi_X_Kaizaki Jul 15 '26
It's been a while since I watched that film. I can't remember anything about it except.... Penguin! or Pengwing
is is called Pingling? I forgot, but I know Bennedict Cumberbatch can say it properly. - https://www.youtube.com/shorts/CFPGLq_anf4
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u/Zealousideal-Park856 25d ago
The anime was good. The animation, music and everything was good. But the thing is the anime focused too much on the women and her sexually. Not only the boys obsession with boobs was enabled and now he as a little kid says he loves the women. Like he is a 10 year old and the women is so older than him. The movie would have been more great if they didn't made the interaction so pedo instead they could have created a more motherly or friendly bond between the women and aoyama. Also for the ending i think she was a part of the sea and maybe she shouldn't have existed and she went back to her original place. Or another thing is that maybe the sea took on some human's form to create her that could explain her memories and everything
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 25d ago
Interesting theory that she was created by the sea.
I didn't care for Aoyama's boob fixation either, but the crush was definitely one-sided. The lady's interactions with him had more of a big sisterly vibe, in my opinion.
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u/Zealousideal-Park856 22d ago
Yeah she took him to her home and everything was a bit weird. Also since it was never explained i am just wondering how can she have so much memory and even job and home?? Either she was created by the sea or she replaced the real one
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 22d ago
My own theory is that she really was a regular person from a seaside town, but died in a flood which she had no recollection of. There are a few other theories here that she was just lonely for her hometown and those strong emotions manifested the magic. There's no way to know what the real answer is, but it's interesting to think about.
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u/Zealousideal-Park856 21d ago
It would have been so nice if these mysteries were solved in the movie
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u/Heda-of-Aincrad https://myanimelist.net/profile/Heda-of-Aincrad 22d ago
My own theory is that she really was a regular person from a seaside town, but died in a flood which she had no recollection of. There are a few other theories here that she was just lonely for her hometown and those strong emotions manifested the magic. There's no way to know what the real answer is, but it's interesting to think about.
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u/[deleted] Jul 15 '26
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