POTENTIAL "SPOILERS" (if you could call them that) FOR EPISODES 1-5!!! You've been warned, so please do not cry to me if I tell you something you didn't want to know yet.
Okay so the other day, looking for a new anime to get in to watching, I was sifting through my want to watch list and after a couple minutes of not picking anything, my boyfriend points to a random one and is just like "here, try that". Turned out to be Mawaru Penguindrum, an anime only on the list because of a recommendation from my best friend. Going into this I did not even bother to read a summary, I knew nothing apart from it being a comedy involving cute penguins and a sick girl. My boyfriend being less into anime than me, was even MORE clueless, and so our adventure begins.
So it starts out with some guy on a philosophical rant about fate, this bored me a lot and I'm like "seriously? this is supposed to get funny?" but I watched on. Later in the episode shit got wacky, the sick girl, Himari, and her big brothers go to an aquarium, they see penguins, and Himari gets this terribly out of style hat with a penguin face and what looks to be long pigtails. Next she dies...no...I'm serious, she just dies. As her brothers are crying, the aforementioned hat makes her eyes glow pink, talk in a weird voice and oh yeah, she's brought back to life...by the hat. O.o
So yeah this hat basically turns her into some alien/supernatural being of some sort (at it's own will, not all the time) and in its infinite benevolence decides to extend her life. Mildly confused by this point but whatever, it's anime right? I've seen weirder. Basically there's this thing...scene...I don't even know but whenever she's about to transform she just screams "Survival Strategy" (don't ask what that means, I don't know, it isn't explained, you're just kinda supposed to accept it) and then a strange trippy transformation scene happens with a catchy tune to match. This scene involves bright colors, some other worldly space pod thing shooting on tracks then it opens revealing a giant robot bear and then Himari's other form with the hat comes out like she's hot shit. There is then another giant robot bear and her brothers appear in this cyber-looking world in...handcuffs? O.o By this point it resembles some kind of pink, happy, cyber-dominatrix incest scene...minus the sexual innuendos...but handcuffs and what she's wearing?! Looks a little something like this.
At this point I'm just like "What the fuck did I just watch? O.O" and my boyfriend's addition: "Did we just get high?" (which is funny if you knew how staunchly against any sort of drugs we are). This happens pretty much every episode and at episode 5 I'm still not sure exactly what it is or why it's portrayed this way. She stands there calling her brothers useless human beings...or something to that effect, and tells them that she will keep their sister alive and in return they need to find the 'Penguindrum' for her. What is the penguindrum? No idea. Does she explain it? Of course not, what? do you expect this to make sense at this point? So yeah they need to find this penguindrum, and like any good anime hero they decide to put their hearts and souls into finding it to save someone they love (I do believe they stole a page from Ichigo's handbook). Of course the weirdness can't stop here. At some point they get a really heavy package in the mail. What's inside? Well some ice and 3 blue ovals, like the top of something poking out, one of which has a pink bow. We later find out that they are actually 3 little blue penguins, sent to help them find the penguindrum. Oh yeah and only people in their family can see (and apparently feel) them.
They are easily one of the best things about this show. One penguin for each family member. They are named Penguin 1-3, creative right? Now it's easy enough to just count them collectively as one character, but interestingly they all have very distinct personalities which is pretty awesome, my personal favorite is Penguin #2. Penguin #1 is a pervert who reads porno mags (see right), looks under girls skirts and shoves his face in girls vaginas...somehow they do not feel some invisible being between their legs...or they're just all whores and are so used to the feeling they simply don't notice. Penguin #2 is the quirky one, he tries to eat everything and therefore often winds up with everything from berries, to other penguins in his mouth, commonly stealing people's lunches. He also likes to spray bugs...not really sure why...there's just occasionally some random bugs so he just pulls out a spray can and sprays them. I've learned not to question this after the pervert penguin who's into humans. Penguin #3 being Himari's penguin and therefore the only female, she likes to knit and wear wigs, again, no explanation for the wigs.
Just because this show isn't quite weird enough yet, in the second episode (I'm pretty sure) we meet this other chick, Ringo. First of all, weird Survival Strategy, penguin-hat wearing Himari tells her brothers that this girl has the penguindrum, and they need to get it from her. Over the course of an episode or two they stalk her, break into her house, go through her shit and have the penguins follow her with a camera...all to no avail. Well DUHHH guys, considering you don't even know what this penguindrum is in the first place. Oh and yeah I neglected to mention that Ringo is also a creepy stalker, she lays under this teachers house at night fantasizing about marrying him and listening in on his life (yes, she bugged his house). She just...her entire existence basically revolves around getting this guy (much older than her) to marry her...he has no idea she even likes him and has something of a girlfriend. She also becomes Himari's best friend just cuz Himari is that kind of person.
So yeah...this anime is pretty weird, definitely one of the weirder ones I've seen, up there with Gintama, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?, Pani Poni Dash! and Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan. Its just...it's really good, don't get me wrong I'm actually enjoying it, it's just weird. Even the mechanics of the show are weird, like the background people look like floating bathroom sign people (see left), and honestly I can't tell if this is done as a joke, like how Pani Poni Dash! background people all look EXACTLY the same, or if it's just simply a low-budget anime and they couldn't be bothered with normal background people. Whenever there's a flashback they also need to announce 'FLASHBACK' with a cutaway seen with a black box and explain to you the context of the flashback, which I thought was kinda different. In all seriousness though, give this a try, unless you hate all things cute and funny, try it, it's actually really surprisingly enjoyable.
Okay so I know I said I was quitting, but I've kinda missed this and I've been trying to get more back into anime again and I really don't have anybody to talk about it with anymore, so I figured maybe doing blog posts just at my leisure without much planning and not so seriously might help. That might mean less Top 10 lists since they took a lot of planning, but whatever. I also tried to be a bit more chill and just funnier and rantier with this. Comment please!! =D
Okay so the other day, looking for a new anime to get in to watching, I was sifting through my want to watch list and after a couple minutes of not picking anything, my boyfriend points to a random one and is just like "here, try that". Turned out to be Mawaru Penguindrum, an anime only on the list because of a recommendation from my best friend. Going into this I did not even bother to read a summary, I knew nothing apart from it being a comedy involving cute penguins and a sick girl. My boyfriend being less into anime than me, was even MORE clueless, and so our adventure begins.
So it starts out with some guy on a philosophical rant about fate, this bored me a lot and I'm like "seriously? this is supposed to get funny?" but I watched on. Later in the episode shit got wacky, the sick girl, Himari, and her big brothers go to an aquarium, they see penguins, and Himari gets this terribly out of style hat with a penguin face and what looks to be long pigtails. Next she dies...no...I'm serious, she just dies. As her brothers are crying, the aforementioned hat makes her eyes glow pink, talk in a weird voice and oh yeah, she's brought back to life...by the hat. O.o
So yeah this hat basically turns her into some alien/supernatural being of some sort (at it's own will, not all the time) and in its infinite benevolence decides to extend her life. Mildly confused by this point but whatever, it's anime right? I've seen weirder. Basically there's this thing...scene...I don't even know but whenever she's about to transform she just screams "Survival Strategy" (don't ask what that means, I don't know, it isn't explained, you're just kinda supposed to accept it) and then a strange trippy transformation scene happens with a catchy tune to match. This scene involves bright colors, some other worldly space pod thing shooting on tracks then it opens revealing a giant robot bear and then Himari's other form with the hat comes out like she's hot shit. There is then another giant robot bear and her brothers appear in this cyber-looking world in...handcuffs? O.o By this point it resembles some kind of pink, happy, cyber-dominatrix incest scene...minus the sexual innuendos...but handcuffs and what she's wearing?! Looks a little something like this.
At this point I'm just like "What the fuck did I just watch? O.O" and my boyfriend's addition: "Did we just get high?" (which is funny if you knew how staunchly against any sort of drugs we are). This happens pretty much every episode and at episode 5 I'm still not sure exactly what it is or why it's portrayed this way. She stands there calling her brothers useless human beings...or something to that effect, and tells them that she will keep their sister alive and in return they need to find the 'Penguindrum' for her. What is the penguindrum? No idea. Does she explain it? Of course not, what? do you expect this to make sense at this point? So yeah they need to find this penguindrum, and like any good anime hero they decide to put their hearts and souls into finding it to save someone they love (I do believe they stole a page from Ichigo's handbook). Of course the weirdness can't stop here. At some point they get a really heavy package in the mail. What's inside? Well some ice and 3 blue ovals, like the top of something poking out, one of which has a pink bow. We later find out that they are actually 3 little blue penguins, sent to help them find the penguindrum. Oh yeah and only people in their family can see (and apparently feel) them.
They are easily one of the best things about this show. One penguin for each family member. They are named Penguin 1-3, creative right? Now it's easy enough to just count them collectively as one character, but interestingly they all have very distinct personalities which is pretty awesome, my personal favorite is Penguin #2. Penguin #1 is a pervert who reads porno mags (see right), looks under girls skirts and shoves his face in girls vaginas...somehow they do not feel some invisible being between their legs...or they're just all whores and are so used to the feeling they simply don't notice. Penguin #2 is the quirky one, he tries to eat everything and therefore often winds up with everything from berries, to other penguins in his mouth, commonly stealing people's lunches. He also likes to spray bugs...not really sure why...there's just occasionally some random bugs so he just pulls out a spray can and sprays them. I've learned not to question this after the pervert penguin who's into humans. Penguin #3 being Himari's penguin and therefore the only female, she likes to knit and wear wigs, again, no explanation for the wigs.
Just because this show isn't quite weird enough yet, in the second episode (I'm pretty sure) we meet this other chick, Ringo. First of all, weird Survival Strategy, penguin-hat wearing Himari tells her brothers that this girl has the penguindrum, and they need to get it from her. Over the course of an episode or two they stalk her, break into her house, go through her shit and have the penguins follow her with a camera...all to no avail. Well DUHHH guys, considering you don't even know what this penguindrum is in the first place. Oh and yeah I neglected to mention that Ringo is also a creepy stalker, she lays under this teachers house at night fantasizing about marrying him and listening in on his life (yes, she bugged his house). She just...her entire existence basically revolves around getting this guy (much older than her) to marry her...he has no idea she even likes him and has something of a girlfriend. She also becomes Himari's best friend just cuz Himari is that kind of person.
So yeah...this anime is pretty weird, definitely one of the weirder ones I've seen, up there with Gintama, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?, Pani Poni Dash! and Bokusatsu Tenshi Dokuro-chan. Its just...it's really good, don't get me wrong I'm actually enjoying it, it's just weird. Even the mechanics of the show are weird, like the background people look like floating bathroom sign people (see left), and honestly I can't tell if this is done as a joke, like how Pani Poni Dash! background people all look EXACTLY the same, or if it's just simply a low-budget anime and they couldn't be bothered with normal background people. Whenever there's a flashback they also need to announce 'FLASHBACK' with a cutaway seen with a black box and explain to you the context of the flashback, which I thought was kinda different. In all seriousness though, give this a try, unless you hate all things cute and funny, try it, it's actually really surprisingly enjoyable.
Okay so I know I said I was quitting, but I've kinda missed this and I've been trying to get more back into anime again and I really don't have anybody to talk about it with anymore, so I figured maybe doing blog posts just at my leisure without much planning and not so seriously might help. That might mean less Top 10 lists since they took a lot of planning, but whatever. I also tried to be a bit more chill and just funnier and rantier with this. Comment please!! =D
