[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

But the problem is that this was portrayed through a pretty cheap gimmick. Ikuhara shows us how happy post-sacrifice Ringo and Himari are, but the catch is that they don't have memories. It's a magical solution. After all, would they still be happy if they knew what Shouma and Kanba did? The answer to that is what validate the sacrifice, what gives it meaning. Yet, we don't have that answer. We only have magic tricks.

But keep in mind that on Night on the Galactic Railroad...

Spoiler:

Campanella did not actually sacrifice himself for Giovanni. In fact we never saw the reaction of the boy who was saved by Campanella.

Giovanni has to accept his friend's death but it is not the same thing as accepting his friend's sacrifice. Giovanni never made that choice either.

But again I don't think Penguindrum is a story about accepting death. It's only exploring the act of choosing love over everything else. And in that case I don't agree with you that the sacrifice is meaningless because Ringo & Himari don't remember. Does that suddenly invalidate the love Kanba and Shouma had for them? Erasing themselves from their loved ones memories is also a sacrifice after all.