Penguin Drum - General Discussion

[Haak]

Originally Posted by SoFarGone

Spoiler for spoiler:

the gifts are either all given by Masako at some point or she stole the memories of the girls she shot. The music box though wasn't mention as a gift that Kanba dislike.

Hmm...I didn't actually think of that. I simply assumed she shot those girls to cover her tracks but with this bizarre story, I guess anything is possible.

And yeah, I noticed the weird character designs as well (Shoma's face was particularly egregious). It didn't seem like a drop in quality to me though. It just looked like a change.

[Triple_R]

Very happy to see Penguindrum get its own subforum.

The show definitely deserves it, imo.

Originally Posted by Haak

And yeah, I noticed the weird character designs as well (Shoma's face was particularly egregious). It didn't seem like a drop in quality to me though. It just looked like a change.

Yeah, that's why I'm leaning more towards "off-model characters" than animation quality dive in general.

It actually made me think of when a long-running, ongoing comic book series (Action Comics, Detective Comics, etc...) would bring in a brand new artist after a long string of just one specific artist handling all the artwork. All the key parts of the characters are still there (Superman has his crest, his cape, the right colors) but faces/hairstyle can look a lot different when handled by a different artist, and that can be jarring.

Similarly, Ringo (for example) still has her easily recognizable student uniform, but her face/hair looked really different to me in this.

[ars89]

Penguin #1 is the best, so funny. Didn't think Ringo would give up the diary that easily, but as expected she's starting to realize that the diary isn't the most important thing. So i'm guessing Masako was the one on the bike last ep. Now that Mario has the diary what is he going to do with it. Wonder how they'll get it back. Lol Kanba biggest sis-con ever.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by ars89

Lol Kanba biggest sis-con ever.

I have to admit that I heartily chuckled at his "Vive la scarf!" speech.

That was a nice touch.

[ipodi]

Query- who is Mario? Has this Mario person appeared in the series prior to his appearance in Ep 10? I have no recollection of ever seeing "Mario."

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by ipodi

Query- who is Mario? Has this Mario person appeared in the series prior to his appearance in Ep 10? I have no recollection of ever seeing "Mario."

Mario is a character voiced by Aranami Kazusa. In episode 9 he appears briefly in the aquarium. The silhouette Himari recognizes as her "soulmate" at the end of the episode is voiced by Kazusa Aranami too, hinting Mario is probably Himari's soulmate.

[ipodi]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Mario is a character voiced by Aranami Kazusa. In episode 9 he appears briefly in the aquarium. The silhouette Himari recognizes as her "soulmate" at the end of the episode is voiced by Kazusa Aranami too, hinting Mario is probably Himari's soulmate.

Ah. Many thanks.

[ThereminVox]

Originally Posted by SoFarGone

The music box though wasn't mention as a gift that Kanba dislike.

I don't think the music box itself is significant. The song it's playing is clearly what unnerves Kanba. Probably tied to a specific memory. If they're really just going with "Masako is another romantic headcase" story (please let there be more to it than that) then drama suggests it was the song playing when Kanba dumped her. Or "their" song.

[mellomarie]

next to last week's legendary episode, the art was pretty jarring.

it was still a pretty awesome episode and we got some developments as well.

so basically we had a parallel of himari's descension into her memories with kanba (or kamba lol). idk about everybody else, but i'm not a big fan of masako simply being a vindictive ex. i'm sure there's more too it, especially since mario--presumably her brother--has a penguin hat of his own. but i'd prefer them not knowing each other.

they both seem to have similar roles though with their respective groups--they're both playing dirty & underhanded, assuming masako is also trying to obtain the penguindrum. maybe they're fated too? who knows?

ringo went softer this episode which i liked! i like her and sho together, and shoma is definitely a positive influence.

i know people are reacting to kanba's "siscon" thing this episode, but himari seems to be into it too

i can't help but be reminded of the penguin queen while they were in survival strategy and how she zeroed in on kanba and pulled something out of him. to be perfectly honest, the penguin queen only seems to throw shoma down that opening shaft as well. maybe i'm stretching it, but perhaps the penguin queen is an exaggerated (but true, unadulterated) persona of himari? i mean look at her garb, it's like a frillier version of the Double H idol group costume.

not to mention the cover of Rock Over Japan is by Triple H...not the duo.

idk, could be baseless speculation.

[redgrnbluylw]

Just realized something. The ED song seems to have been from Masako's point of view. If you pay attention to the lyrics, it seems to allude to her love for Kamba. Totally unexpected, didn't hit me until her VA dubbed the song, which actually sounded really nice

[HasuMasu]

Shiny new sub-forum detected.

[ahelo]

Its about time for this to get a sub forum. . .

[vansonbee]

We now have a sub-forum, all thanks to Ringo crazy antics!

After watching episode #10, anyone wonder if Ringo role will be reduced, when we get closer to Mario/Himari story? I am hoping she will be an ally for Himari against the oppression.

[Irenicus]

About time indeed. I've had to avoid entering this thread for a while with all the spoiler-based speculations you guys were having in here. :I

Kind of a perfect series to get a subforum. High post count, high spoiler/speculation content, lots of potential conversation tangents.

[Guardian Enzo]

Originally Posted by vansonbee

We now have a sub-forum, all thanks to Ringo crazy antics!

After watching episode #10, anyone wonder if Ringo role will be reduced, when we get closer to Mario/Himari story? I am hoping she will be an ally for Himari against the oppression.

I got just the opposite impression - it seems to me like yandere Ringo is going to be back in the spotlight next week.

[Triple_R]

A general observation on Penguindrum after 10 episodes: It makes me think a lot of British sci-fi/comedy.

It has a lot of elements that make me think of Dr. Who, Red Dwarf, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

It delves a fair bit into philosophy, but it rarely feels overly "heavy" to me, as this philosophy is conveyed through zany and surreal vehicles. Its humor is decidedly absurdist.

For whatever reason, Kanba and Shouma's student uniforms seem vaguely British to me.


Anybody else seeing this? If so, was Ikuhara ever influenced by British works?

Just curious.

[Guardian Enzo]

I'm a Dr. Who lifer, RRR, and it certainly didn't occur to me until you mentioned it. Are the Takakura Brothers' uniforms more "British" than a normal Japanese school uniform? If there's a word that might describe what you're describing I think it might be "camp" - and I can see it, just a bit. MPD does have a sort of campy quality to it that helps to lighten some of the intellectual density that pervades it.

ASAIK, Ikuhara hasn't professed strong British influences. Could be wrong.

[Kirarakim]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Its humor is decidedly absurdist.

I am not really sure if I see the connection to British comedy necessarily (and I am a fan myself) but I definitely agree about the absurd/surreal nature of the humor.

Actually I do think PenguinDrum is very dark. But the humor and silliness obscures some of the dark themes.

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

I am not really sure if I see the connection to British comedy necessarily (and I am a fan myself) but I definitely agree about the absurd/surreal nature of the humor.

Yeah, that's probably where I'm making the connection to British comedy. I haven't seen absurd/surreal comedy done this well since Red Dwarf. But it's possible that's just a coincidence.

Like Guardian Enzo said, I'm probably noticing "camp" more than anything.

[Spoonroo]

Originally Posted by Guardian Enzo

Are the Takakura Brothers' uniforms more "British" than a normal Japanese school uniform?

I teach at an boarding prep school for boys in the Northeastern US that bases itself a lot off of British boarding schools, and the uniforms that the brothers wear do look similar to ours.

Also, what our boys wear when they go to girls schools for dances is EXACTLY what Shoma wore to Yuri's party.