Penguin Drum - Episode 15 Discussion / Poll

[Sol Falling]

Wow, awesome episode. Can we call Yuri x Momoka yuri yet? :P lol. Also, a bit of a random guess here, but is Yuri's voice Shimako from Marimite? Dat voice of Yuri from when she was a child, seriously, hnnngh. I am shipping Yuri x Momoka at the speed of light. You go get that diary, girl.

On what Yuri's father was doing to her. I don't really get the impression of rape, but all the chiselling imagery really did give off the feeling of something very harrowing. The penile reassignment surgery makes a lot of sense, specifically with the "remodelling" connotations of the chisels and her father's comments.

I guess people might not want to get too far into her father's psychology, but I'll just say that he seemed a very sick man. His words equating women i.e. people who were not "family" as "untrustworthy", just speaks to a very deep-seated and self-centred misogyny. Repulsive, truly.

Onto Natsume. The "him/it" that she needs to crush seemed to be described as a man who "dominates everything in this world, the present"? That hints to me as if Natsume's real enemy is Sanetoshi, contrary to our impressions of her cooperating with him. If this is the case, that puts all of her interactions with Kanba in a somewhat different light: she's trying to discourage him from getting in deeper with Sanetoshi in order to keep him safe. I can sort of see a genuine romance being set up between her and Kanba here.

Unfortunately, what I like about my man Kanba is how he takes things into his own hands himself. He's being duped by Sanetoshi right now, but I trust that by the end of the series his role won't be simply that of someone to be protected (by Natsume). I am still for Kanba x Himari, against all the terrible odds .

Anyway, the resolution of the 'rape' scene at the start of the episode. lol, the way that Ringo laid into/taunted Shouma over the phone at the start was just great. I really do keep thinking that Ringo is super cute. Shouma knocking himself out with the bottle also had me laughing out loud. Yuri sure knows her yuri, the way Ringo had gotten so into it . Even if we know that Ringo and Shouma have to eventually get together (not that I mind; I support them, really), after what he did last episode I thought it was pretty amusing to get in a couple of jokes at Shouma's expense.

Finally, goddamn, Sanetoshi sure is slimy and insidious. Sneaking his way into Himari's heart like that, and even getting Kanba to thank him. He seems to be talking to Kanba like he understands him but I'm sure that Sanetoshi's just trying to coax Kanba's real heart out so he can twist it and laugh at him. Evil man.

The diary is a magic/spell book that can change the "destination of your fate". That switch is described as a change in "scenery". Here's the link between Sanetoshi and Momoka as he calls her the person who can "see the scenery that I see". Is he the rabbit? ...maybe, but in fact Sanetoshi's control over the library/fate world seems to be much more complete than hers.

Incidentally, don't we have evidence that Himari is someone who is able to enter the "fate world" herself, not just the Penguin hat? If it may be that only certain people are actually able to use the diary, that may be just where Himari comes into play.

If Momoka really is the Princess of Crystal (no better candidates, still, despite what I say here). I wonder what could have caused a change in her personality. 'Cause the PoC is nothing like child!Momoka. Who was extremely cute by the way, and more than a bit similar (not just in appearance, but personality) to Ringo. So I have to wonder about the PoC's perspective.

lol, anyway. Sure typed a lot, that's why this was a really good episode. But yeah, that's enough for now.

edit:

Originally Posted by Malkuth

Also I must remind everyone, that Momoka used the diary to undo a bunny's and Yuri's deaths (yeah, it is strongly implied that they DID die)... while Yuri wants to undo Momoka's death, Masako her sister's (I think), and Kanba/Shouma Himari's... still what puzzles me is for what their parents used it for... and another thing I cannot tie in yet is Himari... more specifically how do Satenoshi as well as princess of the crystal are connected to her... during her flashback episode, she saw another girl wearing the penguin hat... they are going to be related somehow, and I am itching to see how

About this, and whether Yuri died/what Momoka undid with her spell. I don't think Yuri's father did anything like killing her. When he/Yuri talked about the process being complete/it being the last day/him loving her for "eternity", I think they are referring to the completion of the reassignment operation. I.e., at that point, the remodelling of Yuri's body into one with a dick was complete. That's all--nothing to do with "death".

Now about Yuri's body in the present and what Momoka actually changed with her spell. We know that she explicitly replaced the tower/made Yuri's father go away. What we don't know is if that had any effect on the result of the operation. In the present, Yuri's co-actress said that there's definitely something unusual about Yuri's body. At the same time, there's a complete lack of reaction to Yuri's body from Ringo, Shouma, and Natsume, not to mention the other screenshots posted. So yeah, I think that whether Yuri still has a full-fledged dick right now is being presented as somewhat ambiguous.

[Nina.Wolken]

Originally Posted by vansonbee

Dairy reality wrapping, did it restore Yuri body manipulations from her father?

Even if some people believe her father was trying to turn Yuri into a guy, it does seem that Momoka while changing fate did fix Yuri back. If the diary has enough power to change a colossal statue into Tokyo Tower, taking care of that shouldn't have been too much trouble.
Also it was made clear Yuri was traumatized by her father words rather than his actions. Even if he disappeared, she still remember his terrible words which caused her to lose all confidence in her body, even if it's back to what it originally was.
I do like her character very much now, but she needs a good therapist.

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

I completely agree. I mean I think we all knew that if Ringo was going to be saved it would be a little cheap but I think Shouma being at the right place at the right time goes a little beyond the story finding a way to save Ringo from rape.

All thanks to his friend. It's him who won the lottery, him who brought hims along, him who pointed out at the couple next room, him who listen to them. Also that same friend who in episode 1 noticed first Ringo in the street...

If there is one couple fate is trying to make up it could either be Ringo/Shouma, or Ringo/Mysterious Classmate X .

Someone said before he/she thought something was up with that classmate and I admit I was skeptic but hell, something is definitely odd. Why can't we see his face? How comes he is always the one connecting Shouma and Ringo?

[Tjfarmer]

Originally Posted by Kirarakim

I completely agree. I mean I think we all knew that if Ringo was going to be saved it would be a little cheap but I think Shouma being at the right place at the right time goes a little beyond the story finding a way to save Ringo from rape.

Funny though, Shouma actually didn't do shit Ya, he was conveniently there ready to save the day, but instead he tripped and hit his head.

Natsume was the true hero for the Ringo Rape Saga (Part 2)!

[Archon_Wing]

This episode was certainly not fabulous.

Whoa, amazing episode. I was left wanting for more as it was revealed that the diary had reality warping powers. But as recent series have shown us, you can't just warp reality to your pleasure and get away with it. And Momoka paid a huge price, leading many to try and alter this reality.

Yuri's backstory was disturbing as expected, as they said later on in the episode, that abusive parents use the guise of love to fulfill their own selfish needs. And we're seeing a lot of people using the guise of love to furfill their only seflish needs. But Momoka and the diary seem to be of another nature.

Her dad was indeed a manipulative bastard, convincing Yuri that everyone else was bad and she could only trust him for his sick purposes. And that is how abusive relationships get set up-- by isolating the victim and making the victim unable to even realize they're being harmed. They think it's their fault. And we see this throughout the series too.

But despite it all, Shouma does a lame rescue attempt that buys enough time for Ringo to be saved. Yuri was great in outsmarting, and kept the diary hidden. But there's more to come...

Oh and Kanba is acting pretty manly here, but is he going to be able to handle that fabolus guy?

10/10

[Triple_R]

I agree with Sol on the situation between Yuri and her father.

I didn't get the impression that Yuri's father was literally raping her. I think he had a nasty falling out with his wife, that helped to make him insanely misogynist (though he was likely at least somewhat misogynist before that). As such, he wanted to make his daughter less of a girl, and more like a man, modeled after Michelangelo's David.

Sick, sick man.


I don't necessarily mind Sho just happening to be next door to Yuri and Ringo at this Hot Springs resort, but I would have preferred it if that had been lightly foreshadowed at during the last episode (just Sho briefly mentioning in an aside that he needs to get out of town to unwind a bit, or something like that).

I love plot twists, and this anime has some great ones, but if you have a lot of plot twists like this anime does, I think at least some of them should be foreshadowed, because otherwise the overall narrative can start to feel overly contrived and/or incoherent.


But on the whole, that was an excellent episode. Yuri's backstory was fantastic, and it was a real joy to watch. This anime has a pretty good main cast, but its supporting cast is really something else. Yuri, Natsume, Sanetoshi, and now Momoka are all very intriguing characters to me. They add a lot of spice to this story, and help to keep things exciting and unpredictable.

I'm looking forward to more next week.


9/10 for this week, as I didn't like the way Sho being at the Hot Springs resort was handled, but was otherwise pleased with this episode.

[Haak]

That fight scene was certainly fabulous max. So now we know why everyone wants that diary so much. Ringo really had no idea what she was holding on to.

Those chiseling scenes were really just disturbing. I can't say I hate her father though. He just struck me as someone too pathetic to even hate.

I wish Shouma didn't knock himself out like that. He needs something to make him a look a bit cool right now because he's lacking too much there.

[Nina.Wolken]

Originally Posted by Archon_Wing

But despite it all, Shouma does a lame rescue attempt that buys enough time for Ringo to be saved.

He had a shot at saving her but failed. Only because Yuri realized she couldn't do it, that Ringo was spared.

Fate must facepalm hard at how much of a clutz Shouma is. Everything falls magically in piece so he can play the knight role... but he still fail. Can't blame anyone but himself if Ringo finds someone else before the end of the story *looking at Mr classmate* .

[Archon_Wing]

Originally Posted by Nina.Wolken

He had a shot at saving her but failed. Only because Yuri realized she couldn't do it, that Ringo was spared.

Well, him failing did ruin the mood at least. And allowed Masako to come in and interrupt stuff.

Fate must facepalm hard at how much of a clutz Shouma is. Everything falls magically in piece so he can play the knight role... but he still fail. Can't blame anyone but himself if Ringo finds someone else before the end of the story *looking at Mr classmate* .

Yea he is kind of a dork atm; but hey at this point he's the only one that really cares about Ringo. Well, if he wasn't so fucked in the head, but this is standard for this series.

[Haak]

So judging from those scar marks on Tabuki's fingers, does anyone else reckon he might have been involved in this fate playing with Momoka?

[Sides]

Great episode, secret of the diary was revealed, Yuri's connection with Momoka explained and we get a girl fight ^^.
Yuri must be pretty good at table tennis, I think she even managed to hit the balls in the dark.
The new opening is kind of refreshing.

[Sol Falling]

lol, speaking of surrealism/unrealistic stuff. About the table tennis scene, am I mistaken or wasn't the scene outside (i.e. under the night sky)? If so, how exactly the Esmeralda manage to create complete darkness by cutting the electricity? Shouldn't there still be moonlight/starlight? :P But actually, I think that's kind of awesome. Like, the surrealism/imaginative reality of, even outside, creating darkness at night by cutting the electricity.

[Malkuth]

Just for the record... surrealism != unrealistic

[zeando]

dunno if someone posted this already

Spoiler for new op detail:

the 95 showed there for a little time while ringo is starting to burn
i have the feeling it's a tip about ringo will use the diary-power to change the events happened in the past subway attack

Spoiler for new op screen:

and here himari and shouma are running straigh, while kanba is facing an other direction

[EroKing]

So Ringo didn't mind being tied up or being yuri with Yuri


man I love the comedy this series has to offer

[Triple_R]

Originally Posted by TheEroKing

So Ringo didn't mind being tied up or being yuri with Yuri

Yeah, I'm still trying to make sense out of that myself.

Last episode she seemed to be drugged to near-sleep and barely able to talk.

This episode, she speaks in clear, full sentences, and seems entirely cool with being yuri with Yuri.

Just what drug did Yuri use on her?

Is it like alcohol with a big added kick at the start?

[Jarmel]

Ugh. Shouma being next door was absolutely horrible writing. Hey let's have one of the protoganists be far far away in a pure coincidence of ungodly proportions. He didn't even serve any purpose in the narrative except to be there when Ringo wakes up. This was pure shock value for shock values sake.

Now as for the rest of the episode, I'm not sure what to make of this. So was Yuri a hermaphrodite and the father was mutilating the genitals while raping her at the same time? Was he just abusing her?

[Nina.Wolken]

Originally Posted by Jarmel

Ugh. Shouma being next door was absolutely horrible writing. Hey let's have one of the protoganists be far far away in a pure coincidence of ungodly proportions. He didn't even serve any purpose in the narrative except to be there when Ringo wakes up. This was pure shock value for shock values sake.

Again, too big of a coincidence to be only that. So far the serie has been very well written (in my opinion that is), it would very odd to have such a weak twist as having Shou in the next room, ready to (not) save Ringo if not for particular reason.

2 options here: either the author want to play the Fate card, which leaded Shou to find Ringo when she needed him, or, they are revealing that someone did it purposely. Someone who knew Ringo would be there that day... After all, who said there was only one diary?

Edit : Developing a bit on the second diary theory. Ringo, when she was following Momoka's diary, kept bumping into Tabuki and Yuri. But Yuri only obtained the diary after that, so she couldn't possibly be the one who knew what was in Momoka's diary. Hence the idea that Tabuki also has a diary, or a copy of Momoka's one. Would explain how he got the scars, by using it's own diary...

[risingstar3110]

Originally Posted by Triple_R

Yeah, I'm still trying to make sense out of that myself.

Last episode she seemed to be drugged to near-sleep and barely able to talk.

This episode, she speaks in clear, full sentences, and seems entirely cool with being yuri with Yuri.

Just what drug did Yuri use on her?

Is it like alcohol with a big added kick at the start?

ABout that , i think...

Spoiler for Not too appropriate to be SFW:

The dialogue kinda indicated that while no sexual penetration was made, they (or Yuri alone) still did some foreplay. And then we have that perfect bonding as well. So maybe Ringo did waver her heart as Yuri taught her on that "new world", and that's why more or less accepted the act?

And she fell as sleep with a cat smile on her face as well. Really? In the middle of being 'raped', or 'first time sex'? Would make sense if Ringo already outdone herself even without sexual penetration. And Yuri continue just to taunted Shouma on it

Need a fully awaken Ringo to know for sure through

[zeando]

what if shouma's friend was the one to lead him there at that precise place and time?

[faburosumakusu]

I actually agree with you, zeando! Why show us a character's design but not his face instead of just using the normal "stick figure" design?