8thSin

I love the word "fate". You know how everyone talks about this anime called Mawaru Penguindrum? Just one single show can completely change your landscape. Such a thought-provoking series is not made by mere coincidence. It's definitely... fate. Of course, it's not for everyone. There are many mysterious, seemingly pointless story developments. It's hard to accept abstract ideas that start with nothing but confusion. But I think... Every line of dialogue, every object drawn in the show exist for a reason. Nothing in this show is pointless.What if I asked viewers what anime was like before they have seen Mawaru Penguindrum? They've forgotten what it was like when they didn't? You could say anime today isn't hopeless thanks to this show. The feeling of noticing perplexing symbolism. Hearing the sound that you'll never forget. Plot twists at startling rate. This show can change your perspective of anime in a heartbeat. Apples, diaries, penguins, and even the color of trash cans... seemed like treasures filled with possibilities when I saw them with an open mind. But... I can't go back now. I can still watch generic anime. Although, I can't recall what I liked about them. Sometimes I wonder why there aren't more deep, meaningful anime like this. The next season's lineup appear awfully uncertain to me right now. Like Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki's cat. A half-cute, half-round, manly cat. On the other hand, if there has to be shallow series to make deep ones more enjoyable... then everything must have a meaning. That's what I would like to think. Mawaru Penguindrum starts with mystery. Storytelling here is like a true Japanese movie: Subtle. Main heroine here is Oginome Ringo. The stalker of main characters' teacher. She builds an observation post below the teacher's house from scratch. A charismatic yandere in modern Tokyo. It's a penguin eat dog world. The "real", heroine in the second half is useless in the first half. Girls like her should just get netorare! Gosh, you must watch this series to the end. Mawaru Penguindrum will keep you thinking. Abstract ideas here are like puzzles: Thought-provoking. Main heroine here is Takakura Himari. The sister of main characters. She's sick from a terminal disease. A tragic princess in the border between life and death. It's a world of duality. The brothers stop searching for an unknown object called "Penguindrum" and try to keep her alive from scratch. Journeys like that should be more important than destination! Gosh, I must watch this series again. Do you like beautiful imagery in anime? Do you like allegory and careful attention paid to every detail on the screen? Of course you do! I feel the same way. Or rather, I can only love beautiful artwork. After all, I am an anime enthusiast. There are so much detail in every single frame that will make more and more sense by the episode. That's why you must not only watch this series, you have to watch it again. Viewers who don't do this are ugly and stupid. They can't appreciate the art in Mawaru Penguindrum. Listen well. No one loves mindless viewers. They don't have the right to be loved. It's a pretentious anime, after all. Artwork in 'Mawawru Penguindrum' removed the impurity in the background, such that only beauty remains. Just as the great Ikuhara produced the magnificent 'Shoujo Kakumei Utena' from storyboards. So, I have a favor to ask of you. Give yourself the opportunity to see this masterpiece. Let yourself see the beauty in this series. It's Fabulous Max! Action, comedy, suspense, joy and sorrow, calmness and anger. If BGM didn't reflect the mood on screen, then why do they even exist? Because, ever since that very first episode, music in the background matched perfectly with the story. The only thing we heard were true theme songs and BGM... Music to our ears. Isn't it electrifying? Listen, you lowlifes who will never amount to anything. Obtain the TL notes from my blog. Let's initiate the Survival Strategy. Why are people born? If people are born only to suffer through shallow anime, is it meant as some kind of a punishment? Or a cynical joke? If that's the case, viewers who adhere to their innate curiosity programmed in their DNA... are far more elegant and simple. If there really is a 2011 anime worthy of watching, then, it must be called Mawaru Penguindrum. I love anime that deal with "fate". You know how everyone talks about this anime called Mawaru Penguindrum? If you were able to read through this wall of text, you probably have what it takes to enjoy this series. I didn't write the review in this format by mere coincidence. It's definitely... fate. Of course, it's not for everyone. There are many unpredictable twists and unexplained mysteries. It's hard to fully understand the meaning of all the allegories and symbolisms in this series. But I think... Every line of dialogue, every object drawn in this series exist for a reason. Nothing in this show is pointless. *Stamps* Destiny.

WickedMind

Remember during an English/Literature class and your teacher would recommend you a book to read for an important exam/lesson? Some of the contexts contain what you may think as a simple room painted in "red" actually hides a message of violence and anger. Another example is the book "The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry" shares many symbols such as the rose being a symbol of vanity. Mawaru Penguindrum is definitely like a classic book. A classic book that uses objects as symbols. Practically, the whole anime in itself is a pure symbol of what you may think is a child's play is actually much morethan that. The thing that made me drawn into the anime was pretty simple, the cute little blue penguins. I barely took the anime that seriously because I don't really check out the summary of an anime just for an element of surprise and the picture cover of the anime made it look like a children's show. The first few episodes did turn out to be a joke and I had a great time laughing and admiring the fun atmosphere the anime was giving. But once the anime started to take the story in a different direction the anime turns into an anime worth raising an eyebrow for. Story: 9 During the start of the anime, more likely the word "fate/destiny" does keep on repeating a dozen of times and mainly that is the general story line. Likely avoiding the destined future a person takes is not plausible -- and so that's when the penguindrum comes. Symbolism can never die down in this anime and it is unavoidable. What is unique about how the anime's flow of story goes is the endless amount of flashbacks you will receive in every episode. It surely is annoying and confusing because they do show you flashbacks in random but then it isn't much likely a bother if you are serious about getting to know this anime better. Another word you'll be hearing a lot of times in this anime is "punishment" and in life happiness doesn't come along the way you like it. There will always be hard times and consequences no matter how painful it is. The way I see with this anime a reward has to be equal to its punishment -- but I think that's just me. The greatest part of the anime for me was the ending. I think it was a pure masterpiece. I was overflowing with tears and anger but if you look at it in the story line itself and the meaning of destiny that ending did not fail to surprise me. An ending worth crying and worth inspiring. Art: 10 Practically the reason is that once we see a colorful piece of artwork the logical meaning is "fun & happy" but that picturesque is just a cover up and so that's when the "Psychological" genre clearly explains it. The bright colors was well-spot on with the anime. I always loved the transformation part of Himari. The splashing of colors, the angle shots and the well-detailed animation are all worth praising for. The opening and ending animations are both done beautifully. If I may, the Opening Animation or even the title screen of Mawaru in itself holds a lot of clues. They sure took their time planting these clues very well and hiding it from the viewers and with these colorful images it is a very bright idea that the director was hiding the "main" plot. Sound: 10 One of the best soundtracks out there. I fell in love more with the OSTs rather than the Opening and Ending songs. What is so great about these OSTs is that the music is so perfect with the scene it was trying to match. My favorite OSTs would be "The Children of Fruit and Destiny" or "Unmei no Ko Tachi" -- listen to it and let the music feel you. I still cry to this OST and it still holds a deep meaning to me. Character: 9 Excellent character development. The characters made this anime possible. Let me remind you, this has a psychological genre so more likely you'll see a lot of out-of-the-box characters. The anime didn't just focus on the four main characters but also all those characters around them had a big role in the anime and what can be more realistic than that. Today, we live our lives thinking that the people around us are just individuals who will be nothing more than just strangers not knowing that these people can change our life or more likely our destiny and that's how Mawaru Penguindrum explains it so well. The beautiful way of how the director connects all these minor/major characters makes you ask at how much more can this anime get more realistic as it is. Enjoyment: 10 One of the most rare animes that truly uses my brain to unfold the story. As I go beyond the episodes it becomes more intriguing and exciting. So much were happening in this show that I actually grabbed a pen and paper (literally) to try to unfold the life of all of these characters -- and it was a bliss. For a show to be called as an "anime" that kept me pre-occupied with questions was something I haven't really experience in my time being of watching animes and that's what makes this show so special. Penguindrum also holds my most favorite anime quotes. This is so far the only anime that truly made me experience happiness, sadness, anger, suspense and even madness. It practically is the only anime that moved me to think over my life (I know, what the hell) and the great deal of Penguindrum being able to touch me so much is a much better work than any masterpiece. Over-all: 10 Mawaru Penguindrum is not like any normal anime. It's a work of art that is in need of 100% of your attention and fairly "a lot" of brain power. Like any great literary piece, not all would understand the point of view of the creator but then if you are able to, most especially in Penguindrum, you'll feel how beautiful this creation is.