Okay, Penguin Drum has definitely made the best first impression of the entire season. There are just so many details stuffed into it that do an amazing job at fleshing the story out. The creators really nailed the dialogue of the stalker girl. Combined with the background music they did really well in portraying a young girl in love. The stalker part is there, but subtle enough to not take over her entire character. You don’t see that often with crazy characters.
This series also does a ton of things that play around with known tropes. I mean, at first sight it’ll look like this series will be moving around from side-character to side-character, and yet the OP and ED are full of apple symbolism. Much more than what you would expect if the character was just going to disappear once her arc is over.
I also really want to praise the creative symbolism here. The apples are of course the obvious ones (not just in terms of all the images, but also in Ringo’s apple curry for example), but that cat with that fish, or that cow suit also were great, or take the ads in the train that just keep changing with every episode. And the creators just continue to stuff details into that. I really feel like no moment of this show is wasted.
On top of that though, this series has also plenty of deep points. It’s like Kanba said: how far are they willing to go in order to protect Himari? There are 21 episodes left. I really suspect that this line will come to bite him back in time. At this point the Penguin Drum is still pretty much of a McGuffin, but will it remain like that?
Rating: ** (Excellent)
For some unknown reasons, I don’t find the long Survival Strategy sequence annoying. In fact, I like it.
This and Usagi Drop are the best things this season, and they air in the same day!
I love the sequence too, though I wonder how long they will repeat it… But as long as theres some variation, like with this episode… I like how she took the hat off and the lights went out lol
Yeay, another anime that I can truly look forward to each week impatiently! Usagi Drop too, but to a lesser extent. I wish we had such anime every season though…
Did anyone else love Ringo’s Nanami face when she saw the blonde chick? 😀
Thank you, Ikuhara-sama!
Prediction:
The penguin drum is the diary, which was purchased at the aquarium (see the sea turtle on the cover?)
She is not writing in it, it has stuff already written in it. She did not write that latest entry, it was already there, and she just stamped that it happened as described. That is the fate/destiny. She is just making it come about, or whatever.
Heh I didn’t really notice this week’s train messages 😛
And I agree that Ringo seems to be very important to the story, at least her diary is. I love her the part she stamps the diary. Last week was down right creepy while this week seems almost desperate. And if the diary was bought at the aquarium, the aquarium must be Roswell lol.
@Doug, I think it was already established in the second episode that the diary foretells future events (Mirai Nikki, anyone?). The diary itself might be the titular “penguindrum” but I highly doubt it. We have 21 episodes more and methinks that there would be a multitude of items that will be featured in the future episodes.
Did anyone notice why Ringo didn’t ask the siblings about the extra plates of curry lying around (devoured by the penguins)? If I were here I’d certainly think something’s amiss. Even if it’s an offering for, let’s say, dead parents. I would still ask why there are three extra plates.
Yeah, I noticed that. Once the plates are in the possession of the penguins they are invisible. Ringo only carried out four plates with her for the four humans present, so perhaps the penguins prepared their own plates. The obvious problem with this idea is that #2 has a rat trap stuck to his face, and so he cannot really be said to have possession of his plate. So then I point to this show being insane and leave it it to people with stronger backs to carry the rest of the water.
If we have to be scientific about the penguins, they cannot be invisible, nor can they make objects they are in possession of invisible. The cat could see the penguin, and the camera in eps. 2 would be incapable of recording anything had it been invisible. The latter is a problem all movies about invisible people have, if you were invisible you would be blind.
I rather think people can see them but not notice them.
About the diary and why I don’t think it’s the penguindrum (wee copypasta from animesuki):
So me and a friend of mine watch this show together and go through lengthy speculation after every ep lol. It’s just so much fun to have an original show where nobody knows yet what’s happening so you can speculate (same with Madoka at the time, but I watched that after it finished airing).
I thought I’d post our latest diary theory that we came up with after episode 3 to see what you guys think/have any input – the more the merrier right?
So anyways, first of all… we think Ringo -had- a sister. Why? The first scene where it seemed the mother was crying and the fact that 17/18 year old Tabuki casually visits their house and celebrates curry day (first we thought he might be a (step)brother.. I mean.. there’s no limits to Ikuhara’s mind after all). But yea, we ultimately went for sister.. who dated Tabuki.
Now he seems to think it’s possible the sister died before Ringo was even born, while I think it was around the time she was 3-4 (like, I think she just died during the opening flashback) – but either way: Ringo has no memory of her.
The reason Tabuki kept visiting casually: simple, he and Ringo’s sister dated when they were young (say.. somewhere between 10-12 years old, judging by the style of writing the entries.. and the really simple “math problems” fit those ages).. at those ages, it’s not actually serious and the parents treat the boyfriend/girlfriend like their own.. ’cause it’s cute. So Tabuki has a good “surrogate” parent relationship with Ringo’s parents (or mother, who knows where the father went after the first flashback) and of course he shares a sad moment with them – so he stays in contact.
So, the diary is the sister’s while she was dating Tabuki. Why? The entry posted earlier in this thread clearly makes it clear that the writer of the diary spends time with her mother, but Ringo and her mother don’t seem to have that good of a relationship (ie. she is too busy and her dad isn’t even home… Ringo is basically always on her own).
Also, Ringo clearly follows the diary and alters what (in her mind) is possible. ie. The curry in the diary was eaten together with Tabuki, but for Ringo it’s acceptable that he ate hers. So it clearly doesn’t tell the future, Ringo just follows it to -make- it happen.
So what happened? Ringo fell for Tabuki (as seen in the flashback @11 years old) and some time after found the diary (in the attic or something, who knows where it was stored) and -seriously- believed it was a Mirai Nikki that shows her the way to Tabuki’s heart. It’s Destiny~ However, in reality the diary is just that: a diary (and a red herring for viewers).
Oh and about the cat – simply an old neighborhood cat.. was easy for her to find it.
After watching this episode, I got the feeling that Ringo’s dad passed away, which is why the mother was tearing up in the scene where Ringo’s dad said “We’ll always be by your side”. It could explain why they don’t eat family anymore (missing third member).
@hurin
That’s if we are talking about science here … clearly there are no electromagnetic fields or anything scientific related to the penguins being invisible .. it is clearly magical in nature .. almost everything happnening so far related to the penguin hat and ringo’s notebook (which seems to predict the future) is magical not scientific .. and being invisible in magical stories is a very simple process and has no complications XD
And even if we talk about the scientific side .. people using stealth via light bending electromagnetic fields can detect their environment and targets using various forms of detection .. from heat sensing to sonar .. they aren’t blind at all.