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| The first half of the episode reminded me of Evangelion, for some reason. |
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| zzzzzz Glad I finally got around to watching this, but it's way overhyped and overrated. 3/5 The design is fantastic, but the plot and writing is really convoluted. I guess if you want to have as much symbolism and pretentious story lines that gets rewritten every 3 episodes then it's pretty good. |
| Damn it, loved this sooo much 10/10 One hectic series, I feel depressed, but truly it was brilliant. |
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| hum well at first i thought i would go for a 7 or highest a 8 but in the end episodes it got so epic that i was considering a 10 but i chose i would give it a 9 since it took long to really get into this anime. 9/10 |
| "When a flat-chested loli hugs you, she holds you closer to her heart" "--I am a single bullet. It has no heart. Therefore, it does not think. It just flies straight towards its target."  |
| From the beginning to the end of this anime I was impressed! The amount of quality put in character, story development was just amazing! The way they could keep the attention of the viewer with an almost perfect episode pace each time really made it a wonderful story in general! The concept of showing backstories of each important character combined with a linked fate and supernatural stuff was just great to see! It's long ago I've seen another anime this good! The buildup to the ending and the actually ending was just Beautiful! A tear was indeed shed on the very end with the note from the brothers! A really great last episode of this amazingly good Anime! Just loved it and can't say less then give this a 10/10 rate! |
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| Whenever a really good anime ends, I feel really sad inside. ;^; But two things: Why are Sho-kun & Kanba-kun litto kiddies after the fate transfer? Himari-chan & Ringo are still the same so. & how come the penguins are following them, along with Natsume's penguin? Can Sho-kun & Kanba-kun see them? One of the few animes that made me cry hard enough to have my mascara smudge all over my face. 10/10. FABULOUS MAX~ |
| nani kore |
| 8/10 For some reason I just couldn't really get into this. |
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| WTF!? That's an apple not a drum, much less a penguin drum. This is what happens when you procrastinate writing the rest of the story until the last second you get shows like this, all emotion and no intellect. There's no real point to this show. they're all on crack – the director, the characters, even Steven Foster. Sometimes I forget to check and see if a show is directed by him before watching it, I should be more careful. |
| I like Hentai, you like real life. Instead of complaining about my tastes, be grateful you now don't have to compete against me. |
| did sanetoshi actually say "you gotta be shittin' me" or was it the god damn subbers? kanba walking away from satenoshi is basically his way of telling him "fuck off" wow i cant believe they were forgotten, other than the fact of the note. i wonder if himari remembered them from it or it just brought back her feelings kid kanba and kid shoma appear at them end bitter sweet ending, sigh sonnandeskcar said: Clearly copied the ending from Madoka, 4/10 4/10 because the end was a little similar to madoka? jfc |
| 6/10 The symbolism made the show feel far too much like it was style over substance, and more times were my questions ignored then answered. The show seemed to try too hard to give all our characters bad parents and backstories and narrative went all over the place come the second half. |
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| I finally managed to finish this series... the lame plot mixed with that shoujo art wasn't a very good combination haha. The first couple of episodes were good but that's it. 6/10 for me. |
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| Ahh, I really loved this anime, most people are just confused that's why they dont understand the true beauty of MAWARU PENGUINDRUM. 10/10 for me, had some confusing parts but the way it all comes together and the plot twists and cliffhangers made this great. The last episode was also better than most anime's ending imo. The first comment should help clear things up about your confusion!: http://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/nnqsj/mawaru_penguindrum_episode_24_discussion_spoilers/ |
| While I was watching this I thought I was gonna have a new favorite name but I guess not. There is too much symbolism and metaphors for it's own good and I don't quite understand the plot of this show it is not coherent , too many unanswered questions and I dislike the type of show were everyone have different interpretation from it instead of clear and direct plot. 8/10 was gonna give it a 7 but the OST and the survival song are really awesome :3 . |
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| Not sure if it's been posted somewhere in this thread, but if anyone is really interested in where a lot of the themes and symbolism in this show come from, they should watch Night on the Galactic Railroad. I think it would clear a good amount of things up for those who struggle to find meanings in some of it. For example, the very end which shows Kanba and Shouma and the penguins walking in space probably means (NotGR spoilers) Another interesting part of symbolism is "The soul of the scorpion". This gets referenced a few times in Penguindrum and I could never figure out what the hell that meant. In NotGR, Hope that gives some insight into things that Kanba does and says in the show. I used to think he was kind of a predictable and boring character as far as he develops, but I definitely think that gives another layer to it all. Personally, I give the show a 9/10. One of my absolute favorites to watch over and over again. Probably my only real complaint is that Masako and Mario were given sooo much screentime and ultimately never amounted to anything (ha!). Neither really had any effect on how the story moved at all. |
| The anime was a masterpiece, i was hoping for a happier ending, |
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| I get the reactions and feelings most of you had towards the ending/the anime as a whole. Yet I can't relate all of this too much to be honest. Its structure is intelligent. I liked the flashback method and how it lets you in little by little. I don't know if the director had to change much from the original novel here, but it surely takes you some time to plan this out. I think it were the characters that didn't quite hook me. I just couldn't relate to any of them and had no real sympathies. Right to the end I wouldn't really care how any of them ended up. Here's the part I can't describe that well: There's this "unrealistic" hope in this work. Life and "destiny" just don't work this way. It all had a "Japanese" feel to it... a worldview that is based on love. Love as the answer, the solution, something to share and something to die for. This doesn't work for me personally while it may work in the universe of the story and is also rooted in the life of the author and in most people minds. --> So, I'm not here to take that away from them and just let it unrated. |
| so finally its end huh? I cant say anything its just so awesome but it was a good ending not a happy ending.. at last in the end I still cant see all of them still alive even they are all don't remember anything at all... no problem thats a great ending too.. |
| Could somebody please, PLEEEAAAAASE explain the meaning of this scorpion thing mentioned in an earlier episode and now again? i simply don't get it... |
LaShimi said: Could somebody please, PLEEEAAAAASE explain the meaning of this scorpion thing mentioned in an earlier episode and now again? i simply don't get it... what you mean with scorpion? -_- |
| "Let's share the fruit of fate." Fabulous Max. Bittersweet, but beautiful ending. Momoka's final victory over Sanetoshi. The breaking of the curse. It required the sacrifice of both "brothers" to make it happen. Now I understand why there is no romance tag in this - it never really developed and in the end both love interests had their existences perish. The love that blossomed for the first and last time between Ringo and Shouma... it was literally a blaze of love. Himari and Ringo still ended up becoming best friends even after losing their respective memories about the boys - with the result that the first time they "met" was in the hospital. They were fated to become best friends. Not all was lost for the two bros as they were recreated into new existences unrelated to everyone else. It had parts that I didn't like, but even so it still ended excellent. I love how the epilogue went full circle with the prologue. Most of all, I have to praise the music. It was perfect. |
| Fitting end. It was good, but not great. Had the beginning episodes been more dramatic like the end, I would have liked this show a lot more. I realized in the beginning it wasn't going to live up to the hype this series has gotten. Although it ended better than it started, I can only give it 6/10 (above average). |
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| Too much symbolism....to the point of overkill really. When the scenes changed up and decided to go into a different style it was hard to follow what was going on, and if I didn't go back after each episode and read an episodic synaposis of what happened, I probably wouldn't have ever known what I just watched. It's mostly because of the point above that I didn't like this show, you can't be convoluted and attempt to pull off a specialized way of story telling. I also felt like the ending was more...generic, and an overall crowd pleaser. 7/10....If I liked anything really about this show over others, it would be the penguins themselves, more or less because they were awesome in the first half of the show when the show wanted to be more comedic, rather than psychological. |
 "To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment" |
| So...can anyone tell me what the deal was with a young Shouma and Kanba in the cages/boxes? Was this before they met Himari? Were they being kidnapped? The show doesn't really give any context there... After seeing this show, I don't think it's for my tastes, but I still respect what it was trying to do. |
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| What a beautiful anime! it had so many touching and beautiful moments.I loved all the flashbacks,the different characters that by the end were all connected,the amazing soundtracks and the adorable penguins and I also loved the symbolism and references,just beautiful. The end however didn't have as much impact on me as the rest of the show or as I thought it would (even though I cried),it was still a little disappointing. I don't like how all Ringo had to do for the spell was to say "Let's share the fruit of fate." and she didn't do or say anything else before or after (that we were shown at least).So why did it work in particular for her?I know this show doesn't intend to explain everything and make it clear but this was one that annoyed me,maybe I missed something but after all the talk about the diary and the spell and all the speculations I had,the conclusion was anticlimactic and disappointing. I'm glad the teacher and Yuri ended up together and in the end really loved each other,this is probably what I found most satisfying in the ending. Still not sure if Shouma and Kanba really died or not,the ending makes me think they did,but I keep reading people saying they're alive in a different world line/fate/whatever.Well either way,I wouldn't mind Shouma dying since he's the only character I disliked but if he indeed is alive and went back to being a kid,I hope he doesn't turn out the same.As for Shouma he made a beautiful sacrifice (and didn't kill any innocent people in the process) and I like him so his end is good for me either way.I Still think they died though (from their talk about death and the fact that all the penguins went with them,which makes me think they disappeared with them) which reminds me I'm still not sure why the penguins are there in the first place lol. I wish the ending was more powerful,it just missed something for me but still the anime overall was beautiful and unique. 8/10 |
SalxerAug 8, 2013 7:07 PM
| Came late to the party but glad I turned up. Wow. |
| Seriously... I don't care how unmanly it is, my whole body cried harder than it has in... ever. Cried like 10 minutes after it ended, TT_TT' That was the most Fabulous Max ending I've ever seen. Hit me harder than Code Geass, Twilight Princess, and Angel Beats' endings combined. Gosh, it crushed them all. Gotta say, when I started this series I really had no idea what to expect from it. No way in hell did I think it would end anything close to this. Was a beautiful series. I was also a latecomer, but I would've been missing out on a fabulous ass series otherwise. I've got to agree 11/10 in my opinion as well. One for my history books, as well as my favorites. |
| It started off a bit rough but it got better as it went on. 8/10 |
| By episode 22 I knew this was going to have a rocky finish and sure enough it left far too much unanswered. I loved the use of visuals and the storytelling, but I completely agree with those that feel the symbolism got to be overkill. When it wanted to be funny it certainly delivered, but when it wanted to get psychological it felt either great or trying too hard. I'll give it a 7/10 because it does a lot of things really well and I was always interested to see more. it's just got a few too many flaws when it's all said and done. |
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| A breathtaking series. Was to be expected from Mr. Utena. Will watch again in some years, hopefully catching more of the symbols and taking things less at face value (like why Shouma would be in cage?). But at the end of the day it really boils down to 'all you need is love', doesn't it? We cannot escape fate but we can face it together with others and share the loads it may give us. |
| "Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that's beyond the reach of these small hands." Mamoru Oshii There is a cult of ignorance (...) nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that “my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.” Isaac Asimov |
| One comment to sum it up 1. Bad characters- shoma is a pussy and he didn't really love himari he is not sincerer and was bluffing that he will save her- arigone the stalker bitch girl who can't give the daliy and shoma wasn't really trying to get that daily from her either ( it was stupid) -2 2. Too many flash backs, too confusing story and concepts that is very hard to comprehend without or very little explanation -1 3. Lastly convenient plot for example episode23 3 meter bomb explosion but that delusional unfaithful bitch survive -1 sorry for harsh language but I'm very disappointed when I saw the first episode, I was wow I'm going to give this a 10 but after that this show go sour but the ending was good so Over a'll (no bias) -------6/10-------- |
| Ok, what in the hell just happened ?! |
sonnandeskcar said: Clearly copied the ending from Madoka, 4/10 Wow, thanks for spoiling me with NO WARNING. Dude, there IS an etiquette that anime fans follow. I am currently watching Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica.. and I really didn't need you to go there. Who cares anyway? Everything has been done everywhere else before, so basing an opinion on how similar it is to something else is ridiculous. Anyway, best anime I have seen in a while. I have nothing to say for once because I have nothing to b**** about. It made me laugh and cry and had me sitting on the edge of my seat guessing what was going to happen next, and never being able to figure it out. I LOVED the whole thing. I ended up watching the whole series in 24hrs, which means it is an amazing anime. I'm glad that sometimes when I hear random people recommend this anime or that anime as the "Best Anime Evar!! XP" it actually is. |
| Signature removed. Please follow the signature rules, as defined in the Site & Forum Guidelines. |
| Charming palette and animation. Plot and symbolism went hand in hand. The bittersweet ending of the bros dying so that everybody can live out their fate made it a lot more thoughtful. Those kids at the end are Shouma and Kanbe just to say. na35899 said: You are so wrong that I can't even comprehend. They fucking explai-. I'll just leave this 3 word phrase. You're fucking stupid.One comment to sum it up 1. Bad characters- shoma is a pussy and he didn't really love himari he is not sincerer and was bluffing that he will save her- arigone the stalker bitch girl who can't give the daliy and shoma wasn't really trying to get that daily from her either ( it was stupid) -2 2. Too many flash backs, too confusing story and concepts that is very hard to comprehend without or very little explanation -1 3. Lastly convenient plot for example episode23 3 meter bomb explosion but that delusional unfaithful bitch survive -1 sorry for harsh language but I'm very disappointed when I saw the first episode, I was wow I'm going to give this a 10 but after that this show go sour but the ending was good so Over a'll (no bias) -------6/10-------- |
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| Goddamnit, I was looking for a lighthearted comedy series when I started watching this. Once I saw the genre was comedy, and the title contained penguin, I immediately started watching it. I've never been so wrong. I should have read the synopsis and a bit of spoiler first. But everything happens for a reason. My mistake led me to watch this masterpiece. It was a comedy, but it was thought-provoking. Fabulous max! I love penguins! :3 |
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| A story about the power of love at heart (how love can overcome anything, even fate), but told in a creative albeit ambiguous and convoluted fashion. Excessive use of metaphors and symbolism gives rise for high rewatch value, but I felt that TOO much of the story was left to the reader to decipher. Also, I'm not sure I agree with how the series relied heavily on flashbacks to reveal important plot points. They made the show jump all over the place and were quite detrimental to the pacing. Penguindrum had plenty of complex and memorable characters with whom one can easily connect; in fact, while I knew it would be unfitting, I secretly wished for a happy ending for everyone. Gorgeous visuals that are fitting of a show so heavily dependent on symbolism. The soundtrack was beautiful as well and I can think of at least 3 or 4 songs that will remain in my head for months to come (two of which are the openings). Overall, Penguindrum had a profound story with powerful themes and a strong cast. However, I can completely understand people who criticize the series for being too convoluted and, for the lack of a better word, pretentious. This is a series that is nearly impossible to understand fully without either multiple viewings or the aid of people who have deciphered it themselves. Nevertheless, it definitely deserves the praise it has received and has earned a spot on my favourites list. 8/10 |
YunaDec 31, 2013 9:35 AM
| 7/10 agreed with many of the complaints. I appreciate the symbolism/metaphorical stuff but it was excessive. Superb animation; reminded me of Bakemonogatari. Wasn't impressed with the romance in this anime either....... it felt too vague and underdeveloped for me. Idk what to say other than that ._. Flashbacks too many of them.........Plot is confusing; what is this the will of Stein's Gate? O_o |
| Combating against hoax MAL accounts and intentional down voting of objectively great anime. Pls join |
| 7/10 Too many bullshit about destiny, apples and penguins.... Seriously, you don't have to abuse about metaphors to make something vaguely intellectual. I wanted to love this show, I liked the music, the characters, the basis of the plot, but WTF, the story only develops in the last 4-5 episodes and too many questions are unanswered, what is Momoka, why can she change destinies, the usefulness of the second hat, the ghosts, the parallel worlds, the frog books ..... and WHY SO MUCH PENGUINS, they are useless anyways (this anime gimmicks are somewhat disturbing).... |
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| omg |
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| Kenrokuen First of all, Momoka is a character and is thus a plot device. One of her roles is to represent the power of unconditional, family love, which moves hearts and, therefore, transfer fates. For example, she loves Tabuki and Yuri despite their "ugliness", despite they were rejected by their own families, just like she loves everything about this world, because it's pretty, because how can something be ugly if it's been created by God. That's just how she is. She unconditionally shares the fruit of fate with the entire world and that gives her the power to transfer the fate, derail it to the desired direction. But of course she also has to pay her price for that. In some ways she's also very similar to Utena, but that's another paragraph if not a page to write. The second hat was needed to revive Mario into the similar state as Himari. This was needed for Sanetoshi to gain control over Masako. Basically he needed Natsume clan's money to perform another attack in the world which Momoka has vanished from and seemingly lost control over. That was his plan to switch the fate back to the original path of the year 1995's incident, which Momoka had prevented from. This hopefully also explains your question about the parallel worlds. Penguins are not useless at all. Penguins are used heavily in at least two ways. First, they are reflecting the inner thoughts of the corresponding characters and explain some of their actions. This is done mostly metaphorically, so it's like reading a book between the lines - takes some effort to understand the hints. Second, penguins are used to reduce the drama effect through humour and comedy. They are cute and funny - that's one reason I think why they are pretty popular in public aquariums. And if you ask about the labels, i.e. all these pingroup logos etc... oh well... long story short, I can't tell you in two words, because I'm too lazy to explain it - can take a tonne of text. But I can guarantee you that it's answered in the show. You just need to watch carefully for where each label appears, note it down, and then think, think, think. Frog books are the reference to the Murakami's story "Superfrog saves Tokyo", which is the book Himari's looking for in the library. If you at least read the book's summary, you're likely to find many similarities between its story and the story of penguindrum. It also touches on topics such as changing the fate of the world, preventing another disaster in Tokyo in 1995, and having no family love. So reading this short story simply helps to understand the penguindrum. Consider Momoka to be the frog and Sanetoshi to be the worm, then the last dialogue between Momoka and Sanetoshi in ep.24 makes total sense in the context of the book events and how it's ended. I don't think that there was much unanswered. It's just that it's difficult to figure out what is the original question. In fact, there are many that are addressed in the show. And for different people there will be different questions answered by that same very show. That's what in my books makes it a masterpiece, though I realise that many others prefer it the opposite way, with having one clear question and one defined answer to it. |
| Not really sure how to score it...Mainly because I still don't fully understand what was the original motive or meaning of the show. But that was hell of a ride. One...No, more than one of the most disturbing scenes in any anime ever. (girl on girl rape scene, artist father abuse, child broiler) It was really hard to finish this show because it was just simply too depressing. I would compare this to Madoka since it generally is in the same genre field. I think Penguindrum did a better job making it interesting (as well as a lot of other things). I actually got the spoiler for the entire plot (obviously, not the little details) since the start but still managed to be surprised in each episode which did not happen when I watched Madoka. So, even if I had a general idea of all the big reveals and twists, this show still knows how to scare. :P The only things I would take points off would be: - underdeveloped characters: it felt like watching Honey and Clover whenever Himari was on screen. I wish she had more of a personality instead of her innocent happy one. - inconsistent mood: some may like this but I did not. :S I didn't like it switching from the fairytale Ringo world to the depressing child abuse ones in a matter of episodes - unlisted supernatural genre???: if it had the genre, I would not be so surprised by so many of the unrealistic plot elements (ghost, second world, transferring fate) but it didn't so I thought that it was seemingly unrealistic and kind of too convenient at times Will rate later |
| Oooh! The realistic picture of three penguins looked like a version of the cutesy ones. |
Toxic_Mongoose said: It's a reference to the Night on the Galactic Railroad written by Miyazawa Kenji. The concept of sharing an apple comes from that story. I'm not sure if Miyazawa-sensei based his character on the philosopher though. |
| Holy fucking shit... I'm almost left speechless after this ending. It is so so so bittersweet God Damnit why did Shouma have to be punished??! What did he ever do wrong?! Why couldn't he and Ringo have a fruitful relationship?! Damn fate is cruel... Them not even being able to remember their respective lovers just twists the knife even more. Like this ending didn't make me cry, but right now my heart just hurts. Damn it all for me and my "closet romantic"-ness |
| I'm....still....crying...... Holy shit..... I started this show thinking it would be a 7....then later I bumped it up to an 8, and then near the end I was like, at least a 9...... 10/10 That was amazing..... Truly amazing.....one of the best anime I've seen done so well artistically in every aspect....a true masterpiece. my only beef with it: What the fuck was with Kanba's dead body in the diner? That never got explained, and if it did, will someone enlighten me on it? But seriously....that was...magnificent. |
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| Apparently, it has a bittersweet ending. I cried a little bit ;.; But I think it's the best ending that fits its unique style -> 9/10 |
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| Brraavoo! It's so fucking artistic! so damn bittersweet! The symbolism, The sincerity of love, they're just so fucking beautiful. what a piece of art! Btw it feels similar to Steins;Gate's world line concept, and at the epilogue it's like Himari's 'reading steiner' is triggered a little. XD |
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