Penguindrum is the brainchild of Kunihiko Ikuhara, who also conceived Revolutionary Girl Utena over a decade earlier. Penguindrum bears many similarities to Utena: the repetition, the odd humor, the heavy handed symbolism, and the silly yet loveable characters are all here. Fans of Utena will definitely feel right at home with Penguindrum.
The story goes a little bit like this: Two brothers, Shouma and Kanba Takakura, have a sweet little sister, Himari, who is unfortunately dying from a terminal illness. On a trip to the aquarium, Himari collapses and dies. But she is oddly revived by the penguin hat that Shouma had bought her minutes before. The penguin hat’s miracle does not come without a price though. After having their sister’s body temporarily hijacked by the Princess of the Crystal in a flashy over the top transformation sequence, the brothers are informed that they must find the mysterious Penguin drum in order for their sister to keep the life she was so graciously given back.
But that only scratches the surface. Soon, the brothers get involved with shady organizations, a stalker schoolgirl, the homeroom teacher she’s stalking, his nutty celebrity girlfriend, a cold rich girl barring their path, magic mumbo jumbo, and a mysterious man who holds power over Himari’s life.
The diverse cast of characters is what really shines about the show. Aside from Himari, who scarcely seems like more than a plot device, equal development and care is given to a number of characters in this anime. They’re all a little nutty, but they’re also all unique individuals with their own goals, personalities, and beliefs. It’s also impressive to note how the anime ties all the characters together. Not since Monster have I seen such a large cast of characters who seem like they’d normally have nothing to do with each other tied together so intricately.
The two brothers, Shouma and Kanba are polar opposites and serve as each other’s foils. It’s also interesting to note how this plays into their roles in the family. Everything about Shouma screams maternal figure: He’s kind, caring, level headed, rational, and even takes care of the cooking and housework. Kanba can be seen as the more typical masculine father figure. He is smooth, articulate, hot headed, popular with the ladies, and also the sole breadwinner of the house.
Both love Himari dearly and want to save her, but they have drastically different methods of doing so that fit almost too perfectly with their personalities. It’s almost scary seeing Kanba’s apathy for the world and even his own body swell up as the story proceeds, blinded completely by his desire to save Himari.
We also have Ringo Oginome, a high school girl who is as obsessed with curry as she is with Keiju Tabuki. A big chunk of the first part of the anime is dedicated to her stalkerish obsession with Tabuki and her plan to win his heart, as told by a mysterious diary she holds. Her sworn enemy and rival for Tabuki’s affection is a pretty actress named Yuri Tokikago. Unbeknownst to Ringo, this woman has a far more sinister side than her well groomed façade lets on, as well as a hidden connection to the both Tabuki and Ringo’s pasts.
Masako Natsume is another character whose brother also has an unknown illness, but is being kept alive by another penguin hat. She seeks out the penguin drum as well, interfering with the brother’s attempts to get it. All these characters are revealed to be connected to each other in some way, as well as to the main villain Sanetoshi and Ringo’s deceased older sister Momoka.
Surprisingly, three small penguins are what really steal the show. These little buggers are hilarious; doing the most insane things even while the main characters are having a serious conversation. Whether it’s reading dirty magazines, putting panties over their head, trying on blond wigs, or spraying errant cockroaches, these hilarious little guys are always up to something. It’s also interesting to note that the 3 penguins’ actions, appearance, and mannerisms closely resemble the three Takakura siblings. The fourth penguin, belonging to Masako, is the same. Some may find them distracting as they act out in scenes that are supposed to be serious. And you’d be right to assume that they are there just for the cute factor. But they add a bit of charm and humor to the story. It’s hard to imagine the anime without them.
Now the story itself can be a bit of a confusing mess until the very end when mostly everything is resolved and cleared up. It keeps you on your toes and guessing until the very end, slowly unveiling one twist after another without being too ridiculous.
The first part of the anime seems more like a wacky slice-of-life, while the second part heavily leans toward the metaphysical and supernatural. That of course means the second part of the anime can be quite difficult to grasp at times. And that right there is one big problem with the story: it can be incredibly pretentious at times. Similar to Utena, some of the symbolism is very clever, while some of it just seems like it was thrown in there just because, making some concepts and plot elements needlessly complicated and confusing. The dialogue can be a little too much as well, with its constant rambling about fate, fate, fate. Like the symbolism, sometimes it’s clever, other times it just sounds pretentious.
As an anime heavy in symbolism, it’s important for the visuals to be sufficiently up to snuff. And it definitely does not disappoint. The animation is high quality, colorful, flashy, and smooth. The soundtrack is phenomenal, containing a plethora of great tracks for any given situation. The character designs are all beautiful and unique. No two characters look anything alike.
Overall, Penguindrum is an amazing anime that was clearly made with a lot of care and heart. It’s got almost everything, flashy visuals, amazing characters, a silly yet enjoyable story, and a great soundtrack. It’s understandable that some will be turned off by its confusing story and heavy symbolism at first, but sticking with the anime to the end is well worth it. Watching it again is well worth it; you’ll see all kinds of things you may have missed the first time.
This crazy, mysterious, psychological rollercoaster is one hell of a ride, and once you get on you won’t want to get off.
