Story:
Mawaru Penguindrum’s story revolves around fate. When a sick girl named Himari passes away, she is revived by an otherworldly being who tasks her brothers, Kanba and Shouma, to find an mysterious object called the Penguin Drum in exchange for her temporary revival. The story follows the three siblings, as well as other people the meet and encounter along the way, in their search for the Penguin Drum. As I pointed out earlier, the story is filled with symbolism, and that’s the first real issue I have with it.
The story isn’t told in a traditional way. It just throws you right into the middle of it with no background information, and then slowly reveals itself to you throw flashbacks. This method works pretty well, and does end up explaining most of the things that happen in the story, but with the story being told this way I wasn’t really paying attention to any of the symbols that the series was trying to use. I was more focused on paying attention to what was going on in the story. What was going to happen next? How is plot point A connected to plot point B? How does he, she, or it fit into the story? These are the things that I was thinking about when watching this series, and I really wasn’t even thinking about, or looking for, a lot of the symbolism that other people have said they found when watching this series. There are also plenty of symbols used in the story that you wouldn’t understand unless you have some knowledge of Japanese history and literature. If you don’t then a lot of the symbols that are used won’t mean anything to you. But there are some more obvious uses of symbolism that you’ll pick up on when watching, and some that you’ll understand once someone points them out to you. Symbolism aside, I still was able to enjoy and, for the most part, understand the main narrative.
As mentioned earlier, the story is told through a series of flashbacks that gradually give you more information about the story and the characters in it. I found this method of story telling interesting, and it really forced me to pay attention to everything that was going on so that I wouldn’t miss anything. In the beginning, while there is an underlying seriousness, the tone is a lot more lighthearted and comedic than the second part of the series. The first part of the series was used to introduce and establish the characters in the series, but there is a lot about the story and characters that you won’t find out until the end of the series. Another issue I have with the story is that there are some moments when the tone of the series is a little off.
There are also moments where the actions of the penguins in the series, who often are used only for comedic relief, clash with the overall tone the show is trying to portray. I really enjoyed the penguin’s antics throughout the series, but there were definitely times where their actions weren’t really appropriate for the scene that they were in. Even though I did still find myself laughing at some of their actions anyway. My only other issue with the story is that there are several things that just aren’t explained. You just have to accept them, and try to come up with reasons for how or why certain things happen in the story.
Animation:
I really enjoyed the animation this series. It uses a lot bright and vibrant colors, that really make the characters and backgrounds stand out. Speaking of which, the characters and backgrounds are really well done. The characters are well defined, and, at times, can have crazy and outlandish clothes on and they’re still animated really well. The backgrounds are really well done, and are what really add a lot of the vibrant colors into the series. The background scenery is incredibly varied, and helps to keep the show interesting when the characters are traveling to different locations. Mawaru Pengruindrum also purposely uses bland block character designs for a lot of the nonessential characters in this series. Besides being one of the series’ more obvious uses of symbolism, it focuses your attention to the main characters in the series, and works really well with the otherwise vibrant animation by providing a little contrast.
Sound:
The sound in Mawaru Penguindrum is fantastic. It boasts a vast and varied soundtrack that fits really well with any tone or situation that it’s used in. Whether the characters are happy, sad, angry, scared, or anxious the music helps to emphasize what the characters feeling. Not only does it fit the moments that it is used in really well, but the songs themselves are really enjoyable to listen to. The soundtrack also features two amazing openings and a lot of good endings.
The two openings used in the series are incredibly catchy, and really fit the overall tone of the series. Everything from the tone of the songs to the lyrics match the series perfectly, and are extremely enjoyable to listen to. The endings are all good, but they aren’t anywhere near as good as the openings. There also are just way to many of them. The series features ten endings, and even though they aren’t bad at all, I never really got into any of the endings they used except the first one, which also happened to be the one that was used the most. Overall, the sound is amazing, and I will definitely be listening to some of the songs for a while.
Characters:
Mawaru Penguindrum stars four main characters, the Takakura siblings, Himari, Kanba, and Shouma, and strange girl named Ringo Oginome. Just like the story of this series, you are given information about the characters at a very slow pace throughout the series. But, when all is said and done, you’re left with some really well developed and likable characters. Even if the characters are doing something that you don’t really agree with, you can empathize with them because you know, or will know, why they’re doing what they’re doing. There are several reoccurring supporting characters in this series, and for the most part, they are also given a good amount of backstory and development throughout the series.
Enjoyment:
I really enjoyed watching Mawaru Penguindrum. It’s untypical method of storytelling, and likable characters, combined with great sound and animation made this an entertaining show to watch. The story was good, and kept me interested for most of the series. But I have to confess that my interest did waiver a little during the middle of the series, but it did pick right back up near the end. And now that I’m more aware of the symbolism being used, I’m looking forward to re-watching the series in the future to try and catch what I missed the first time around.
Verdict & Breakdown:
Story: 4.1/5
Animation: 4.2/5
Sound: 4.6/5
Characters: 4/5
Enjoyment: 4/5
Verdict: 4.2/5
While I think this is a very good series, it’s definitely not for everyone. But, if you can tolerate a show that is more of a “Slow Burner” than I definitely recommend that you watch Mawaru Pengindrum.
