Mawaru Penguindrum

Wow. I wasn't sure what to make of this series since not a lot of information was given to us prior to it airing, but the first episode was quite amazing. The artwork/style was very colorful for a series that started out on a sour note, (with Himari being sick and then dying during the outing to the aquarium), but that quickly changed once the penquins became involved. I'm guessing that they are some kind of alien race that came to earth because they can't find their missing item, ie, the drum, and need the humans to find it for them, (maybe they can't touch it themselves or something). Thus, they extended Himari's life, and I guess basically made her channel the penguin queen. Looks like I'm in for a wild ride, but I'm glad.

Also, I got some vibes from Utena, (since the creator of it is doing this series as well), but I didn't think that we'd get incest this early on...

I was expecting for to be somewhat of a drama show given the summary, tags and whatnot. The beginning having a word I also don't really like "fate". Really though, through half of the episode I was putting on a serious face and then suddenly Himari comes back to life and yells "Survival Strategy!" *serious face disappears* O.O I guess this is gonna be quite interesting for me.

Penguins to do your bidding + Invisible to other people + Survival Strategy = Me Like

So Ikuhara is directing and co-writing this series? Because it shows. Sexual and incestual undertones included, dood.

I guess Sacred Seven will have some competition for the title of Most FABULOUS after all. But it will be tough to beat a girl that got reincarnated into a Prinny, dood.

And now we just wait for obscene amounts of symbolism to kick in. We've got some hinting at it with animal symbolism and the apple, but nothing can be said just yet.

This episode seemed to focus most of the time Kanba and Shouma running around, trying to figure out what exactly the Penguindrum is, and how this Ringo girl is involved. It was very funny to see the penguins involved in all of this, and I laughed when they searched through Ringo's bag, and got lingerie stuck to their faces.

Although, I was a bit surprised by the true nature of Ringo; that she turned out to be a real stalker. It was a bit creepy at the end, but I'm guessing her passion for the teacher/his passion for birds has something to do with the drum, or at least another clue. Or, maybe it's her diary/stamp of destiny. Will have to wait til next week to find out more.

So, in addition to whatever tension the incestual undertones produce, the brothers also have differing moral characters. I wonder how that's going to play out. On another note, the penguins sure have a huge attachment to underwear. They just kept forcing those legs open. Ringo's personality took me by surprise. I was expecting another ditzy girl (possibly with the ability to see the penguins), but she turned into a creepy stalker.

Good point about the moral differences between the boys. I'm guessing that by the middle of the series, they will probably be stretched to the limit, and their bond will become slightly broken, (probably from a matter pertaining to Himari).

*Long rant about how this saddens me to see she's the stalker type* I was really hoping for something else out of her character, Idk what exactly, maybe like ZeroOBK mentioned, but just anything besides creepy stalker. Those penguins are so hilarious, I can't wait to see cosplay for this show, I wanna see some penguins walking around with underwear on their heads.

Those Penguins are weird, lol. Sad enough no know can see them, but somehow their actions are tangible. Anyway, things for this epsiode were anything, but interesting. Too bad Ringo seems to be a crazy, yandere stalker, lol. Btw, I just love Himari's transformation sequence ^^

I was remembering during one part where two little school kids were passing by the house and their were talking about how the World resembles a Apple, and something about holding that World in their hands. It can be allegorical to original Sin and temptation, but that part of the show just struck a cord with me, since Apples are said to be near a perfect spherical shape to the world. This also reminds of Death Note in how Light uses the Apple as a battering tool during some instances with Ryuku for something to aid him (equivalent to knowledge, wisdom, etc). But then again, Apples in other mythological pandeminem have different meanings and is a complex symbol

Besides the craving for curry that this episode left behind, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Ringo seems to have come from a loving home, but for some reason, (either her dad died or got a divorce/her mom's always working), their family isn't as close, and I think that she is displacing those feelings into this obsession that she has for Tabuki. Although it was pretty clear that she still loved her family, and does have some genuine feelings for him; I just think that she has lost control of them.

Also, the look on her face when she found out that Tabuki had a boyfriend was priceless. She still seems to think that fate is working it's magic, but I can't help but feel that this story isn't going to end too happily.