Penguindrum / 輪るピングドラム

Imagine!

I don't know if I'll do another one of these, but I wanted to try writing about a series as I'm watching it. I'm so dedicated that I even figured out how to make spoiler text in CSS!! This page will be updated throughout my watch.

Every episode of this show has been disorienting to say the least, with nigh-incomprehensible plot twists at every turn that are difficult to even wrap your head around, much less describe in detail. The first episode gleefully jerks the viewer around, going from an emotional story about two brothers caring for their terminally ill sister, the last family they have aside from each other immediately into a bizarre situational comedy involving invisible cartoon penguins after the sister is revived by an extraterrestrial penguin god ending with a shot of one of the brothers leaning in to kiss their sleeping sister on the mouth. At risk of perpetuating the endless, obnoxious line of "those wacky animes are always so random and quirky!!!!", know that I mean this with as much affection as one can possibly mean it: this show is genuinely off the wall and I'm loving every minute of it.

As of finishing episode 8, I'm just now deciding to write this page. The show has stayed consistently absurd, but still keeps me on the edge of my seat. I absolutely adore Ringo. Even if she is a psychotic stalker with delusions of romance, I still find her oddly relatable in a lot of ways.

I feel like this is going to be one of those shows that makes sense in hindsight but is absurd on first watch.