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「舞い落ちる姫君」 (Maiochiru Himegimi)
“Descending Princess”
Ikuhara must not like me or something. Just when I got into the “Survival Strategy” swing of things and was looking forward to another “Himari” appearance, he decides not to have one in the very next episode. Between a big shiny forehead and a penguin cap to cover it, I’m going to have to go say I prefer the latter, especially with the “ROCK OVER JAPAN” insert song that comes with it. Also, things just don’t feel the same without “Himari” kicking off an episode by telling Kanba and Shouma that they’ll never amount to anything.
We did have the penguins adding some amusement though, putting a literal spin on “giving head”. More of Ringo with Shouma tagging along wasn’t too shabby either, particularly when the skunk got involved and sprayed the heck out of Ringo on two separate occasions. (Swapping clothes with Shouma is NOT going to get rid of that smell.) The comedic aspect picked up a fair degree, largely due to Ringo’s wild delusions coming to a crashing halt, making everything play out rather nonsensically until Kanba’s ex-girlfriend/teenage model Kuhou Asami (Hayami Saori) got pushed down an escalator at the very end. (I really didn’t think she’d show up as a character after her name came up in episode three, let alone be voiced by Saori.)
Naturally, they want us to believe that it was Ringo fulfilling her destiny, which is why I’m inclined to believe that it wasn’t her at all. All we saw were some feminine fingers and blank pants, plus Ringo’s diary only mentions a girl in red shoes, an escalator, and Asakaka-mitsuke Station at 9pm — nothing about pushing her down. The girl that Asami was talking to about plans to crush Kanba (presumably) — Natsume Masako (Horie Yui) — made it sound like she wasn’t exactly in the best company, so who knows what kind of haters she may have attracted. The character who I’m more concerned about is Yuri, after she told Ringo that she doesn’t have a chance against her with Tabuki. Those are some fightin’ words, and actually made our stalker girl come off as the victim in all this. She definitely came up on the short end of the stick on several occasions, so I can’t shake the feeling that her OCD-like obsession with fulfilling what’s written in her diary is largely just that — an obsession.
Largely but not entirely, as there appears to be a catch to how her diary works. Judging from the past two episodes, it seems to have the tendency of being correct but not quite how Ringo usually envisions things. Because of that, I get the feeling that we’re going to be given the runaround with the Penguin Drum for a good while, and that there’s more to it than simply Ringo’s diary. She’s clearly one of the main characters and getting way more screen time than Himari as of late, which makes it hard to imagine that Kanba and Shouma will be chasing her around forever. The introduction of Asami, Masako, and the other members of the “Heart-Broken Victims of Takakura Kanba Assocation” already suggests that there’s going to be much more to the story than the wild goose chase that we’re on now. Then there’s the other side of Yuri that’s very unlike her usual image, which has drawn a lot of attention to herself even when she’s not acting.
Where we go from here is anyone’s guess. It’s definitely getting harder not to get swept up in the lighthearted pace of things so that I can try to take in as many subtle hints as possible, but I love what that adds to the entertainment value.
Preview & End Card
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This diary is reminding me a bit of the chinese coin episode in Supernatural, where wishes will come true, but not exactly what you wanted. All good fun 🙂
Shouma’s adorable. :b And tbh, I prefer penguin-hat Himari too. Less annoying. 😡
Argh! This was like a bad shojou manga comedy. Just when I thought it was confusing enough, it gets worst. I feel like I just got trolled.
I’m having trouble with what exactly Ringo is supposed to be in this story; main character? Villain?
This episode didn’t lessen my confusion any, and simply cemented my impression of her as completely bat-shit crazy. And not in the good way.
Using logic of anime, Ringo will probably fall in love to Shoma and then be part of their team together to fight the villain.
Ringo is clearly not a villain. She’s a pawn. She’s not evil, just stupid, like all people who believe in fate.
dunno why but im really liking this show
SEIZOOONN SENRYAKUUUUUUU
For a while I was hoping #2 would save Ringo…but then when it went for a fish, that was the funniest moment of this episode. And I’m also missing my weekly dose of ‘seizon senryakuuuuuuu-!’. I’ve got a feeling that this is not the last time we’ll hear about that skunk. After all, it has this penguin on its back.
yeah. I lol at that as well. Maybe a new Survival Strategy next week.
生存戦略！
生存戦略ぅーーー！！！
Another thing that stood out about Kiyoshi the skunk is when the reporter is talking about him he says “Contact police if you see him because Kiyoshi the skunk is…” and it cuts off. I’m wondering what the rest of that sentence would have been.
That definitely was the best part of the episode this week.
I had to laugh when Ringo was receiving CPR… notice the Pegi-chan standing around with a fish flopping around it’s mouth? It was like Shouma was really giving a wet, sloppy one as he gave Ringo cpr…. lol
yep, that was definitely hilarious X03!
Maybe the next time we expect the “Survival Strategy”, someting other than Himari might appear. Maybe a “Dark penguin”? 😀
I am thinking that the Penguindrum isn’t an ordinary book. Where in Ringo thinks its just a regular diary where everything she just writes just comes true and must be fulfilled it.
I think the diary is a item where in everything that is written happens.
I lol-ed with this pic. Light reflecting to the forhead. Thats new.
Like I said last week I find the quirky weirdness with the serious touch extremely appealing. So far this is the best show of the season for me.
Shouma and Ringo are a match made in heaven. He submissive and capable and she aggressive and full of fail.
I wonder whether there isn’t more to the skunk than is readily apparent. It does have that penguin mark on its back afterall.
perhaps it the “other team” familiar?
Looks like there isn’t just one destiny diary. Yuri may well have one as well and the shadowy figure talking to the girl may also have one.
Since the penguin hat wasn’t even sure the penguin drum was with ringo, it seems more likely that ringo is only a lead to the real penguin drum which may be actually in seperated in parts (the diaries, stamps or the women themselves?)
Another brilliant episode, it’s pretty solidified for me that this is the best of the season so far and I loved the humour this episode. The ending caught me off guard and had be nearly falling out of my chair. Loved it.
This was easily the funniest episode so far. Its been awhile since I’ve laughed so much at an anime. I also really enjoy how the episode was light-hearted for most but still had a couple ‘dark’ punches.
Wow. That was just…. hilarious. In fact, this episode was so hilarious, that the twist at the end really caught me off guard. However, I don’t think that the assailant was Ringo, since Shouma hinted that the diary may not have been written by Ringo.
Yeah, I didn’t really realize until now but this really is shaping up to be my favorite of the season (out of the new ones at least. I just love its “abuse” of colour, the soundtrack is pretty awesome and I can’t get enough of the penguins and their lecherous ways. Too adorable DX
I have to say Shouma looked really cool doing the CPR, too bad it was with Ringo. I feel sorry for him, he should have let her drown like #2 did hahaha.
Then ending was pretty shocking since most of the episodes was light hearted with the Rose of Versailles parodies and all. I wonder who pushed her and also how exactly Kanba’s ex-girlfriends will tie into the story. They seemed unrelated at first but that might not be the case now.
Heart-Broken Victims of Takakura Kanba Assocation are going to blame Kanba for pushing Kuhou Asami down the escalator.
but ocd already stands for “obsessive compulsion disorder” so ocd-obsessive is like really redundant
I just re-watched the episode, from the two shots we have of the person who pushes Asami on the escalator is the very same person she was talking to on the telephone earlier. Just compare the leggings and the sleeves to what you see of her in the intro.
Right. Also, the person was dressed in black pants and some sort of top with tan sleeves, which matches this character from the opening:
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/3853/ggmawarupenguindrum0468.jpg
And here she is on the phone, shown in silhouette and at dusk so the colors aren’t clear:
https://randomc.net/image/Mawaru%20Penguindrum/Mawaru%20Penguindrum%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2034.jpg
Good catch with the clothes there!
The sleeves match her perfectly.
It’s the sexy looking girl from the opening! She finally arrives!
There’s a subway map-style “character terminal” floating around out there that shows some of the characters and how they’re linked. Looks like the mystery girl is named Natsume Masako. It shows that Kuhou “adores” Natsume, but Natsume “is using” Kuhou. Is that helpful? Natsume or whoever reminds me of Juri from Utena.
Ringo is a psycho i have never seen anyone try that hard for somebody to like them and seeing how she pushed that girl of the escalator looks like is going to get worst or maybe it wasnt her…………..
Where still not sure if she was the one 😀 and also where still not sure if she really has the really penguindrum. Like what the Penguin hat said “Maybe”.
The book simply state what would happen in the future, not what she have to do.
I was sort of wavering from Penguindrum but this episode brought my expectations back. I was not expecting that perhaps the person in Ringo’s diary might be Sho but now that when I thought about it he has eaten Ringo’s curry and he did fulfil the requirements at lunch and with the CPR. Not sure how I would feel about them as a couple but I’m sure they would be hilarious to watch.
Anyone else sit all the way through that ep thinking ‘STEAL THE DAMN DIARY AND RUN!’?
I was thinking when Ringo was drowning that he should have hidden the diary in the bushes behind him before saving her and retrieve it later.
Oh, Kunihiko Ikuhara, I still love you!
It’s probably a good thing that you haven’t spearheaded your own anime project in more than ten years, since it seems you have a limited internal library to play with, but when you do it, it’s damn good.
Agreed. Everything about this show screams Utena, but I loved Utena and am loving this. Know how that turned out I’m expecting things to get pretty wild by the end.
This project isn’t being spearheaded by Ikuhara. He’s just the director this time around, not the original creator or anything… and losing control over the premise really limits his options, so don’t expect everything to be his doing.
I also wanted to point out that Ikuhara’s “wisdom personality” means he doesn’t simply repeat himself in each one of his works, unlike a lot of other authors.
shouma is really adorable <3 ringo on the other hand…her imaginations are funny at all, but she is so rude i can't stand it. hopefully she gets better in later episodes
I’m just gonna throw this out there, since everyone else is speculating like crazy: maybe the skunk is the Penguindrum since it has a penguin on its bum: Penguinbum.
Agreed.
I don’t think the skunk is the penguindrum, I think that it is working for a faction opposing the penguin queen. Not only was there the skunk, but there is a black penguin that is in the OP. They may have also been in the recycling bins in the first episode. The skunk definitely seemed to be after Ringo.
Wonder what a penguin drum could be? A drum made out of penguin hide? A drum for calling penguins? Played by penguins? Maybe it’s a drum for storing penguins! Like a 55 gal drum.
Agreed. It possible that they are trying to mess up Ringo love as part of their plan. Which bring to my attention: how innocent do you think the actress is? I think she part of the other group, I mean come on. A famous actress wanting to score a geek teacher and crazy enough to hide Ringo shoe. Hint: teacher is part of the key to Penguin Drum.
I can’t decide which penguin is the best, #1 or #2. So hard to decide when they both have some ridiculous hijinks.
the best penguin = #0
Ugh, this episode was awful. About the only part I found funny was when they made the penguin look like he was gonna save her only to find out he was really just fishing.
Other than that, all those cutaway scenes with the prince and whatnot… just terrible.
I have to say, though, the ED theme is so awesome I listen to it two or three times every episode.
I totally disagree with you on your opinion of the episode, but I had to add that I also love the closing theme. I find it kind of haunting.
I agree with you, the penguin fishing and Ringo not getting her way was the only good part.
Worst ep to me so far and now I’m deleting it.
I spy someone who wouldn’t recognize a Rose of Versailles reference if it can-can’ed up and down the Champs de Elysee waving a rose-emblazoned banner.
MWP just doesn’t feel right without the transformation sequence at the beginning.
Anyone thinks the show is going for a Shouma x Ringo pairing? ;D
I’d prefer a Ringo x Burial Plot pairing.
Agree. I’m so over her and it’s only her third episode.
I dont think they are going there, but i would like it if they really end up doing that. Too bad this series seems like the type that sidelines used characters. I’m hoping against that though.
“MWP just doesn’t feel right without the transformation sequence at the beginning.”
glad not be the only one.
Wow, they even managed to sneak in a pantsu shot there.
All those damn penguin getting all the action. They were looking upskirt, looking into the skirt and eating all the love food.
It took me well over an hour to watch this episode, because I had to stop every minute and wait for my laughter to stop.
This show is amazing. The story and characters are really starting to get fleshed out, but what really drives everything are those penguins…
To be honest, I was already sensing a Sho x Ringo relationship vibe from the first time she appeared. Prolly because it feels to me that this series is giving also a Kan x Himari vibe and well, since Ringo love with that guy is one-sided, the only person who she could really end up with would be Sho. Also, this series has romance in its genre. So, no way are they gg to let the main characters have any love interest… (ok, nevermind the latter. Hopefully no Sho x Ringo, cause I dont really like Ringo. Hopefully she will change.)
Oh well, I love this series mostly because of the character design and the characters themselves, (damn, I love Sho, Kan and Himari) and also, the PENGUINS. 😀
Plus, I want to know more abt this series and in which direction will the series be going towards.
Poor stalker girls delusions were hilarious… and the ways the destiny was twisted were straight from Shakespeare – Birnam forest marching anyone?
I guess there is more to Kanba’s victims club than we have been shown.
If that girl died, this makes show suddenly very serious.
I presume someone might be trying to frame Kanba.
And Sho X Ringo would be fun! Especially if that is her TRUE destiny…
It shouldn’t take any decent officer long to figure out that Kanba isn’t the most likely culprit, even more so as the girl was the one least hostile to Kanba. Admittedly this is more obvious to us who listened to her phone call as it seems like she was more eager to get back with Kanba then getting even, which is most likely the actual motive.
Sho X Ringo would be funny, mostly because of what he knows about her 😛
I’ll bet it will be pretty funny to watch Ringo X Sho
Dropped. God, this episode sucked. Die horribly, Ringo. Or at least just DIE.
I actually didn’t like this episode as much as the last 3. I’m sick of Ringo, and although the whole “Inner Mind Theater” thing was hilarious the first few times (Tamaki, anyone?), they kind of overdid it as the episode went on…
I’m not dropping it though, I’m way too in love with the penguins and the whole vibe of this show in general.
Is that a plum Ringo is stamping? Japanese word for fate is unmei but I keep thinking ume, like a plum. Didn’t know if this was a pun because my Japanese is like a four-year-old’s.
ringo SUCKS!!!!
Ringo’s Diary = superior version of a Death Note?
ringo annoy the crap out of me and I see Shouma as the much bigger victum
A funny episode! Some of Ringo’s antics reminds me of Ep. 4 of
Hyakka Ryōran Samurai Girls (and also of some of my plans
on outings I’ve been on). The penguins are turning out
to be voyeurs – and slap-stick funny!
I think the best way of watching is to let each episode
carry you into its story – this is definitely a series
where too much thought will ruin it for the viewer, IMHO.
The animation is clever and interesting – quite the art.