First Thoughts: Mawaru Penguindrum

Your sister dies and gets brought to life because of a possessed penguin hat. That’s what happens in Mawaru Penguindrum to Shouma and Kanba Takakura when their sister, Himari, dies.  Himari is then brought back to life by whatever possessed the penguin hat that Kanba had bought her. Kanba and Shouma are then expected to go search for an object called the Penguindrum in order to lengthen Himari’s life. At first I wasn’t going to watch this, but I decided I wanted to see what it was all about. I found myself quite surprised upon watching the first 2 episodes of it. It’s turned out to be pretty good so far.

One of my favorite parts so far in the show is the penguins. Shouma, Kanba and Himari all have a penguin of their own. The penguins are there to help them with anything they need and are very good at listening and obeying orders. They will even go into a lingerie store, put on underwear and bras on their heads, in order to follow Kanba and Shouma’s target.

I also like the characters Kanba and Shouma, but mainly Kanba. Kanba is the stereotype playboy. He is always flirting with females no matter where they are at. It usually helps them out in the end.  He also seems to be the more level-headed of the two. Shouma is the quick to excite out of the two. He’s also really good at cooking. The two together, are very protective of Himari and will do whatever possible to make her happy, even if they have to imitate animals.

The art is bright and colorful, and just overall nice. The art style reminds me quite a bit of Star Driver.  I like the colors they use for the characters and especially how they liven everything up, whether it is the penguin mechas or just the characters themselves. They try to make sure that the main characters are the focus by having all the extras looking the same. The extras look kind of like paper dolls just moving around in scenes.

The fact that the plot has not really been established yet turns me off a little to the series, but within the next few episodes I expect to understand what the Penguindrum is and why the penguins need it. I’ve been enjoying the characters so far, and am wondering what the panda robots are there for.