I guess her name should have been a hint. Amazing episode.

The Tragedy of M

Why is Yuri’s play tragic? The ending seems happy at first glance: Yuri and her lover fly off into the sunset, arm in arm, on the wings of a swan. But the reveals from the remainder of the episode paint the play’s ending in a different light. Yuri’s marriage is a lie meant to make her forget her past with Momoka. There is no love between her and her husband: they are but tied together by the cruel wheel of fate (as the swan is tied to the ceiling), unable to fly free. The lie they have constructed weighs down their dreams and true desires, just as the false swan is burdened by the weight of the couple. The feathers that they once used to fly are torn from their wings and scattered in the wind. Tabuki and Yuri are birds in a cage. This is the Tragedy of M(atrimony).

The Princess of Lies

The episode’s title, the Princess of Lies, refers to Yuri’s status as a celebrity and her propensity for lying. It also appears to be a clear reference to the Prince of Lies, Satan. The tragic character of Milton’s Lucifer bears many similarities to Yuri.

All is not lost; the unconquerable Will,
And study of revenge, immortal hate,
And courage never to submit or yield:
And what is else not to be overcome?
That Glory never shall his wrath or might
Extort from me. To bow and sue for grace
With suppliant knee, and deifie his power,
Who from the terrour of this Arm so late
Doubted his Empire, that were low indeed,
That were an ignominy and shame beneath
This downfall; since by Fate the strength of Gods
And this Empyreal substance cannot fail,
Since through experience of this great event
In Arms not worse, in foresight much advanc’t,
We may with more successful hope resolve
To wage by force or guile eternal Warr
Irreconcileable, to our grand Foe,
Who now triumphs, and in th’ excess of joy
Sole reigning holds the Tyranny of Heav’n.

Paradise Lost 1:106-124

Lucifer wages eternal war against heaven, even though he must surely fail: so, too, does Yuri (and Kanba) wage eternal war against fate. With deceit and guile, Yuri lures the unsuspecting Ringo into eating the fruit of carnal knowledge (and hopefully Ringo will share some with Shouma). Yuri claims that she has abandoned her past, but this is a lie: in her pride, she will not bow down to fate and sue for grace. Her body is that of a monster, and no one will ever accept her again.

So what is the mystery of Yuri’s body? I’m going to guess that she isn’t entirely a woman. She’s having an affair with a woman who dresses as a man, and apparently only a woman can satisfy her. So yeah.

To briefly incorporate the ongoing gnostic comparisons, the archons (Yuri) see the reflection of Sophia (Momoka) in the waters, and long for her. When they see the same light of Sophia (Momoka) within Eve (Ringo), they rape her and she bears their children.

Ringo and Shouma

Gah, this was too much. I’ve been shipping the two of them since the second episode, but really, this has exceeded my wildest expectations. The scene where Ringo clung to Shouma’s shirt as he refused to accept her forgiveness was too adorable. He even has her crying. I don’t think she ever did that for Tabuki. The aftermath was adorable as well, where it turned out that Ringo had elaborately planned out her “I wasn’t waiting long” greeting and was embarrassed. I could say more, but just have some pictures.

Other Observations

• Note Yuri’s bondage ropes: they’re red. She and Ringo have become entangled in the strings of fate.
• We see Yuri / Akiho’s car. I was wondering when they’d import this from Utena.

• Masako’s entrance to the subway car was awesome. While she knocks out the men in suits, her penguin replaces Kanba’s perverted pictures with pictures of herself. Then Masako places her foot in a very suggestive position. Kanba is a top-notch womanizer, as his eyes are focused up her skirt the entire time, even as he trips her.
• Masako’s words seem to lend some weight to the theory that Kanba and Himari are not actually related.
• I liked Sanetoshi’s answer to when Himari will be released from the hospital: “When the secrets of the world are revealed.”

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The last few episodes have been incredible in terms of mindfuckery and fueling speculation. This episode took a step back, slowed down, and built up a tense and melancholic atmosphere to let the viewers absorb the enormity of the Takakura parents’ actions.

Dual Survival Strategies

Sixteen years ago, Sanetoshi met a pink-haired girl who could hear the world crying out to be saved just as he could. But she would not agree to do things the way he wanted to. Based on the timing and the fact that it was a child, I am guessing this girl is Momoka. Furthermore, based on the way the camera lingers on the hat, we can suppose that she is also the penguin hat. Furthermore, we learned that Sanetoshi is saving Mario for Masako. I mentioned how the light and the dark penguins are duals a few weeks ago, but now we can take this a bit further since we know who their leaders are.

First, let’s look at Sanetoshi and his counterpart’s commonalities.

Hm, this seems familiar.

They’re both full of themselves.

There is always a price.

Here is the key difference. Sanetoshi provides a drug to save Himari. He is the one with the power, as he so ardently proclaims. But the girl with the penguin hat tells Shouma and Kanba how to save Himari themselves. This is why the penguin hat, as we learned in the last episode, does not want the penguin drum to fall into Sanetoshi’s hands. Sanetoshi wishes to control fate himself, as we see from his “experiments”. But the penguin hat believes people should control their own fates. This is why the girl in the library would not follow Sanetoshi.

Along the same lines, both the penguin hat and Sanetoshi have mentioned the Scorpion’s heart while referring to Kanba. AJthefourth explains how this is a reference to Night on the Galactic Railroad:

Scorpio was caught by a weasel and was about to be eaten. Scorpio tries to get away, falls into a well, and just as he is about to die begins to pray. He thinks back on the creatures he had eaten and killed in his lifetime, and wishes that, upon his death, he would at least be eaten by the weasel so that the weasel would live another day, instead of his dying in vain in a well. He tells God to look inside his heart and ensure that in his next life, his body will be used for good and happiness. He then turns bright red and becomes a flame that lights up the darkness of the sky.

The penguin hat sees the scorpion’s heart (a.k.a., Kanba’s) as beautiful. But to Sanetoshi, it is hideous and charred.

The Fickle Goddess

The Goddess came across as even crueler in this episode than before. She decides to spare the third lamb, because “it would be no fun if the punishment ended here.” But perhaps the most disturbing part is that the rabbits, which originally led Mary into taking the ashes of the torch, agree with the Goddess. The rabbits were creatures of the Goddess all along; they were “called forth by the world” itself.

Continuing with our discussion of Gnostic myth from last week, we have the unwitting snake / rabbits, which the spirit of the Logos departed from before the demiurge’s curse. And Sanetoshi is developing similarities to the demiurge himself: he believes himself to be the only one in the world, the creator of all that is, before he glimpses a shadow of the pleroma (the girl’s footsteps). But the light will not return to him, and in his anger he seeks to recreate the image he has seen (in Sanetoshi’s case, through drugs and controlling fate). Himari bears a resemblance to Sophia: she is both a saint and a prostitute, for one, and utterly unknowable.

I’m planning to elaborate more on all of this in a future post. For the record, I don’t think that Penguindrum is influenced directly by gnosticism. Rather, myth and anime are both products of the human imagination, and reveal the underlying structure of the human mind. So there should be no surprise that the stories are similar.

Music

I generally don’t pay much heed to the music in anime, but this episode did a fantastic job. I’ll point out two examples.

First, consider the scene where the police come to take the children away. A slow, subdued piano place plays in the background. But when Shouma opens the door, silence reigns. Silence is often the most effective music. Next, we hear a buzzing / ringing sound in the background, indicating that something is not right. As the cop steps into the house uninvited, a lower tone joins into the cacophony. The second officer steps past the threshold, and the phone begins to ring, joining in the mix. Kanba’s anger builds while he speaks with the officers, and Himari offers him the phone. “Stay in your room!” Kanba shouts. Himari jumps back, and all sound ceases. This segment was fraught with tension from the music.

Later, in the hospital, a subdued piano piece begins once again, and continues until the flashback in the hotel. The phone rings and silence returns. Their uncle tells them to turn on the TV, and a sneaky, plodding percussive piece begins, but slowly at first. This piece gives the viewer a gentle tingle of foreboding. It continues until the Takakura parents’ faces are shown on the television. Then, the same ringing noise from earlier makes its return, and builds into a crescendo. Ohhhhhhhh crap.

The beat changes slightly, and the song continues. Once Himari wakes up, the bells fall back and the brass enters in. Shouma continues the goddess’ story as this jazzy little tune carries on. The Goddess begins speaking her line, “It would be no fun if the punishment ended here.” The snare speeds up and plays a steady beat for a small crescendo. Then silence once again, while the Goddess continues speaking. As she finishes, the last two notes play, ending without closure, leaving us expecting a few more notes. “That’s right!” the rabbits supply. And we stop for a commercial break.

The music in these two segments and the way it was aligned with the animation and voice acting were exceptional, and allowed me to become fully engrossed in the story.

Further Thoughts

• After the attacks, they built a sky metro? Could this fit in with Masako’s talk on how light and darkness must coexist? The underground Hole in the Sky?
• I enjoyed how Sanetoshi broke the fourth wall.
• Ringo has moved on from trying to become Momoka, with some excellent advice from Tabuki. But I like how she still believes in fate, despite all that has happened.

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So much was revealed this episode, but the mysteries still keep piling up.

The Destination of Fate

We begin with a monologue from Sanetoshi (the librarian) about how he hates the word fate. This may remind us of Shouma and Ringo’s monologues in the first episodes. In fact, they aren’t just similar: it is the exact same speech as Shouma’s! How are these two tied together?

The main difference between the two monologues stems from the visuals. When Shouma speaks, we are in a star-filled room with a sleeping Himari. During Sanetoshi’s spiel, the scene is quite similar: we are still looking at a sleeping Himari. But the stars are gone, and Himari is dead. Shouma, although he despises fate, has not lost his sense of wonder and joy as Sanetoshi has.

As for the content of the speech, Sanetoshi is from the Destination of Fate. And he hates the word fate? This is the last person we’d expect to hear this from! At the moment, I don’t think we have enough information to know why yet.

Sanetoshi also appears to know Shouma and Kanba’s father from the past: he puts the photo of the 36th Antarctic Environmental Defense team on the doctor’s table. The father appears to be the team’s leader. The scene is filled with penguins, and one of the penguin logos is quite conspicuous. This is an expedition to defend the environment: we could also call it a “survival strategy.”

Meet the Parents

As others have speculated, the Takakura parents were the masterminds behind the sarin gas attacks. The father seems definitively involved, as we see him entering the Kasumigaseki station, one of the stops where the attack took place. But I doubt that this is the end of the story.

First, note that the father initiates the plan upon hearing of Shouma and Kanba’s successful birth. It is a “survival strategy” not for himself, but for his children. As he walks into the station, the father says that what he is doing will bring peace.

Which brings us back to the penguin corporation and the mission to the Antarctic. How are these things related? I don’t know, and I doubt we have enough information to figure it out yet. But let’s consider the idea that their father did what he did to ensure the survival of the planet and his children.

This segment also fits in quite nicely with Super Frog Saves Tokyo, the book that Himari was searching for in the library. Frog and his friend battle the Worm underground to save the world. No one knows what they have done, and they are despised and scorned. But the fact that one person is cheering for him is enough for frog to keep courage. Similarly, Takakura descends underground to battle forces of evil. His actions are despised and not understood. But Shouma and Kanba are waiting for him, and this is enough.

A Sister’s Innocence and a Brother’s Love

Himari is appearing less and less innocent as the show continues. Now we have her joking about private parts, and delivering line after line of sexual innuendo as her penguin is stripped by and does some bondage play with Kanba’s penguin. Is she acting differently because Sho isn’t there and she is alone with Kanba? Her two personalities seem to be merging closer and closer together.

I’m still leaning towards the idea that the sister Himari and the penguin hat Himari are two facets of the same person, but either way, which person is Kanba in love with? There is more going on between Kanba and the penguin hat than we knew: Kanba knowingly gave her a portion of his life to extend Himari’s. Obviously, he loves his sister, but his more erotic affections seem to be reserved for the alien Himari (e.g., this episode’s stripping). Which girl did Kanba steal a kiss from?

The Myth of Mary

What are we to make of Shouma’s myth of Mary and the three little lambs? It bears some resemblance to the stories of Prometheus and the garden of Eden (and countless other myths).

Mary loves the three little lambs, and can’t wait to spin their wool into thread. Where have we seen thread imagery before? The red string of fate (note that the swirl on the lamb’s bellies is also red). Does Mary want to fix the Takakura sibling’s destinies?

Then we come to the apple tree in the garden, the first tree in the world. It has withered, but its light was once the source of the world’s love, future and dreams. We could see this as akin to the Tree of Knowledge in a gnostic interpretation of the creation story. For those unfamiliar with this version, a (very) short summary: the roles are inverted, and the god walking in the garden is a false god. He keeps the the knowledge of the true god (hidden in the fruit of the tree) from humans, but the true god comes in the form of the snake and gives knowledge to mankind.

Next, the black bunnies appear and tell Mary to fetch the ashes from the torch in the Goddess’ shrine and use them to revive the tree. But contact with the Goddess’ torch is forbidden. The black bunnies play the role of the snake, luring Mary to break the taboo.

The rabbits convince Mary and she takes the ashes. Mary, as Prometheus, steals the fire which the gods have hoarded and gives it to mankind. Alternatively, Adam and Eve see the light and their eyes are opened.

But the Goddess is furious, and takes the smallest lamb’s life as punishment. Prometheus is chained to a rock, and his liver is pecked out by an eagle every day. Adam and Eve are exiled (by the false god).

We’ve established the connection to the myth of Prometheus and the gnostic creation myth. But how does Mary’s story fit into Mawaru Penguindrum?

It appears that the souls of the sheep (the Takakura siblings) are the flames of the Godess’ torch.  By sacrificing themselves (as Kanba has done) the sheep can prolong the life of the apple tree.

The next questions are the identites of Mary and the Goddess. It seems reasonable to guess that the Goddess is fate herself, who has afflicted Himari with a curse. Mary, although he bears a female name, is wearing a tie. Mary seems to hold much in common with Shouma and Kanba’s father. He has broken a taboo (executing the gas attacks) as part of a survival strategy for the apple tree. The apple tree in this context could be the Earth itself, if we consider the discussion from earlier.

One last question: what are the dark bunnies? A dark, uncontrollable force fighting against fate: they seem similar to the Worm from Super Frog Saves Tokyo. Why is Sanetoshi leading them?

Further Thoughts

• I wonder what animals the young Tabuki was supposed to take care of? Birds?

• What’s up with Tabuki’s fingers here? After the Sarin gas attacks, the perpetrators mailed a bomb to Yukio Aoshima, the governor of Tokyo, and blew the fingers off his secretary’s hand.
• When Tabuki refuses to believe that Momoka has died, we jump to a shot of a bird in a cage. Her death has trapped him in the past, unwilling to fly and move on.
• Great music in this episode, especially the piano piece towards the middle.
• The myth sequence was beautifully choreographed: the two storylines happening at the same time fit together perfectly.
• Penguin hat Himari claims that she is also from the destination of fate. I’m sticking with my theory that the destination of fate is death.

• D’aaaawwww. Baby Ringo is so cute. She’s always been attached to that diary.

• Sanetoshi’s apple has a different symbol than the yin-yang penguin head. What is it supposed to be? It kind of looks like a candle to me. The Godess’ torch?
• Who is the girl saying “Because punishment has to be the most unjust” at the end?

I look forward to hearing your own theories in the comments!

Note: I’ll be out of town this weekend, so Dantalian will be delayed. As will any first impressions posts for new series.

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This episode was a small step backwards in terms of craziness, but a giant leap forward in terms of Shouma and Ringo shipping.

The Joy of the Hunt

Kanba visits Masako’s mansion, and we learn that Masako sees people as hunters, hunting for the “true form of the object of one’s affection.” What is the true form of her affection? Just as it was with Ringo, I doubt that it is as simple as wanting Kanba as he is. She also claims that love is just a hormonal imbalance in the brain. But her masked allusions to a childhood promise to Kanba and Kanba’s portrait suggest otherwise. This brings us back to last week’s discussion of dualism: Ringo, who claims to be hunting for love, actually isn’t; and perhaps Masako, who claims not to be hunting for love, actually is. Ringo tries to construct a false fate, and Masako attempts to deny a true fate.

Let’s look at one piece of interesting imagery from this segment: When Kanba accuses Masako of being a stalker, images of the stalk of a plant appear. Masako claims she is not a stalker, but a hunter, and the stalks are replaced by crosshairs on an elephant. Hunting and stalking are functionally equivalent, so why is Masako so fixated on being known as a hunter? Observe how Ringo and Masako both engage in the hunt: Ringo seeks to build up a relationship with Tabuki, while Masako destroys her rivals and tries to gain control of Kanba’s life forcibly. Ringo desires a slow, growing love (like a stalk), while Masako (claims she) desires fealty and power, like a hunter.

But the symbol on Masako’s teacup is a stalk, not a hunter. And Masako’s penguin spends the entire segment making out with Kanba’s. Plus there’s the portrait and childhood promise. So is Masako truly a hunter, or a stalker disguised as a hunter? The guise of a hunter may be designed to hide from herself the fact that she is in love.

Ringo’s Realization

I’m completely biased, but I liked how they made Ringo realize that she loved Shouma. I prefer relationships where the couple doesn’t fall in love at first sight: this is too convenient and easy. I prefer when they have to jump through hoops and struggle, as Shouma and Ringo certainly have. So having the two lovebirds start out hating each other gets bonus points from me.

The epsiode begins without Ringo realizing how she feels towards Shouma. The audience knows, however, from a few hints, such as Ringo’s reaction to Shouma’s accusation that she shouldn’t have given up the diary. I should point out here that Shouma had the same reaction as Kanba in the previous episode: preventing his kidnapping didn’t merit risking the only way they had to save Himari. He is actually angry at Ringo for giving up the diary to save him. So for those predicting a fallout between the two brothers, it doesn’t look like we’re there quite yet.

On the train, Shouma tells Ringo “you’re you, not your sister!” and says that he won’t help her. “You’re you, you!” is one of the lines that pisses me off the most in anime— it’s so common, and so profoundly meaningless, yet it never fails to cause an immense transformation in lovelorn girls. Here, though, with Ringo literally trying to be her sister, it actually made sense for once.

After this, Ringo leaves the train, angry that Shouma has abandoned her (another not so subtle hint), and makes another love potion. We could interpret the frog as representing Ringo’s perceive destiny, as she is the princess (Momoka) transformed into a frog (Ringo), and when she kisses the prince (Tabuki) she will turn into a princess and everyone will live happily ever after. But here she is afraid of the frog, and unwilling to press it to her face. Ringo is having second thoughts about this destiny thing. Later, when reading the directions, she repeats the line “he’ll fall head over heels for you” to herself. Could she be thinking of someone else, after her fight?

This time, the love potion actually works, and Tabuki turns into a love-crazed mutant frog. This makes me wonder, though: perhaps the last love potion worked as well. Shouma’s penguin ate it. I believe that that one didn’t only last for a night, too.

Anyway, Ringo says no to Tabuki at the last minute, and Yuri saves Ringo from being raped by a drugged-up Tabuki. Perhaps as an effect of Ringo’s desire for Tabuki wearing off, Yuri doesn’t appear quite so evil at this moment. Yuri has realized before her that Ringo is in love with Shouma, and even gives her some advice. Ringo returns home and meets Himari and Shouma.

Ringo expresses her love best through violence.

Her accusations against Shouma lead us to the next question: what is fate?

Fighting Fate

I’ll be honest: I think that the idea of fate, in the sense that every aspect of your life is predetermined, is downright silly. Even if we don’t have free will, and everything is controlled by hormones in the brain, we still have the illusion of free will, which is much the same.

But there are other understandings of fate which are less nihilistic. The word fate has a variety of different meanings, and usually people neglect to clarify which meaning they’re using. So most conversations of fate tend to leave me bewildered: what are they talking about? Let’s look at a select few versions of fate, in decreasing order of the control it exerts on human lives.

• Predeterminism. Everything is fixed, and you can’t change it.
• Destiny. The final result is fixed, but there are many ways to get there. (e.g., Stein’s; Gate, predestination) The idea of soulmates, where destined lovers are connected by the red string of fate, is an example of this.
• The Gentle Hand of Fate. There is a “fate” of sorts, but it strongly influences reality rather than controlling it directly. Astrology is an example of this.
• Conciliatory Views. There is a fate, but it is fully determined by freely made human choices. (e.g., much of Christianity) There may be exceptions for things which are fully outside of human control, such as predestination.
• No Fate. There is no fate, and all is the result of human choice.

There’s another spectrum that views of fate fall along: is fate fundamentally a good thing or a bad thing? Some see fate as a good thing (such as with the idea of soulmates), some see it as a bad thing (such as absurdists, who consider it “despicable”) and others see it as neither strictly good nor evil (the astrologists and the conciliators).

So when Mawaru Penguindrum discusses fate, which version is it referring to? This seems to vary depending on the context. The Takakura seems to have quite the absurdist view, with fate being the despicable death of Himari and their parents.  Ringo ascribes to the idea of a positive gentle hand of fate, attempting to bring reality back in line with its supposed destiny so that her family can be restored. Masako professes to believe in predeterminism, claiming love is a chemical reaction in the brain.  Tabuki takes a more mixed view, similar to a popular Christian perspective (replace fate with God):

Sarin Gas Attacks

So it looks like everyone talking about the 1995 Sarin gas attacks was on to something. In this episode, Masako mentions a “curse” from 16 years ago, and Ringo claims that her sister died 16 years ago, on the day that she, Shouma and Kanba were born. Does not sound like a coincidence, especially with all the “95”s on the subway.

Furthermore, Shouma and Kanba consider themselves responsible for the death of Ringo’s sister. How could this be possible if the attacks happened on the day that they were born? Perhaps it has to do with…

Recycling

There has been plenty of recycling imagery throughout the show. First, in the OP, there is the red circle with two arrows that crops up next to the librarian (also, in the train for the previous picture). The penguins make their first appearances in recycling bins. Then there’s Himari in the child broiler. And in this episode, when Ringo says that her sister passed away and she was born on the same day, the sign appears again. I believe there are other appearances as well.

Note how all of these appearances center around death. This makes me wonder if the idea is that lives are being recycled. Ringo seems to think that because she was born, her sister died. And since Shouma and Kanba entered the world, two other people must leave it. By being born as twins, they have screwed things up, and so an extra person must be removed from the world to restore balance. Perhaps this is their sin. Himari’s time in the child broiler gives off the feel of recycling as well, like she is waiting her turn in purgatory to return to life.

Which brings us back to Masako’s metaphor at the beginning of the episode. The emperor penguins hover at the edge of the iceberg, waiting for another penguin to dive into the sea first to see if it gets eaten by seals. Both Himari and Mario are afraid to venture on from death, and are waiting for someone else to step off the galactic railroad first.

Final Thoughts and Questions

• Himari’s “Little sister’s orders!” seem quite similar to the penguin hat Himari’s attitude. And the above shot was rather suggestive.
• Masako’s group does not have the other half of the diary. Who does?
• What is Kanba’s secret?
• What is the source of the memory-erasure balls, that Kanba also seems to know about?
• I like how Himari’s penguin tells Shouma’s to stop being a glutton here:

Further Reading on Episode 11

8thSin Fansubs
The Untold Story of Altair and Vega
Lost in Anime
Moe Sucks
Hachimitsu
Iwa ni Hana

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Wow, this may have been even stronger than the previous episode. The previous episode had a great sense of mystery, but this one had a sense of excitement and thrill that we haven’t seen so far.

Kanba

The first thing I noticed is that Kanba really does seem to love his brother (and sister). Ringo’s comment that Shouma’s family life was fake had left me wondering, but Kanba at least gives the appearance of being completely dedicated to his brother and sister. He stays all night worrying by Shouma’s bedside, even though he tries to hide it. One thing in this episode seems to jar with that image though: the actions of Kanba’s penguin. As we’ve seen, the penguin’s actions tend to reflect the thoughts and actions of their owners. And here, for most of the episode, Kanba’s penguin is busy stealing underwear, reading porn magazines, and looking up the nurses’ skirts. Perhaps all is not as it seems… Another hint to this effect is that Kanba does not want to give the diary back, instead entrusting it to Ringo. This is probably just his cool and collected self remaining in control, but let’s leave the possibilities open. Then we have Kanba’s conversation with Himari, which was hilarious. How dense can you be? But yeah, Kanba is a confirmed siscon now. Interestingly, Himari doesn’t seem quite so innocent towards the end of this scene, where she leans in close and pats Kanba on the head. Perhaps this is a glimpse of her true feelings, which are revealed through the penguin hat.

Drawing Parallels

One thing to notice is how closely this episode paralleled the last one. Himari, and then Kanba, descend lower and lower into the floors of the building, reliving their memories on the way. The walls of Himari’s library are bars of a cage, and the walls of Kanba’s library are colored like the stripes of a prison. Both Himari and Kanba feel trapped by the past, although Himari wants to remember hers and Kanba does not. Also, look at how what happens with Masako parallels Kanba’s conversation with Himari. Himari asks whether boys would like homemade lunches, cakes, or hand-knitted sweaters. Kanba says no, they don’t want any of that “made with love” crap, unless it’s from Himari. Then Himari leans in close, pats Kanba’s head and disappears. Masako presents the same items to Kanba: homemade bento, a wedding cake, and a hand-knitted sweater. He rejects all of them, except for the unfinished undersized sweater which he is forced to wear. Notice how Kanba tells Himari that girls always make oversized sweaters: the sweater must have been made long ago. When he arrives at his destination, Masako kisses him and disappears. On a side note, Masako’s disappearance scene was excellent: I really thought she was going to shoot Kanba, but instead she jumped eagerly into his arms. Perhaps her Project M has the same goal as Ringo’s after all. We could also interpret this sequence as Kanba’s fall from innocence: he initially chases Masako’s fleeting image through the fields of white sheets, to the sounds of the music box. Then the music box cracks, and things start to go wrong. He enters deeper and deeper into a relationship, while continuing to feel more and more trapped. He finally ends up in the torture chamber, where he is confronted with a kiss. By the way, does anyone know what music was playing during this sequence? It seems so familiar, like it’s on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t quite warp my head around it.

Dualism

The yin-yang penguin symbol pretty much gave it away from the first episode, but there seems to be a dualistic opposition between what I’ll call the light and the dark penguins. We know that Masako’s goal is to gain control of fate, so it seems logical to guess that the goal of Himari’s hat is the opposite— to free herself from the control of fate. Himari and Mario are paired, as we saw in the previous episode with the Child Broiler. (also, notice the まり in both of their names) I am sure we will see exactly how they are different in the future. Kanba and Masako seem to take on similar roles in both sides of the conflict, as the people who do the dirty work. Kanba is most likely Masako’s “fated” person, but Kanba only has eyes for Himari. They’ve sure done a great job of making Masako seem dangerous, with that crazy slingshot, the dark penguin sharpening the knife, the blowtorches, torture rack and injections. Does Shouma have a counterpart on the other side? I am guessing yes— Tabuki. Note how when Ringo picked up her cellphone it gave a chirping noise, which previously rang for Tabuki. Ringo seems like the type of girl to set individual ringtones. And this also would put Shouma and Tabuki in opposition over Ringo. On that front, Shouma seems to be making some progress, as we witnessed Ringo’s guilt and appreciation for perhaps the first time. Plus, her diary is gone. Fate is now an open book.

Further Thoughts

• Masako tells Kanba he was led by Ariadne’s red thread of fate- a combination of the story of Ariadne and the Eastern idea of how soulmates are tied together by a red string of fate since birth. We could also tie this into the three Fates.
• Masako says that Kanba’s sweater is made of pigeon blood. Penguins are flightless birds, Tabuki learned to fly but can no longer treasure what he sees… whose dreams did Kanba have to sacrifice to get to where he is?
• The dark penguin’s face is shaped like a heart. Back to the dualism surrounding fate of the two penguin clans.