Shouma, this is definitely not going to turn out well. Every warning siren in your brain should be screaming right now.
As expected.
Good Lord. Last week’s naked frog magicks were crazy enough, but disguising yourself as Yuri to rape him…
Shouma saves the day (well, sort of). Shouma says it all:
Shouma and Ringo’s Relationship
Their relationship has really been one of the highlights of the show for me. I’ve never seen a relationship quite like this one in anime. The two of them despise each other on the surface, but you can catch hints of the fact that they actually value one another.
On Shouma’s end you see this from the fact that he sticks with Ringo even though, as Kanba says, it would be much easier to simply steal the diary. Theft would probably also be less criminal and morally reprehensible than actually helping in her schemes. He shows a concern for Ringo beyond what simply recovering the diary demands. Not to mention his jumping in front of the car.
On Ringo’s side, it seems that she was actually hurt when Shouma called her the craziest bitch he’s ever met, as she hesitated and recalled his words when she was about to pick up the diary. She also seems to be objecting less and less to Shouma’s presence.
The thing that makes their relationship so interesting is that they actually do have mixed feelings, it’s not simply that they’re hiding their “true” feelings. Ringo is definitely not your typical tsundere, and neither of them fit at all into the molds we usually see.
A Few Quotes
When Ringo leaves the apartment, Shouma says “Breaking up is tough.” I liked this line simply because it could be interpreted in so many different ways.
- The obvious interpretation: he was referring to Ringo and Tabuki. Except they were never together in the first place.
- Referring to Shouma and Ringo. He said it as she was walking out on him.
- Referring to Ringo’s family.
- Referring to Ringo and her sister.
- Referring to Shouma, Kanba and their sister.
Another interesting quote was in Ringo’s western delusion, when she confronted Yuri and took Tabuki down from the noose. She tells Yuri, while grasping the diary, “I have something you don’t! That’s destiny! As long as I have this, our fates can’t be changed!”
She’s right, but not in the way that she intended. Because she’s bound to following the directions in the book, her fate can’t be changed— she can’t find a lover of her own, she can’t forget her sister, and she can’t build a new family with her mother. Ringo’s commitment to some idea of “destiny” has left her powerless to change her own fate.
Use of Comedy
One of Mawaru Penguindrum’s greatest strengths continues to be how it fits comedy right into the flow of the story without detracting from the seriousness of everything. As a case in point, see everything the penguins do. There’s so much happening at once that it’s impossible to get bored.
As another example from this episode, we have Tabuki’s dummy, and Tabuki’s conversation with Kanba and Shouma in the classroom revealing where he was the previous night. Then we have Shouma’s speculations on Project Murder-Suicide. He wasn’t too far off the mark— that box was indeed bad news.
Finally, there are Ringo’s delusions. These keep getting wilder and wilder— we had a western today. They’re hilarious, but also give us a glimpse of Ringo’s mind. This week, I especially loved the dream in the aquarium, and how it blended together seamlessly with reality.
Speculations
- It seems like Kanba is doing other work for the penguin hat, as he let it slip to Shouma that he’s also working hard.
- Ringo bought her stuffed animals at the aquarium too. Coincidence?!! (probably)
- Ringo seems to see problems underlying the surface of Shouma and Kanba playing family. I wonder what’s going on there? I assume it’s more than them simply not being home much.
- I’m guessing Shouma getting hit by the car will make Ringo reconsider her destiny plan. Is Shouma dead? I doubt it, but I could see it going well either way.
- Why did the person on the motorcyle rip up the diary? No idea on this one.
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She did not tell it. It was the person on the motorcycle. Probably hired by the other Project M fanatic.
Oops! *fixed* Always make sure your pronouns refer to who you think they do. Thanks!
I think it’s the other Project M fanatic as well, but I’m still wondering why she would destroy the diary. Does she want to break the diary to save Ringo? Is she trying to destroy the Penguindrum to oppose Himari’s penguin hat? Or does Himari’s penguin hat also want to destroy the diary?
GG hasn’t release the sub yet. Man, you make me excited.
I used Nutbladder.
To your last question, I’m assuming it’s Masako, but I don’t know of the ripping was intentional or not. Maybe she just wanted it, too.
Yeah, I thought it was Masako as well, but didn’t want to jump to conclusions. It’s still not entirely certain who pushed that girl down the stairs a while back.
I’d put Shoma dying at 70-30. Why so high? Mainly because of one scene that makes me think it was foreshadowing…
It’s hard to say. I’d lean towards him not dying (at least not permanently) since he does seem to be one of the main characters. But then again, Penguindrum seems to enjoy taking what you’re expecting and doing the exact opposite… 🙂