Mawaru Penguindrum – 16 Review

Episode 16 – Uncrushable Man

Probably not one of the best episode but still a decent episode.

We finally get to learn more about our dear Masako and the past that haunts her.

Review

It is interesting what a big role Family plays in this series. We are molded into who we are through our parent’s actions and everything is pretty much a domino effect from then on.

This episode felt pretty random through the most part of it, however, it did pick up towards the end and brought back the tension and suspense that we have gotten used to over the last few episodes.

It has been a very long time since we saw such a light episode of Mawaru, and it had reminded me of the beginning of the series where the episodes were more lighthearted and fun to watch.

Natsume Masako

It has been a long time coming, and we finally the chance to see her past. As with all the other characters in this series, her family is the driving force behind her actions.

I had found her Grandfather’s character to be really fun to watch and the whole “dreaming of murdering my grandfather” thing was interesting as well.

What I am curious about is the whole possession scene that took place during the Blow Fish part. Is this supernatural element meant to be part of the bigger plot that ties everything together? One thing’s for sure, this show never cease to complicate things. To add to that, we have the whole cursed situation as well. What is the curse? Is it real or is it merely Masako’s impression of the situation?

In the end, this episode presents more questions than actual answers. Who is her father? How did Mario end up in that state? Who are the black men? Etc etc etc.

Also, in one of the dream, Masako hits her grandfather with a golf ball and throws him off the cliff, I am wondering if that is related to what Masako was talking about with regards to the penguins pushing their leader off a cliff a few episodes back. (I can’t remember what the exact description of that whole scene so I might have to go back and re-watch that part)

I Can’t See My Face!

This is not the first time we are faced with characters whose faces are covered. I had brushed the whole thing off the first time around as being merely a comical element of no importance. But seeing as to how this “thing” is makeing a reappearance, I am wondering if there is a reason behind the lack of faces with regards to certain characters? For example, we have the Fabulous Max dude in Ringo’s overactive imagination of Yuri back in Episode 7 and then we have the fact that all the passersby are faceless blobs of grey and now we have the grandfather and Masako’s father. There has got to be something to it.

Himari and The Dynamic Duo

Every episode we are shown snippets of Double H characters doing things that are related to the episode. Further more, all these scenes always takes place in the ever important location of the train. My question is how all of this is meant to play into the whole storyline and mystery behind this series? We are already 16 episodes in and whilst it is looking like we are finally getting somewhere, there are still a crazy amount of unanswered questions that have left me wondering how they are all meant to relate to one another.

One weird part was Himari’s reaction to Kanba’s comment about Sanetoshi. Despite the fact that Himari seem to like Kanba, anything that is related to Double M takes precedence in her life. I had not expected her to preach to Kanba instead of actually trying to figure out why Kanba would feel that way. I can’t wait to see an episode that explains the Double H situation.

What was a nice welcome was the Survival Strategy. It has been awhile since we last saw it in such a lighthearted mood and the whole situation in that scene was so odd. It makes me question why everything comes back down to something sexual in this series. =P The whole poem verses part was super random but had me laughing at it all. I wonder what the importance of that was or what it is in reference to.

I will not be crushed!

Why Kendo? Out of all the sports, why did he choose Kendo? I have nothing against that sport, am just wondering…

Anyway, back to the grandfather. He is creepy when he is normal but he was at his most disturbing level during that scene with the rocking horse.

I am probably reading too much into it but that scene reminded me about a literature piece I was taught at school (some time ago =_=”). The story had a scene where the kid always rode his dearest rocking horse and would play with it. My teacher had tied that whole scene to sex and with the way Mawaru is, I wouldn’t be surprise if the whole rocking horse scene was the grandfather having sex with the blonde assistant (who conveniently is a “loser” character being dominated by a “winner”). I mean, those rings of fire, coupled with the motion of the rocking horse and the way that blonde dude looks is… =/ shall leave it to your imagination… (Okay, I am not thoroughly disturb and shall switch to a different topic)

I also found the grandfather’s way of looking at things in black and white to be very interesting. “Winners and Losers”, this whole 2 colour thing comes into play constantly during the series with the penguin symbols being half and half (or even the penguins themselves are 2 colours) as well as the balls that Masako shoots from her cross bow. Or maybe I am just reading too much into things.

Ringo + Shouma

Shouma is once again all gloomy and wallowing about their (Origome and Takakura) family history and how that stops them from being together.

This episode had essentially did what the last few episodes had done, they showed the new side of Ringo. Ringo is back to being a stalker but this time, she is Stalking to fight against fate whereas previously she was stalking to… force fate? =P Whatever it is, I hope for more fun scenes but by judging the more mature tones of this series the show is probably never going to go back to the lighthearted mood that it had previously.

The Chosen One(s) + Pink

What show is complete without the special chosen ones?

It is only normal for the men in black to be related to Kanba and Masako’s father who have been chosen. Sanetoshi had played the part of the mediator when Masako was out cold and I am overly curious about what Sanetoshi is.

He seems to hold all the knowledge with regards to these few special people and he is also able to transcend time and space and life? I am not sure, but he is an enigma that I wish would solve itself.

The whole idea that Kanba and Masako’s father are selling themselves as a chosen one to get what they want and to supposedly put life back on track is intriguing. I wonder if this is related to something Momoka had done to change fate. If that is the case, how does Yuri play into all of this? Masako had also made an off-handed comment about not wanting to get on that “train”. I am not sure if she chose the word train simply because the scene took place on a train or if it is a hint to a relation to something else.

Whatever it is, this episode had shown us that Masako knows a lot more about what is occurring than she is letting on whilst disregarding everything else and is simply focused on helping Mario and getting Kanba – the two people she is shown to have an attachment to.

Kanba you freak!

What the hell.

That voice is not a young kid’s voice! I was freaked out that they used the same VA for a young kid. Some VA’s can make their voices sound younger but apparently this is not the case for this VA. =P I am just wondering if this was all on purpose or eluding to something more?

This episode showed Kanba walking through the garden’s of the Natsume Clan and talking to Masako.
What is their history and how is he able to walk around so freely in the middle of the night? Also, how does this play into his hatred for the Natsume Clan? Argh! So many questions!!

At the end of the day, this episode merely scratches the surface of the relationship between Kanba and Masako and it only shows us the fact that these two were related to one another as kids and had plotted about some “curse”. (What is this curse?)

“Half price lunch boxes!!”
Doesn’t this scene/image look like it would fit into Ben-To quite easily? =)

Overall

It is more questions than answers for this episode but at least now the questions seem to have a more specific direction.

I can’t wait to see what happens next and am dreading the day Mawaru ends. T^T

Episode Rating: 7/10 – was still fun despite not being the best episode around and all the random moments were nostalgic to watch

-ra

Ra’s Random Moment:
Made Jap Curry for dinner! (with a instant roux of course =P Haven’t the slightest clue how to make the dish from scratch. Anyone want to share their recipe?

Question of the Day:
What ingredients do you like in your Jap Curry? =D