Hello everyone,
Here we are for yet another first impression of a series that has a really mindblowing introduction with a combination of great characters, good timed drama (AnoHana please learn from this series) and mindblowing development.
I'm talking about Mawaru Penguindrum, an original series slated for 24 episodes of this rather packed summer season. (Oh, this season I have too many series to follow that I'm quite worried about my time...:P)
Let's start with a synopsis :
A terminally ill girl named Himari Takakura is miraculously saved from death by a strange spirit who resides in a penguin-shaped hat. However, in exchange for extending her life, the spirit tasks Himari's brothers, Kanba and Shoma, to seek out an item known as the Penguin Drum with assistance from a trio of strange penguins.
From this first synopsis I initially thought "Oh, this is going to be a cry-based-series like Usagi Drop, but the supernatural part of it look too silly to really work. Let's give a look just for the heck of it".
Oh, I was wrong, terribly wrong with my prejudice...Yesterday when I watched the first episode I was with my jaw dropped for most of the it. The premise isn't the most original out there, but the combination between great pacing, charming characters and story really stand out from the rest, but let's give a more in deep look at it.
The first episode start with Himari's death and resurrection and some drama scene just to let us start to know about our characters personalities and goals. I was truly amused by the transformation scene of Himari (a calm and ingenue child) with provocative clothes and abusive personality (of the spirit that possessed her I suppose).
The rest of the episode goes around presenting the new characters, the penguins and the whole concept around the world they live in. I was quite happy with the level the series reached till that point when at the very end of the episode all of a sudden BANG...Kanba kisses Himari while cursing his own fate...
I was blown away completely...
I immediately watched the second episode, that this time revolved around the quest of our two brothers to find the Penguindrum to keep Himari alive (its the request of the spirit in exchange for Himari's life) and we get a glimpse of the new stalker character Ringo Oginome that will likely play a big role in the whole series.
The series while not delivering the same kind of big development kept its own pacing and was always interesting with all the stalker-get-stalked event.
I'm expecting this series, given the length (24 episodes), to slow down the development pacing with some light episodes as soon as the characters are introduced. (there are still many characters shown in the OP still missing though...)
The graphical style of this series reminds me of various Josei series, but I'm still not truly convinced about the genre this series will be defined into. The animation has been wonderful till now. (Loved all the graphical effects during the Himari transformations scene)
The seiyuu in the main roles are rather green (except for Ryohei Kimura that has done also the Akira's role in Eden of the East), but I'm in love already with Miho Arakawa that voices Himari. That voice is in the "Omochikaeri" class!
I'm also loving the OP song named "Nornir" sung by "Etsuko Yakushimaru Metropolitan Orchestra" and I hope the single will be released as soon as possible.
What else to say? This is likely my first pick of this season and I think I'll be blogging this regularly if they keep this high level of quality. :P
Give it a shot regardless of the genre of anime you generally watch!
See you soon,
feal87