I wouldn't say I have anything in particular against symbolism in entertainment mediums, but for some reasons, whenever symbolism does pop up in stories, I usually have a problem with it. I think the core reason is that I hardly ever think the symbolism is justified, and instead of being put in there to actually enhance characters and themes, is put in there so the writers look smarter. Yes, I realize that's a fine line, not even addressing the topic of how different people interpret these symbols, but for the most part, from what I've seen, symbolism now carries a mostly negative connotation with me. In fact, there's only a couple anime where I actually really like the symbolism, those being some works by Akiyuki Shinbo(I stress some) and maybe Kara no Kyoukai.
This topic has come to mind with my viewing of the first five episodes of Mawaru Penguindrum, a comedy, mystery, psychological anime thingy directed and written by Kunihiko Ikuhara, who is somewhat of a big name in this industry. People most likely know him from his work on Revolutionary Girl Utena(which from what I've seen is basically Neon Genesis Evangelion mixed with Madoka Magica), and the currently airing Yuri Kuma Arashi. Symbolism is kind of his thing; Ikuhara seems to like to pack the stuff into almost every orifice of his works, into environments, character's outfits or even just how certain scenes are presented to the viewer. This is not necessarily a good or bad thing.
So, to bring you all up to speed with the story thus far, the plot of Penguidrum follows twins Kanba and Shoma, Kanba being the arrogant ladykiller, and Shoma being the slightly timid younger one. Their younger sister: Himari has been terminally ill for some time, and one day when the family visits an aquarium they often frequented when they were young, Himari collapses and dies. As they grieve, the twins accidentally put a penguin hat they bought Himari at the aquarium on her corpse, and suddenly she is brought back to life, although appears to be possessed by a strange spirit. This spirit tells the twins that if they want to keep Himari alive, they must seek out an object called the Penguindrum that will apparently keep Himari's resurrection permanent. So, now for Kanba and Shoma, the race is on to save Himari from her fate, despite not really knowing what a Penguindrum actually is or looks like, why this spirit is so interested, or why three penguins only visible to them and Himari are now helping them with the search.
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| The penguin hat that is apparently capable of bringing your little sister back to life. |
It's been a very strange show to say the least, filled with unorthodox characters, weird situations and penguins. Despite being so bizarre and me having no idea how they will drag on this plot for 19 more episodes, seeing how Kanba and Shoma have already located the person who apparently owns the Penguindrum; the whole show feels very well constructed. The ways the shows have brought multiple elements together is very creative and entertaining, and the characters seem very promising, especially Kanba and Penguidrum owner/teacher stalker Ringo Oginome, both who seem to have some issues, and are carrying a lot of psychological baggage. There's a lot of mystery surrounding the characters as well, for instance, where on earth are Kanba, Shoma and Himari's parents? Yes, I realize the absent of parents isn't exactly a strange thing in anime, but these parents are clearly present in flashbacks, but currently are nowhere to be found. Or why did three penguins appear and help with finding the Penguindrum? Or seriously, why does Oginome have a diary capable of telling the future? Now, I don't have any doubt that Ikuhara is sitting up in his candy-colored box in the sky, laughing sadistically with absolutely everything in the anime planned out to a T, however, what I'm worried about is that he intentionally won't answer my questions, at least not in the way I want. What I don't want is for all the answers to be buried deep down in the waves of the symbolism, because I could very easily miss or misinterpret some stuff, and leave my experience with the show more negative than it needs to be. I don't have a problem with him hiding clues about the show in the symbolism, I just don't want him to leave the essential questions and answers up for interpretation.
Fate and whether it is a good or bad thing also appears to be a rather prominent theme in the show, but all we've gotten so far is two monologues from Kanba and Oginome, who have rather different views on the matter. Kanba, seems to take the viewpoint that if there really is a God dictating our destinies, then he is either a prick or cruel for putting his sister and others like her in such pain, while Oginome on the other hand, views it as something wonderfully that everything is already planned out and will work out in the end. This is a very interesting conflict, and I hope the show can explore it more, though knowing Ikuhara, he'll probably leave the debate open-ended for the viewer to decide for themselves. I guess I'm cool with that.
So, I'm still sort of confused about what the hell I'm watching, but I do find myself rather enjoying Mawaru Penguindrum in a strange sort of way. I'm also worried though. If it goes down the path of shows similar to it, Penguindrum will end up being something that is intended to be experienced rather than understood; that's not a bad thing, but I'm really not in the mood for just being thrown weird images at me waiting to be understood instead of an actually cohesive story. Because in my time of witnessing Akira's milk blood, Shinbo's style and Evangelion's bullsh*t, if there's one thing that I've come to realize about symbolism, it is that it isn't a good excuse.
Goodbye for now guys.
Click here for my Footnotes on what anime qualify as "deep".
Click here for my anime review of Gatchaman Crowds.
Or here for my First Impression of Shakugan no Shana III.
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